Let's Talk About... Surprise Cap Casualty Candidates - 3/5/21

I got unfortunately inspired to do this article because of the surprising release of LB Kyle Van-Noy from the Dolphins. He signed a 4-year $51M contract with $30M guaranteed just last offseason and he was cut on Tuesday. I will go into that release on the next Monday Minute, but if a player fresh off signing a 4-year deal can be cut, anyone can. I want to take a look around the league to find some players who might be in for a similar rude awakening.

The Dolphins were top 10 in the NFL in cap space, but because of the salary cap going down this offseason, we may see a few more veterans released to free up money, even if they aren't struggling for cap room. There are a few teams that don't really have anyone that they need to cut like the Jags, Patriots and Jets, but even they may have a guy that just didn't live up to their contract. It has already been an insane offseason, Free Agency opens next Sunday and the franchise tag deadline is this Tuesday. Buckle up, folks.

Note: I started off this article with the intention of doing surprising players only and then got down the rabbit hole and found out how hard it was to name only surprising players. I did try to get a few out of the box candidates from most teams, but projecting something like that is difficult if the team isn't in dire straits. The things I used as measurables for someone who is more likely to be cut is cap savings, age, years left on the contract, injuries, importance of position, and level of play. The article does go more in-depth than the Team Needs articles in terms of who I think could be cut, but if you read those you will see some familiar names for sure. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

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Arizona Cardinals - Not necessarily a player every fan will know of, G Justin Pugh has been a starter in the league for quite some time now. He is entering age 31 by the time this next season gets underway and is due $19M over the next 2 seasons. The Cardinals just signed JJ Watt for big money and they are going to need some cap space to be able to fill in other needs in FA and sign a draft class. Cutting Pugh would save $7M. Pugh had a 65 pff grade in 2020 and that type of play isn't worth the $9M you'd be paying him this year. The Cardinals already had an ineffective OL with him in place, time to get younger and cheaper.

Atlanta Falcons - If you recall my NFC South Team needs column, the Falcons are in a rough situation when it comes to their cap. They are currently $28M over and have no good means of getting under the cap. That means post-June 1 cuts are the most likely option. They need to cut some players and spread that dead cap out over 2 years. These would be 2 shocking cuts to me, but I'm not sure what else they can do to shed some of these large-cap hits. LB Deion Jones and EDGE Dante Fowler would save $17M if they are released with Post-June 1 designations. Jones is one of the best coverage LBs in the NFL, but he is also paid an extremely high amount for a LB, which is not one of the most important positions on the defense. Fowler signed a 3-year $45M contract just last offseason, but his play was reminiscent of his struggles in Jacksonville and not his success with the Rams. Cutting both of them would be major blows to the defense, but I'm not sure if they have better options.

Baltimore Ravens - The Ravens are in a pretty good spot cap-wise, and have already announced they won't be pursuing one of the top FA WRs. That doesn't mean they won't be active in FA and they only have $18M in cap space ($10M or so is about what you should expect to pay for your rookie class.) without having resigned Yannick Ngakoue or Matt Judon. You really don't want to break up the core of the defense which is DT Calais Campbell, CB Marcus Peters, and CB Marlon Humphrey. There is another DT that is paid a lot though. DT Brandon Williams has dealt with his fair share of injuries over the past few years and is entering the final year of his deal at age 33. The Ravens are one of the best defensive lineman factories in terms of using late draft capital and developing great talent. I think it is time to move on, and if they do so it would save $7M.

Buffalo Bills - Here is one for you fantasy players. WR John Brown is now the 3rd favorite target in the Bills offense after Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley. Unfortunately for John, he has dealt with some nagging injuries over his career and that has really put a damper on his potential production. When he has been healthy, he provides a great down the field and speed option to this offense. While he isn't particularly expensive at only $7M this season, you could save $7M by cutting him as well. For a team that is just barely over the cap at the moment, they will need to shed some minor contributors like John Brown.

