Jets

Thoughts on the Revis Contract with the Buccaneers

Posted on by Jason Fitzgerald

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According to Jenna Laine (and multiple other outlets) Darrelle Revis’ new contract with the Buccaneers will average $16 million a season with no guaranteed money. The contract appears to be a straight $16 million a year in cash contract.

The APY of the deal will match that of DE Mario Williams but will fall short of the yearly cash flows of the first two years of Williams’ DeMarcus Ware, and Terrell Suggs if the reports of the cap structure are true. The contract signals a very different approach between the negotiations between Revis and the New York Jets in the past and the current deal with the Buccaneers.

In 2010 the Jets and Revis entered into a very bitter renegotiation  when Revis held out following a historic 2009 season that put the cornerback on the map as something more than just a good player, but in the discussion of being a Hall of Fame level talent. Revis had some major sticking points in that contract which included a desire to be the highest paid cornerback in the NFL and having firm guarantees in his contract. At the time he was looking to match the 3 year cash flows of Nnamdi Asomugha, then of the Raiders, who signed a contract that was completely out of the whack with the rest of the position and the league, and then translate that APY to a long term deal.

At one point during negotiations Revis’ business manager publically took to Twitter to mock a contract signed by D’Brickashaw Ferguson for containing injury only protection that would roll over to full guarantees if he made it to a certain date on the Jets roster. A comparison was deals signed by Master P, whose incentive laden deal for RB Ricky Williams was the subject of ridicule for many years by those inside the sport. The Jets were rumored to have offered Revis close to $100 million dollars over a very long period but Revis’ people fought back in the press on the basis that it contained no real guarantees to protect Revis.

Eventually the two sides settled on a contract in which Revis would match the 2 year payout the Raiders gave to Asomugha but not the three year total. The contract would be short term rather than long term but with 46% of the deal fully guaranteed and all but the $6 million payout in the fourth and final year of the deal “functionally guaranteed”.

Fast forward three years and Revis is agreeing to a contract with absolutely no guarantees in the contract, and seemingly not matching the cash flows of the biggest defensive players in the game during the meaningful years of the contract. It shows just how important that APY and distinction of being the highest paid defender was to him.

From the Buccaneers perspective this looks to be a very team friendly contract. They did not have to cave in on their standard no bonus structure and will take no dead money penalties if Revis is unhealthy and not worth the money. Compare that with the Jets who will now take a $12 million dollar dead money hit to watch Revis play as a Buccaneer. The high cash payments likely negate a Revis hold out, something he had done twice with the Jets and supposedly wanted to do last season as well, but was contractually blocked from doing so. At $16 million a year and with a stagnant salary cap and de-emphasizing of the position Revis likely has no avenue to ever make more money by holding out.

This will be the first defensive contract since the Asomugha contract to “break the system” in terms of positional valuation. At $16 million a year this represents a value that is around 64% higher than that of the 5th highest paid corner. It is unlikely that any player, especially one on defense, can have that kind of impact on a game to justify the high price tag. Of the other teams who “broke the system” and overslotted cap for specific players only the Vikings and Adrian Peterson made the playoffs last season. The other teams to overslot were the Cardinals (Larry Fitzgerald), Titans (Chris Johnson), and Lions (Calvin Johnson). So Revis will get an opportunity to prove a league wrong about the valuations placed on certain positions.

If he fails to do so the Buccaneers won’t hesitate to let him go and it will likely be another GM making the call. The Buccaneers have geared up via free agency and trades to compete now for the playoffs. They have many pieces in place and this will put tremendous pressure on QB Josh Freeman, in a contract year, to up his level of play to match that of some of the star players they have put on the team.  If they fail these are the type of moves that see a front office completely turn over.

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Preparing for the Future: The AFC East

Posted on by Jason Fitzgerald

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As we lead up to the draft I thought it might be fun to start looking ahead at some teams rosters and futures to help determine likelihood of trading down, good spots for undrafted free agents, and teams that will still be shopping in the bargain bin. We start with the AFC East:

Buffalo Bills

The Bills have 44 players under contract in 2014, which is the upper tier of the NFL. The only projected starters set to be unrestricted free agent are  C Eric Wood and TE Scott Chandler, while reserves RT Sam Young, OLB Bryan Scott, DT Alan Branch, and OLB Arthur Moats will also see free agency in 2014. I have the Bills estimated to carry around $107 million in cap charges in 2014, which is a pretty safe figure considering their roster size with likely cap casualties of WR/KR/QB Brad Smith and DE Mark Anderson either this summer or next season. Clearly the Bills are in desperate need of a QB  and could be a team that would look to move up if there was one they felt they loved and needed in round 1 or 2. Because the team seems to be set in a lot of positions this may not be a great fit for undrafted players unless they played the ILB position where the Bills are completely lacking or the OLB position where a prospect could show enough to eventually displace the players set to leave next season. That, of course, depends on the defense that the team runs. If they switch to a 34 Defensive end could be a more pressing concern. In terms of positional drafting QB, DE, and LB would seem to be major areas.  If any type of cornerback comes here they have pretty much no shot of making it.

