Calvin Ridley Suspended for the Season

In a bizarre story the NFL has suspended Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for the entire 2022 season due to gambling on the NFL. According to the NFL an investigation uncovered that Ridley placed bets on NFL games during a five day period in late November.

Ridley’s career has taken a number of wild turns in the last year. Last year was supposed to see Ridley continue to build on his 1,374 yard season in 2020 to set himself up to be one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL in 2022. Ridley only played in five games and in late October was put on the non-football injury/illness list to focus on his mental health.

Ridley was set to earn $11.116 million this season from the Falcons and then hit free agency in 2023. His salary had been guaranteed. Ridley was rumored to be traded to a number of teams this offseason as the cap starved Falcons are in rebuilding mode.

Ridley should immediately be moved to the suspension list forfeiting his $11.116 million salary for the year. His contract will toll to 2023 but the guarantee in the contract should no longer be valid. Given the circumstances of the last two seasons, Ridley may be looking at having to take a contract much lower than that figure if the league agrees to reinstate him in 2023.

Chiefs to Franchise Orlando Brown

While this should come as no surprise to anyone, the Chiefs are officially placing the franchise tag on tackle Orlando Brown.

The Chiefs had traded for Brown last offseason giving the Ravens a 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th round pick in return for Brown and a 2nd and 6th round pick. The cost was high enough to where there was little doubt that Brown woud be tagged in 2022 if he was not extended. We are estimating the value of the franchise tag to be $16.658 million.

While Brown is still free to negotiate with other teams until he actually signs the offer sheet from the Chiefs, the cost of compensation attached to the tag (two first round draft picks) effectively prevents Brown from really testing free agency.

The cost of the tag will move the Chiefs over the projected salary cap for 2022. They have plenty of flexibility with the Patrick Mahomes contract and a few others to create cap space and should seriously consider cutting Frank Clark to open up cap room as well. Apparently the team is also negotiating with wide receiver Tyreek Hill on an extension that will lower his salary cap number for the year.

The franchise tag debate is always an interesting one. As a tool to negotiate a long term extension it is very useful. Ideally you get the extension done before the tag period. Where things get more dangerous for teams is when you are forced to restructure player contracts just for the purpose of tagging a player. That happens far too often. I would not be as concerned with that in this situation but in the case of Green Bay, Tennessee, and Tampa, who are all rumored to be using the tag this year, the risk factor is much higher for them.

Ali Marpet Retires

Buccaneers starting guard Ali Marpet has decided to step away from the NFL, announcing his retirement after seven seasons in the NFL. Marpet, who was a Pro Bowl player this year, was scheduled to have a $12.775 million salary cap charge for the cap strapped Buccaneers. The team will have two options with his cap number from this point forward.

Marpet could be placed on the retired list tomorrow to officially remove him from the roster. The Buccaneers would carry $7.15 million in dead money on the salary cap for him, creating $5.625 million in salary cap space for the team this year.

The second option would be to renegotiate his salary down from $10 million to $1.12 million for the year and then carry him on the roster until June 2nd. This would simply be a procedural move to create the maximum cap room possible for the team. By proceeding this way the Buccaneers would reduce Marpet’s cap charge to just $3.895 million during free agency and then to $2.775 million after June 2nd. This strategy creates $10 million in cap room for 2022 and pushes $4.375 million in dead money to 2023.

As of today the Buccaneers are estimated to be about $2.5 million under the salary cap, though that number includes Tom Brady at a full salary cap charge. Brady announced his retirement a few weeks ago but there has been no movement from Tampa Bay on processing anything there. Given how many free agents Tampa has, maximizing cap room in 2022 would seem to be the proper move.

Marpet’s retirement leaves the Buccaneers offensive line in a state of flux. With Marpet leaving they lose about 90% of their snaps at left guard. Center Ryan Jensen is the top ranked free agent center. He played over 97% of the snaps last year for Tampa. Guard Alex Cappa is also a free agent and played every snap for the team.

In addition to potentially losing their entire interior offensive line the team will also have to deal with multiple potential free agent losses. Wide receiver Chris Godwin, cornerback Carlton Davis, defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, tight end Rob Gronkowski, safety Jordan Whitehead, running back Leonard Fournette, and edge Jason Pierre-Paul are all free agents. Overall the team stands to lose 39% of their snaps in free agency, the fourth highest total in the NFL. Those numbers do not include the losses of Brady and Marpet which should vault them to the highest number in the league.