Carolina Panthers - The Panthers already went through quite a bit of their roster doing restructures and cutting some veterans. Among them were DT Kawann Short, S Tre Boston, and EDGE Stephen Weatherly (who just re-signed in MIN). The Panthers have $29M in space before resigning OT Taylor Moton and while they do need to fill out the rest of their OL, I'm not sure who else is a good candidate to get released that is notable enough for this column.

Chicago Bears - The Bears are currently $4M over the cap, are in the QB market, and want to resign WR Allen Robinson. Not a good combination. They need to shed probably $20M or so to be able to accomplish all of their offseason goals. One way to get almost all of that in one shot is releasing CB Kyle Fuller. Fuller signed a 2-year $27M extension last offseason but has 2 voided years after his contract expires where he is to be paid a total of $3M. The Bears added these "dummy"/voided years to be able to spread their cap hit out over multiple years. However, if they choose to release Fuller right now, it would save the team $11M this season. He has a $20M cap hit for this season and his play last year really did not live up to that. RT Bobby Massie finds himself in a bad situation where he would save the team $6M if he is released. He missed half of the season last year and still gave up 3 sacks. Last but not least, is there any way in hell TE Jimmy Graham plays again? His last play was a TD in a playoff game at the Saints. Can't get more full circle than that. Cutting him would save $7M, but the 34-year old may just retire and take it out of the teams' hands.

Cincinnati Bengals - There is a lot of chatter going around that the Bengals have informed DT Geno Atkins of his release, but that is yet to be confirmed by national reporters. Geno is a long time Bengal, but the team is clearly getting rid of the old guard for the new (EDGE Carlos Dunlap was traded last year). Geno will be 33 years old next season and the team signed DT DJ Reader last offseason to a 4-year deal. The team will save over $9M when they make this inevitable transaction.

Cleveland Browns - The Browns have $20M in cap space, but if they intend to sign a few players in Free Agency that will not be enough. One of the few players left on their defensive line is DT Sheldon Richardson. If you are sensing a trend with DTs in this article you shouldn't be surprised. Defensive Tackles are important players for being able to stop the run, but most aren't able to pressure the QB to be worth their large paychecks. I view it as a position that you want to try to get cheaper talent at. Sheldon is entering the final year on his deal and has a $14M cap hit in 2020. Cutting him will save $12M and for a player entering his 30s, now might be the right time to move on. To be fair to Sheldon, there are very few players left on this DL in Cleveland and he will likely be retained for his final year or possibly get an extension lowering his cap hit in 2021. He had 6 sacks last year, which was 11th for the DT position.

Dallas Cowboys - This is one I am pounding the table for but Dallas seems to be stuck in their ways. LT Tyron Smith is one year away from entering the most expensive years on his contract with the Cowboys. He has 3 years left on his deal, but his dead cap is only $8M, which is good cap management for this long-term contract (originally signed in 2014 an 8-year $97M contract). The reason that the Cowboys just need to cut bait now instead of waiting till the more expensive years is he is ALWAYS INJURED. He is in and out of the lineup for what seems like the entire season. From 2016-19, he missed 3 games each season, but in 2020 he missed 13! Tyron was one of the best LTs in football, but his injuries and age have caught up with him.

Denver Broncos - Another team that has beaten me to the punch with a few cap casualties already in DT Jurrell Casey and CB AJ Bouye. However, there is another that I would make an argument for. EDGE Von Miller is a future HOFer by all accounts but is entering the 2020 season with a club option over his head. A rather large one at that, $22M as a cap hit if he is on the team in 2021 and only a $4M dead cap hit if he is not. The Broncos don't need the cap space, but I'm not sure if the 32-year-old is worth $22M any more. All that being said, the new GM of the Broncos announced that he wanted to keep Von as a Bronco, but that he is monitoring Von's legal issues. If the legal issue is nothing and DEN does indeed want to keep him, I don't think the team will activate his club option. Rather a new deal that will be more in line with what JJ Watt just signed ($15M per).