Miami Dolphins

Miami looks to be an interesting team as they head into the draft. Clearly they were big spenders in free agency and they do have 41 players under contract next season with more than enough cap room for 2014, but they have a ton of projected starters and reserves whose contracts expire at the end of the 2013 League Year. The names include DT Paul Soliai, DT Randy Starks, CB Brent Grimes, G Richie Incognito, TE Dustin Keller, S Reshad Jones,  and S Chris Clemons. That’s nearly half of the projected defensive starters. The Dolphins have clearly been built as a win now team and with that in mind they are a team that could look to make an impact in the coming weeks. By 2015 the Dolphins only have 15 players under contract, 6th lowest in the NFL as of April 18th. They are already rumored to be trading for Branden Albert from the Chiefs, a bit of a strange move since they could have kept Jake Long for probably lesser money, so they would be out at least one draft choice to make that move. I’d imagine on draft day they want a player that they think can slot in right away and play for the team. Miami has a ton of draft picks and even if they trade two away will still have 9 picks in the draft. I doubt that will draft for anything but positional need with an eye on both this year and next year, specifically improving the secondary. Considering the moving of parts that could occur after this season I would consider this a decent landing spot for UDFAs to have a as low cost active roster players or Practice Squad players to get noticed and perhaps stick around in the future.  The one negative to signing with Miami is that with so many draft picks and big name new acquisitions it will be much more difficult for a UDFA to stand out.

New England Patriots

The Patriots essentially have no draft this year. They have late picks in the 1st thru 3rd round and then don’t pick again until the 7th round.  The Patriots have a large number of free agents after this season but only 4 project as starters. The team has 44 players under contract for 2014 and limited cap space. The Patriots I think would like to find a receiver and could also look for more interior linemen as both their center and backup are free agents next season. Given that the Patriots are a “now” team I could see them trading back or out entirely and trying to stockpile picks in the future. The team is going to have holes at ILB, WR, CB, C, and potentially DT in the near future making those areas of interest, but if they don’t see the payoff this year and a more desperate team comes calling Id expect the Patriots to play the trade game and wait to reload at a later date.

New York Jets

The Jets are clearly in the midst of a massive rebuild. The team only has 36 players under contract in 2014, 8th fewest in the NFL, and of those 36 many are not likely to be here during or after this season. Of their current projected starting lineup 5 offensive players are free agents after 2013 and 3 defensive starters will be free agents. By 2015 over half of the current projected starters will have their current contracts expire a number that does not include Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes, players who are as good as gone as soon as the cap allows. This is a long term plan with no real quick fix here. If you notice the Jets signed no long term deals this past offseason, the longest contract running all of 3 years. The Jets did not go off the deep end restructuring contracts and did not extend the terms of Antonio Cromartie’s contract for added cap relief nor get deeper on C Nick Mangold for a quick fix in 2013. They did not seem to approach a number of former starters about coming back, including Dustin Keller and Mike DeVito, both of whom signed reasonably priced contracts elsewhere. Those are often signs of a team  with plans of jettisoning a number of players and playing the compensatory pick game as best they can. The Jets are trying to move CB Darrelle Revis and with all the holes on the team there is no reason why they should not do it. This is a long term rebuild which means a ton of draft selections are of the utmost importance and it’s a great home for UDFA’s. The only position where the Jets will have stability is at the DE position where Muhammad Wilkerson and Quinton Coples look like long term building blocks. Otherwise this is a clear BAP draft and I would think the Jets will actively shop players, both big name and small name, all summer long.

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Trade Implications: Mark Sanchez

Posted on by Jason Fitzgerald

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I had a lot of questions pertaining the Jets possible trade of QB Mark Sanchez as reported by Pro Football Talk. While I still think that Santonio Holmes makes the most sense for both sides as a throw in for CB Darrelle Revis lets examine some of the reasons why the Jets would make the trade:

1. Cap and Cash Space

If the Jets were to trade Mark Sanchez without any contract modification they would transfer to the Buccaneers $8.25 million in fully guaranteed base salary and $500,000 in workout bonus money, saving the Jets from paying another $8.75 million to the struggling QB.

Sanchez currently carries a cap charge for the Jets of $12,853,125, 2nd highest on the team. Between signing bonuses, salary advances and guaranteed salary it would have cost the Jets $17,153,125 in dead money to release Sanchez. If traded, however, the salary guarantees will move to Tampa leaving the Jets with just $8,903,125 in dead money, creating $3,950,000 in cap room for the Jets.

