Roster Cut Roundup Part II: February 26

After doing our initial post looking at today’s cut we had a few late announcements of cuts that I assume will be made official tomorrow- Steven Jackson and Tyvon Branch.

Branch has spent his entire career with the Raiders and was the last completely out of place contract that defined the Raiders for a generation, before the team began the process of slashing the roster in 2013. Brach was unable to stay healthy the last two seasons, playing in just 5 games over two years. He was to count for $9.65 million against the Raiders cap and will now cost $6.67 million in dead money.

The Raiders already had around $55 million in cap room so the added $3 million is not really a factor for their cap, but they do save $6.5 million in cash. That is significant since one would expect the team to make a big push for notable (and expensive) free agents this year comapred to last year’s shopping spree of older and cheaper players nearing the end of their career.

Jackson never really fit with Atlanta and arguably could have been cut last season rather than trying to get a benefit out of him. Jackson signed a $12 million deal with the team in 2013 and this was the final season of the contract. After 8 straight 1,000 yard seasons with the Rams, Jackson ran for just 1,250 yards in his two seasons with Atlanta. They wil save $3.75 million with his release. They should have in the ballpark of $25 million in cap room.