Detroit Lions - The Lions just yesterday released their #2 CB Desmond Trufant, who signed a 2-year $20M contract last offseason. His release saves the team $6M, but they are still over the cap because of their recent signing of WR Tyrell Williams. Yes I know, lots of moving parts, try and keep up. Their top 2 CBs at the moment are 1st round pick Jeff Okudah and Justin Coleman. However, I don't know how long Justin will be around. The Lions have a handful of New England style players on their defense that I think may all be finding new teams soon. DT Danny Shelton, LB Jaime Collins, and CB Justin Coleman all were signed in either 2019 or 2020 under HC Matt Patricia. It remains to be seen if the team will need a Nose Tackle, hybrid-LB that has struggled in non-NE systems, or a sub-50 PFF player in Coleman. Shelton's release would save $4M, Colemans would save $5M, and Collins would save $5M, if he is released as a Post-June 1. 

Green Bay Packers - Green Bay has done some good work already to get down to only $11M over the cap with some restructures and releasing RT Wagner and LB Kirksey. But there is still much work to be done. One player that many people have been discussing as a cap casualty is EDGE Preston Smith. I am not so sure about that anymore though. Smith was brought in from Washington where his new DC coached him and had a lot of success. Preston may not be the more productive of the 2 Smith Bros (not actually brothers), but he has more value with his old coach coming on board. If he is released, it would save the team $8M. One player that could be a bit surprising as a casualty is FS Adrian Amos, who would save the team just under $5M. Amos has been an outstanding player and he is only earning a modest $7M per the next 2 seasons. But the Packers are going to need to cut some players to get under the cap regardless and free safety is a position you can find cheaper production at. EDGE is one that is a lot harder to find an immediate impact starter in the draft.

Houston Texans - Trading their QB would be a good way to get some money off the books. That is an option. But if they continue to drag their feet and want to shave some more contracts, WR Randall Cobb is the obvious answer. Last offseason, the Texans gave Cobb a 3-year $27M contract and that just was beyond my capacity to understand. Cobb hasn't played a full season since 2015 and only played 10 games in 2020. He is now 31 years old and frankly wasn't good enough when he was healthy. Cobb should be cut regardless of what the Texans do at QB.

Indianapolis Colts - The Colts have a total of 3 players with over a $10M cap hit in 2020 and not surprisingly have $43M in cap space even after the Wentz trade. There isn't really a reason or obvious player that the Colts should be cutting. They also normally don't spend big in free agency so if there was a cut here that would be a bit surprising.

Jacksonville Jaguars - The Jags have over $82M in cap space and only 2 players over a $10M cap hit. Their roster is void of any notable names, but a player that I wouldn't be surprised if he was moved... RB James Robinson. Urban Meyer runs a spread offense that won't fit the style James succeeded in last year and in college. If anyone offers a late-round pick, I think the Jags will pounce and go RB hunting themselves this offseason. Another player there are rumors about being possibly moved or released is G Andrew Norwell, who is the highest-paid player on the team and the #2 paid guard in the NFL. If he is released, it would save the team $9M and honestly what are the Jaguars going to due with $91M in cap space. Nothing good, I'll tell you that.

Kansas City Chiefs - I've mentioned both of these names in the past with questions about whether they will be back in 2020. LT Eric Fisher tore his achilles in the AFC Champ game which is normally at least a full 12 months on ice. I'm not sure how his injury affects his contract, but as far as I can tell if he is cut prior to the league year, the team will save $12M. If he isn't going to be playing the entire year or most of the year, that $12M will be very important to help them get under the cap. RT Mitchell Schwartz also was injured down the stretch in 2020 and he, like Fisher, is entering the final year of his deal. Releasing Schwartz would save the team just over $6M. I think Schwartz is one of the best 5 RTs in the league, while Fisher is probably more like a top 15 LT. Schwartz is going to be 32 when this season starts but should be fully healthy. Fisher is a former #1 Overall Pick and will be 30 for most of the 2021 season. The Chiefs are currently $22M over the cap so they need to consider the Fisher move seriously.