The Salary Cap Impact of a Possible Tom Brady Retirement

In what could be the end of an era, Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has apparently decided to walk away from the NFL after an incredible 22 year career according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter

Now it sounds like there are conflicting reports on Brady’s future so he may not be retiring but that does not change the fact that he could be stepping away and with each rumor of retirement I have received a number of questions about how this impacts the Buccaneers salary cap for 2022.

As of right now Brady carries a $20.27 million salary cap charge for the Buccaneers in 2022. The cost on the cap to release him is $32 million which would cost the Buccaneers about $11.7 million in salary cap room, putting them over the projected salary cap for 2022. That clearly will not happen.

At the very least, regardless of when Brady makes it official, expect the Buccaneers to carry Brady on the roster until June 2nd. If they do not modify his contract the way this would work is Brady would remain on the cap at $20.27 million until June 2nd at which point they would put him on the retired list. Brady at that point would count for $8 million on the 2022 salary cap and $24 million on the 2023 salary cap.

The more likely option would be a contract renegotiation for salary cap purposes. Under this scenario the Buccaneers would lower Brady’s base salary and roster bonus from $10.4 million to $1.12 million and remove any incentives from the contract. This would lower his salary cap charge from $20.27 million to $9.12 million. They would still have to carry him until June and at that point the $8 million/$24 million salary cap split would occur.

The benefit of this strategy is that it immediately opens up around $11.2 million in cap space that can be used to help acquire a quarterback in a trade immediately at the start of the new league year. There should be names available this year such as Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Kirk Cousins, and Derek Carr and the cap space would be very beneficial in acquiring one of those players. If they opt to turn to 2nd round pick Kyle Trask to run the show then the added money can be used to keep as much talent as possible around him.

There is another consideration with Brady’s retirement and that deals with bonus forfeiture. For those unfamiliar with forfeiture in the NFL basically what it means is if a player walks away from his contractual obligation the team can recover bonus money which counts on the salary cap. In the case of retirement any future bonus prorations are subject to forfeiture.

When Brady signed his new contract in 2021 the Buccaneers used a structure that may have sent a signal about a potential Brady retirement. The Buccaneers effectively used a $40 million signing bonus as part of the contract for cap purposes but the on paper mechanisms were different. In this case the team paid Brady $20 million as a roster bonus and $20 million as a signing bonus. Both would be prorated over five seasons.

The roster bonus is effectively shielded from retirement forfeiture since you can only forfeit that salary if the breach (in this case the retirement) occurs in the season the roster bonus is earned. That only would be triggered if Brady walked away in 2021. The signing bonus, however, is fair game for a retirement in 2022. That might make some sense as to why the two sides used two very different methods of payment even though the impact was 100% the same.

Per a league source with knowledge of Brady’s contract there is standard forfeiture language in the contract. That means the Bucs would have the right (but not the obligation) to recover up to $16 million in bonus prorations if he does retire. In addition Brady’s signing bonus carried a deferral of $15 million to early February. If Brady retired before that date the Buccaneers would probably no longer be under obligation to pay him that money.

Quickly working out the math in the contract this may have been something agreed upon by both sides long ago. Brady was originally set to earn $25 million in 2021 on his prior contract. That contract was problematic for the Bucs salary cap as it carried over $28 million in cap charges which is what led to the one year extension which on paper paid him over $40 million. However once we pull out the deferral his salary only increased by $2.5 million for the season (they added a 17th game bonus to his contract) and if the team went after a full bonus recovery increased by just $1.5 million, which was essentially the bonus for playing a 17th game and having a slightly harder path to earn incentives. By using all the bonuses in the contract the Buccaneers brought Brady’s cap number down to $10.5 million.

In the event of a retirement I am not 100% sure as to how that immediately impacts the salary cap if the team recovers the full amount by never having the money change hands in the first place. Usually a team will get a year for year credit when a player retires so it would mainly offset the future costs of Brady’s dead money. Brady has almost never been a money guy at any point in his career so having the possibility of giving up money if he retired was something I can certainly see him agreeing to.

We will get more clarity on Brady’s future in the coming days but don’t be surprised if we hear about the Buccaneers getting some relief on the salary cap charges in the near future.