Las Vegas Raiders - The Raiders have quite a few cap decisions to make in just 10 days or so. They are currently only $1M under the cap and have quite a few defensive holes to fill. I expect they will try to be busy in the free-agent market, as well. Let's get to snipping! First off, there has been obvious buzz about QB Marcus Mariota as a trade candidate, who only played once in 2020 in a relief role when Carr went out with an injury. A lot of teams were able to get a look at him and he provided the offense with a spark that night. I believe he will be traded sometime in the next 2 weeks and that will take his almost $11M cap hit off the books for Vegas. If teams don't want to trade for him, Vegas may just release him outright. That is a large-cap hit for a backup QB. I mentioned that the LBs were atrocious for the Raiders in my team needs column 2 weeks back. The group of LB Raekwon McMillan (UFA), LB Cory Littleton, and LB Nick Kwitkaoski were all acquired in 2020. McMillan is going to be gone due to FA. Littleton has 2 years and $24M left on his contract with a very large dead cap hit this season because he made almost nothing on the 1st year of his deal (weird contract structure). Nick Kwitkaoski is where I want to focus. He signed a 3-year $21M deal making an even $7M each season. If he is on the roster on 3/19, his 2021 salary is fully guaranteed. As of this moment, only half of it is guaranteed. So if he is cut it would save $3.5M. Quickly to the OL, the Raiders just released G Gabe Jackson the other day which saved them almost $10M. They could save more money if they release or trade RT Trent Brown who has missed a total of 16 games the last 2 seasons. He is owed $14M this season and $15M next season, but if he is cut they will get $14M in space. There are strong rumors that Brown is on the trading block, but the rumors also suggest that if he does not get traded he will not be released. One last name as a bit of a dark horse... FS Lamarcus Joyner is entering his 3rd season with the team and is going to be 31 this season. They could save $8.5M by cutting him and his position can be found cheaper than the $11M that he is costing the team. If all of those names are gone, the team will save $36M.

Los Angeles Chargers - The Chargers are closer than people think to competing with the talent on their roster. They have $23M in cap space so I'm not sure if they will trim any fat, but if they do let's look at the guys with the most fat. DT Linval Joseph signed a 2-year $17M contract last offseason and the team can save $7.5M if he is cut. Linval had the most solo tackles among DTs in 2020, but at the age of 33, he isn't the spring chicken he once was to pressure the QB. DT Jerry Tillery is one of the better young DTs in the league at doing that. Getting a space-eater at DT can be cheaper than Joseph. RG Trai Turner was acquired in a trade last year with Carolina. He is still of a good age, but his contract may be a good one to get off the books because he has no dead cap and could save the team over $11M. On the contrary, I would look to extend Trai Turner, but he was graded out as one of the worst guards in 2020 with a 34.8 out of 100 via PFF.

Los Angeles Rams - The Rams are $34M over the cap and the Stafford trade didn't really help that number. They are in a situation with stars and scrubs and can't afford to get rid of their stars. So they have to shed all of the middle to get under. Let's start with LT Andrew Whitworth who is going into playing in his 40s. Andrew, you have been great for a very long time, but it is time to retire my friend. The Rams need to focus their assets on a cheaper version of you. They don't have a 1st round pick this year so they may need to get creative with how they acquire that player. Cutting him only saves $5M though. I think we may be at the end of the great P Johnny Hekker run with the Rams. He is turning 32 which isn't really a roadblock, but cutting him would save $2M this year. There really aren't many good people to cut besides them unless we just start cutting every starter along their OL. RT Rob Havenstein and G Austin Corbett could be cut and save almost $7M together. I'd rather have them as my starters though.

Miami Dolphins - I know the Dolphins roster and team philosophy pretty well, but I was shocked when they cut LB Kyle Van-Noy this week. It shows why the NFL stands for Not For Long. To me, that release signals that they want to be aggressive again in FA. They are going to have about $30M in space once his contract is gone, but will need to cut FS Bobby McCain and WR Jakeem Grant to get a few more dollars if they want to give out the bag. Bobby was another leader on the defense in 2020 and greatly improved his play in his 2nd year at the FS position. He isn't that expensive for a FS at $7M, but he also isn't good at coming up and making tackles and wasn't dynamic as a playmaker on the backend. AKA that position could be improved. Jakeem is one of the 5 fastest players in the NFL and is our best special teams asset. However, his inability to stay healthy has been annoying, to say the least. I would love to play him just as a kick and punt returner, but not for $4M+ a season. His release would bring another $3M in space to get us to $40M or so, which should be enough to get 1 tier 1 WR and a few other players.

Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings released TE Kyle Rudolph this week which got their cap casualties underway. And they still have work to do as they are currently $4M over the cap. Though, there are a few notables players that could join the TE on the street soon enough. LT Riley Rieff is into his 30s now and also the last year on his contract with the team. He has an enormous $17.5M cap hit if he is on the team in 2021, but the team can save $14M with his release. He is a good LT, but they can find a player that is much cheaper than that. SS Harrison Smith has been a mainstay for the Vikings backend for 9 years now. He is going to be 33 this upcoming season and he can be cut to save over $10M. Similar to Riley, his play hasn't fallen off with age, but if the Vikings aren't winning a Super Bowl in 2021 it is better to move on and get younger. One last player that is a bit of a wildcard, EDGE Danielle Hunter. Hunter may force his way out of MIN if he does not get a raise on his already large contract. He didn't play in 2020 due to injury, but he may be able to read the tea leaves that he might become a cap casualty next year. He is still only going to be 27 years old this season, so he has at least one more big payday ahead of him. If he makes enough noise, he may be cut or traded and save the team at least $5M.

New England Patriots - The Patriots don't really have many logical options to cut in 2020 as they have so much cap space and a limited roster of talent. However, if they did decide to make a surprising play... RT Marcus Cannon may be the place they look. Marcus opted out last season and is going to be 33 this season. He has been one of the better RTs around the league, when healthy, for quite some time and NE normally gets rid of their good players a year before they really fall off a cliff production-wise. He would save $7M on their already large stack of $66M of space.

New Orleans Saints - This one will be a little bit longer. The Saints are over the cap by $61M and that takes into account the releases of TEs Josh Hill and Jared Cook and P Thomas Morstead and the contract restructures of QB Drew Brees, DT David Onyemata, and K Will Lutz. The fun is only beginning. Let's start with the fantasy players. RB Latavius Murray can save the team $2.5M if he is cut this season. I know that Murray produced well in this offense, but so did RB Mark Ingram. You already paid Alvin Kamara elite money. It is time to give the backup job to a rookie that costs nothing. WR Emmanuel Sanders was signed in 2020 for 2-years $24M and while he wasn't bad, he also didn't take advantage of his time as WR1 when Thomas was injured. Sanders would save the team $6.5M if he is cut. Nothing personal, but a 34-year-old WR just isn't going to last much longer. Now for the slam dunks on the defensive side. LB Kwon Alexander was paid too much from the 49ers, who then shipped him to NO to fix their linebacker room (which he did not). He can be cut and save the team a cool $13M. DT Malcom Brown is reportedly on the trading block and I thought he was a pretty good player on the Patriots back in the day. I can see a team shipping a late-round pick for Brown who has 1 year left on his contract. If he doesn't find a trade partner, he may just be cut outright and save the team nearly $5M. The last obvious one to me is CB Janoris Jenkins. Janoris fell off towards the end of his Giants years but got a little bit of a resurgence when he arrived in New Orleans. So much so that they gave him a 2-year contract extension starting in 2021 (the extension was made prior to the 2020 season). They can get out of the deal before he even gets into the extended years by cutting him and saving $7M. Between all of these moves, the Saints will have only saved $34M. Names I just want to mention in case they are traded or extended, RT Ryan Ramcyzk and CB Marshon Lattimore have decent sized cap hits but no dead money.

New York Giants - The Giants have $6M in cap space but quite a few needs on both sides of the ball. On the offensive line, I think we may see some turnover. G Kevin Zeitler is supposedly on the trade block but teams think he will be released (similar to Norwell in JAX) so they aren't totally keen on giving up a draft pick for him. If he is released, he will save the team $12M. He is going to be 31 years old in 2021 so he is on his last legs as far as paydays go. A guy I don't really believe in on their OL is T Nate Solder. The Giants last season selected LT Andrew Thomas with the #4 overall selection. Solder was brought over from the Patriots to solidify that LT position back in 2018 and in 2 years he was kicked out to play RT for a rookie. He opted out in 2020 so we didn't see him alongside Thomas, but Solder is going to be 33 in 2021 and his play isn't where it needs to be. He is a safe player to cut for me and they can save $11M with a Post-June 1 cut.