Falcons Release Matt Gono

Yesterday the Falcons released offensive lineman Matt Gono who had been a key reserve for the Falcons in 2020, primarily being the backup offensive tackle for the team. The Falcons liked Gono enough to somewhat surprisingly apply the 2nd round RFA tender to Gono last year when his rookie contract expired. Gono signed the offer sheet and was under contract through the end of 2021. That is what brought up questions about his release- if he was going to be a free agent why release him rather than just letting his contract expire?

Gono falls into the rare category that impacts a handful of players every year. Gono had offseason surgery last year and never recovered from the injury. He spent the entire year on the Physically Unable to Perform list for the Falcons. Players who are in their final contract year and spend the entire season on the PUP list (or NFI list or a few other reserve lists) will have their contracts toll to the following season preventing the player from being a free agent.

With Gono’s contract tolling the Falcons would have had to account for $3.384 million on the 2022 salary cap for him if they did not release him. The 2nd round tender may have been a mistake in the first place in 2021 and there would be no logical reason, especially given the Falcons cap situation, to carry him while trying to come up with a lower number that fit more in with their salary cap. It is possible that this is what Atlanta tried to do this past week and when they did not come to an agreement just terminated the contract. Gono’s contract could still be claimed by another team on waivers.

So for those who think that Atlanta may have given up a potential compensatory pick by releasing Gono early no that did not happen. They were simply clearing their books for the upcoming season. The Falcons are currently estimated to be about $5 million over the 2022 salary cap and approximately $11 million over when counting the salaries of their draft picks following Gono’s release.

Brandon Brooks Restructures Contract

Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo the Eagles and Brandon Brooks have agreed to a modified contract for 2022

The contract and press conference would seem to indicate that the rumors of Brooks retiring are true. Brooks had a salary that was guaranteed for injury this year but he either gave away the guarantee or was healthy enough to where it would not have been a factor.

By reducing Brooks salary from $13.5 million to $1.12 million the Eagles will be able to carry Brooks on the roster for $12.38 million less than his original contract bringing his cap charge to about $7.1 million. If they were forced to release Brooks in March he would have cost $15.76 million on the salary cap. Now they will be able to carry Brooks on the roster at $7.1 million until June 1. On June 2nd they will make the retirement official with the NFL and Brooks’ cap charge will reduce to $5.939 million in 2022 and they can defer $9.797 in dead money to 2023.

This was by far the best case scenario for Philadelphia if Brooks was not going to play this year. Often when players restructure deals and people say its for the good of the team it is meaningless since the teams generally control the rights to restructure. In this case this truly was a deal that was done in the best interest of the Eagles. The Eagles are now estimated to have about $24 million in cap room in 2022.

Looking at the Saints 2022 Salary Cap

With Sean Payton stepping down as coach of the Saints the questions are rolling in about whether or not the Saints should be headed to a rebuild. Payton may have had the finest year of his career last season helping guide the Saints to a 9-8 seasons despite not really having a typical NFL quarterback for most of the season. With Payton gone they lose the most important member of their organization as they face major salary cap problems for the second straight season. The question is can the team really trade off assets to still comply with the salary cap next year?  Let’s see if they can or can not.

We currently estimate the Saints to be about $76 million over the projected 2022 salary cap of $208.2 million. That number does include a few assumptions. It assumes that the team will not extend the contracts of Terron Armstead, Jameis Winston, and Tre’Quan Smith before they void. Of those three Armstead is the only  player whose cap number would decrease if they extended him. He would also be the most expensive.

First lets start with who I believe would be the obvious restructure candidates. These would be the players who are expected to be in for the long haul and would be valuable during a rebuilding season.

OT Ryan Ramczyk– The team extended Ramczyk just last season and it is possible that he could make the move over to left tackle if Armstead does not return. He has a $23.0 million cap charge or which $3.8 million is a sunk cost and the rest can be restructured. By converting all of his roster bonus and salary to a bonus the team will open up $14.565 million in cap room. That leaves them with $61 million to find in cap relief.

CB Marshon Lattimore– While Lattimore would probably get a decent return in a trade he also is a player who was just extended and probably someone they see set for the long haul. He carries a massive $27.45 million cap charge of which the team can restructure an equally massive $24.1 million. They can create $18.454 million in a restructure. This brings the team to $43 million over the cap.