New York Jets - The Jets have a mega-load of cap space at $77M, but they still have talent deficient players that should be released to make way for younger players that they draft or higher priced FAs. Both playing tackle, George Fant and Greg Van Roten were part of the offensive line overhaul of 2020 that GM Joe Douglas tried to accomplish. It failed outside of LT Mekhi Becton. George was the 6th best OL in Seattle and that says something because their OL is not good in Seattle. Ask Russ. He somehow got signed to a 3-year $27M contract because he is a tackle, I guess. Douglas was smart enough to leave an early out for this contract and they can save over $7M by releasing him. However, Fant may prove as a useful 6th OL as he was in Seattle. RT Greg Van Roten however should not be on the team. He only has a $3M cap savings potential so if we are doing dollars and cents, Fant should be released. But Van Roten is not as good as Fant is. Honestly, just get rid of both of them.

Philadelphia Eagles - The Eagles have all but telegraphed eventual divorces with several players outside of Carson Wentz. Firstly, WR Alshon Jeffrey and DT Malik Jackson both took pay cuts in January and both are scheduled to be released. I'm not sure why they took pay cuts (maybe it was just moved to a bonus of some kind and I'm just not finding it in my research) to help the team out if they are both set to be cut. Both Alshon and Malik are going to be Post-June 1 cuts but they will only save $4M or so combined. They were in terrible contract situations and both were ineffective or injured recently. Another veteran whose play has dropped off is C Jason Kelce. Kelce was a leader for this team but a 33-year old center that had snapping issues isn't what the Eagles need for their new starting QB in 2021. Cutting him Post-June 1 will only save the team $5M. Two more players that I don't think will be sticking around are EDGE Derek Barnett, who never lived up to his 1st round selection, and WR Marquise Goodwin, who opted out after being traded to the team last offseason. Cutting them saves all $14M of their 2021 salaries. The last person I need to mention is TE Zach Ertz who has likely played his final down in PHI. The 30-year old is in the final year of his contract and the Eagles are looking for a trade partner. If none can be found, they will cut him and save about $5M. All of those savings combined is only $28M and they are $43M over the cap at this point, so we may see some more surprises out of Philly.

Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steelers turned one of the worst cap situations into one that is still admittedly pretty bad but is so much better than it was before. Big Ben saved a bunch of money in his contract restructure on Thursday but I want to discuss that on Monday. Currently, the team is $4M under the salary cap so they need to cut some more fat so they can resign some of their own or sign new players in FA. I think the Steelers will target one of their veteran CBs Joe Haden or Steven Nelson. Joe Haden seemed pretty convinced he would be on the team in 2021, but what do I know. He is 32 years old and his play has declined since his dominant years early on in Cleveland, plus his contract is relatively painless to get out of. He is in the final year of his deal and would save the team $13M if he was released. Oppositely, Steven Nelson is also being paid quite a lot and is in the final year of his deal. He has graded out similarly to Haden, per PFF, but is being paid $1M less. Though, his savings of only $6M is less than Haden's $13M. Another player that could be on the chopping block is LB Vince Williams. Vince is 32 years old and in the final year of his contract. He is a below-average middle LB and they have Devin Bush as one of their best interior LBs. The Steelers do have 2 LBs on the field most of the time, but this is very much a spot for the team to get cheaper at. Vince wasn't the reason for the defense being successful. $4M can be saved with his release.

San Francisco 49ers - Some unfortunate news coming out of SF that C Weston Richburg is needing hip surgery and has no timetable for a return. The team committed to Weston a few years ago in FA and his time seems like it may be done out there. If the team releases him with a Post-June 1 cut, they will over $6M but will likely need to resign C Ben Garland, who replaced Weston while he was out in 2020. If the 49ers get crazy and decide they really love a QB in this draft and trade up for one, QB Jimmy Garoppolo is on a very cap casualty type of deal. Cutting him would save the team $23.5M in cap space. I don't think they would do this type of move though because they won't need the cap space after the draft. If they got really greedy and made a trade to #3 or #4 within the next few weeks though, Jimmy could be cut.

Seattle Seahawks - The Seahawks are on the edge with only $3M in cap space. EDGE Carlos Dunlap might not be living on the edge in Seattle anymore because his release would save the team $14M. Carlos is in the final year of his deal and though Seattle just traded for him (for basically nothing) and he helped their pass rush, I don't see the team signing up to pay him that much money. They were very stingy with resigning EDGE Jadaveon Clowney (rightfully) and they will be here too. Trading away QB Russell Wilson doesn't help their cap situation at all either. It would actually hurt it. The Seahawks are still on the hook for $39M to Russell Wilson if he is traded or not. If the trade happened prior to June 1st, they would actually lose $7M of cap space. If it happened Post-June 1, they would save $19M in cap space this year but also have to pay Russ $26M in dead cap next season. Either way, this is not an option for saving money.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - The Bucs want to "Go For 2" and bring everyone back to do it. Frankly, that is going to be impossible. They are going to need to shed a few middling players to make that possible and have top players take some pay cuts. But there are some decent cap casualty candidates here. TE OJ Howard is the one everyone will recognize. The former 1st round selection obviously fell out of favor with the team and Tom Brady opting for Brate and Gronk. Howard will no doubt be gone and his release saves the team $6M. EDGE William Gholston was a contributor no doubt, but his standing on the team is all but gone if they want to keep guys like EDGE Shaq Barrett, LB Lavonte David, and WR Chris Godwin. His release will save the team $5.5M. P Bradley Pinion is another fairly obvious cut from my vantage point. There are many punters that can be acquired for less than $3M a season that will provide punts just as good as his. If I am looking for a few true surprises, C Ryan Jensen and LT Donovan Smith both are middle of the pack players at their respective positions. I don't think you can upgrade from them easily, but you could move Tristan Wirfs to LT and draft or sign a cheap Center and RT which would be much cheaper than the combined $24M of these 2 players. Both are in the final years of their deals so maybe they restructure to add some void/dummy years on the end of their contracts. Either way, they could do something unique at those spots.

Tennessee Titans - The Titans don't have much that interests me in terms of obvious cap casualties but only have $6M in space so I know they will make a surprising move. How about CB Malcolm Butler or CB Adoree' Jackson? Butler is most famous for his interception on the 1-yard line against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. I don't think his play has warranted his large contract in TEN and his time could be up. The 32-year olds release would save the team $10M in cap space. I would lean Butler, but if the team chooses to go with Adoree' Jackson they would save the same $10M. Adoree' has a rare quality in his speed that you don't see too often at the cornerback position. I don't think he is worth $10M but his play may be worth a short-term prove-it extension that lowers the current cap hit, like the Dolphins did with Devante Parker. He balled out with a future contract on the line. Either way, the Titans need better play from their CBs. That is why they drafted CB Kristian Fulton in the 2nd round last year.

Washington Football Team - The team beat me to the punch with the announcement that QB Alex Smith will no longer be on the team. His release will trigger $14.7M in cap space because the insurance from his injury covered $12M of his signing bonus. Alex Smith still got paid and is set up for life, but his competitive spirit still isn't dead so we will see if anyone takes a chance on him as a backup in 2021. As for another cap casualty for this team, I have one that may be a bit surprising. RT Morgan Moses has played pretty well for Washington since entering the league in 2014. However, he is now 31 years old and the team is in a spot that they could easily move on from him and save $8M. Moses and Scherff are both the best players on their OL and losing both in the same offseason isn't something they would likely consider. But if they brought back Scherff on another franchise tag or long-term extension and are planning on getting in the bidding wars for the top FA WRs and the like, their $40M in cap space will shrink quickly. Creating that $8M could be worthwhile.

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Among the names I mentioned, who do you agree with that will get cut? Let me know in the comments or at @KyleTheCommish on Twitter.