QB Taysom Hill– One of the more polarizing players in the league due to his salary, Hill certainly is not going to be traded and may very well be the starting QB next season. Hill has a $12.3 million cap charge of which about $9 million can be reworked. They can open up $7.252 million in cap space with a Hill restructure. That would bring the Saints to about $36 million over the cap.

G Andrus Peat– If there was a contract that the Saints probably wish they could have back it is this one. Peat has only played in 19 games in the last two years but his salary is already fully guaranteed for the season so they do not really have any options. The team would need to add two void years to his contract to max out savings which would make sense to do here. His cap figure is $15.45 million and they can bring that down by $7.852 million. That gets the team to $28 million under.

I would call that the end of the obvious restructures if the goal is to tear things down which would mean leaving the contracts of Cameron Jordan, Michael Thomas, and Marcus Davenport, and Demario Davis intact.

The next area to look at are player cuts. Here we want to look at a few players where the Saints would save some cap room with their release.

CB Bradley Roby– The team took a shot on Roby last year and it did not work out. His cap charge is $10.17 million and they can save $9.5 million with his release. That brings us to $19.1 million over the cap.

DL David Onyemata– Onyemata has a $13.17 million cap charge and they would save $3.83 million if he were cut. He was a starter for the team in the 11 games he played and it would be a lot of snaps to replace so they could try a restructure as well, but he will be 30 next year and not in the long term future. So lets call it a release for now.   That’s would bring us to $25.9 million once we factor in the cost of a replacement player on the roster.

S Malcom Jenkins– Similar to Onyemata, Jenkins is a full time player for the Saints and would leave a void in the secondary, but he is also on the wrong side of 30. Jenkins carries an $11.7 million cap charge. They would save $3.8 million with his release and you cant count out a restructure if they just run it back for another year. But again Ill go with the release here. That’s gets us to about $12.9M over the cap.

K Wil Lutz– Having a kicker count for $5.57 million on the cap is probably a luxury they can’t afford. That said releasing him only saves $1.7 million and once you consider the replacement player cost its just $1 million that is going to be created. $11.8 million over.

RB Mark Ingram– There is no reason for Ingram to be on the Saints at a cap charge of $2.3 million next year. There is no dead money associated with his release. $10.3 million over the cap.

DE Tanoh Kpassagnon– The team can create $2.35 million with his release. He was basically a 40% snap guy and you could argue he is fine at that salary but for the cap troubles they have I would imagine he would be released.  That brings the team to $8.6 million over the cap.

So now we need to circle back around to the restructures as we pick and choose who stays and who goes. It is possible that someone could come from the cuts list could also be restructured but for now lets just work with the veterans who are left on the team.

DE Cam Jordan– Jordan is still a terrific player and he carries a $23.181 million cap charge. There is really nothing saved by trading him and given his history in New Orleans I can’t picture them trading him even if he would have value in a trade. Hey can save $10.864 million by restructuring all the salary in his contract and another $500,000 by putting a team qualifier in his contract for his LTBE incentive. This puts the Saints under the salary cap for 2022.

That would now leave the door open for the Saints to explore the trade markets for Michael Thomas, Marcus Davenport, and Demario Davis. For any trade to occur the player would need to be held on his full salary cap charge until the start of the new league year so the above moves should get them cap compliant. Trading any of these player wont open up much cap room but it would bring in some assets for the future.

That isn’t to say that the Saints would be locked at the number mentioned above. There are still some triggers to pull. They could save $8.4 million with Alvin Kamara, but I am always hesitant about restructuring RB deals so really they should only do that if they need the room for a specific reason. Any player who is not going to be traded can also be restructured. Davis would open up $5.1 million, Davenport $6.8 million, etc… So they can probably be in the ballpark of $25 million in cap space with a trade of Michael Thomas still possible if he is the only player they would want to trade.

Of course this defers more to 2023 where the Saints currently have the 2nd worst cap situation in the NFL but the way the team has to work is to just go year to year until they flush more of the players out of the system who have been restructured over and over through the years.  This is probably going to be reminiscent of the Saints 2014 to 2016 run where they were always top 5 in dead money and went 7-9 three years straight, except now they need to do that without Payton and Drew Brees on the team.