2. Offsetting some of the cap space lost to Revis

Trading Revis will cost the Jets $3 million in cap room plus the cost of the additional draft pick that replaces him. I have estimated the cost of the 13th pick in the NFL draft to be $1,828,000 in cap in 2013, making the trade of Revis cost the Jets $4.828 million in cap room. Sanchez’ net cap savings of $3.47 million (assuming he is replaced by a player earning $480,000) makes the cap effect of the Revis trade much more reasonable to the Jets.

3. Preparing for 2014

I heard a lot of comments, specifically on ESPN this afternoon, about how this does nothing to help the Jets now. Free agency is over and the Jets would give the QB away for nothing. What has to be realized is that the Jets are in a full scale rebuilding mode. While not to the level of the Raiders rebuild, the Jets essentially have no roster in 2014. As of the 11th of April the Jets had only 33 players under contract in 2014. Of those 33 players 3 have almost no chance of being on the team in 14 (Sanchez, Holmes, and Tim Tebow) and 11 are non-bonus longer shot types to remain. Functionally we are looking at probably 25 players plus 6 or 7 from this years draft, putting the Jets in a clear position to rebuild the club via free agency and the draft.

The offsetting cap space created by include Sanchez in the Revis trade would allow the Jets to carryover more salary cap money to 2014 that can be used to be more active in free agency. Moreso it eliminates $4.8 million in dead money that would be on the books in 2014 if the Jets carried him until then. So in essence the Jets cap space is going to be inflated by $8.75 million next year if they can include Sanchez in a trade.

4. Eliminating the Ugly Scene During the Season

As a long suffering Jets fan I can tell you that the treatment Sanchez received last season was probably worse than any QB in recent memory which is saying something when you consider the struggles the Jets have had. Whether it was or wasn’t all Sanchez’ fault the last two years the fact is the fanbase thinks it is. IMO, the Jets benched Sanchez last year as much to avoid the home field response as it was to try out Greg McElroy.  If the team has lost faith in Sanchez there is almost no need to deal with the negative PR associated with him trotting out on the field, especially in the event he is backing up David Garrard. Garrard hasn’t taken a snap since 2010 and is an injury waiting to happen. I remember when the crowd booed Chad Pennington  coming in for relief when Jay Fiedler got injured in 2005. That will seem like nothing compared to what would happen if Sanchez is the backup and forced into action.

The Buccaneers, Eric Wright, Darrelle Revis, and the Jets

Posted on by Jason Fitzgerald

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Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have renegotiated the contract of CB Eric Wright reducing his base salary from $7.75 million to $1.5 million, a $6.25 million dollar paycut. While Wright can earn up to another $1.5 million in unknown incentives it is likely that these incentives will not count towards the salary cap in the 2013 season. This move leaves the Buccaneers with about $33 million in cap space which opens up a number of questions about what they plan on doing with the cap room.

First I just wanted to discuss the situation with Wright. Everyone is well aware that Wright signed a lucrative contract last year, but voided his guarantees when he was suspended in 2012. This left Wright in a bad position when it came to roster security. The Buccaneers are one of the few NFL teams that employ almost a pure cash to cap philosophy. Outside of rookies very few players on the roster have any cap protection that comes from the potential of dead money acceleration. Tampa Bay simply guarantees P5 salary, typically for two years, and once the guarantees vanish so can the player without penalty. Wright’s roster spot was clearly in jeopardy.

The decision to keep Wright benefits both sides. From Tampa’s perspective you have to consider where would they get another cornerback with the same upside at this stage of free agency?  The answer is they couldn’t. $1.5 million is a bargain even in this market, The NFC South is a pass happy division in a much stronger conference making cornerbacks a premium position within the division. You need two of them in the division more than any other division in the NFL. From Wright’s point of view the cornerback market grew incredibly soft and he is coming off a very low point in his career. Free agency is basically at an end and the teams with the most cap room such as the Browns, Jaguars, Eagles and Bengals would likely not be looking for a player like Wright. Other teams might show interest but they may not even match the $3 million potential Wright gets in Tampa Bay. In return for accepting a low salary the remainder of his contract, per reports, will void, giving him a shot at free agency next season when, in theory, the market might be better.  The other added benefit for Wright deals with the potential trade with the Jets for CB Darrelle Revis. If Wright plays alongside Revis he could benefit greatly from the situation.

The added cap space for the Buccaneers is only going to add fuel to the fire on the Revis speculation and I am going to feed into that here as well. The logical reason that the Buccaneers are interested in creating more cap room would be to frontload a contract for the injured Revis and protect their salary cap in the event Revis is not the same player post surgery. Remember how I said that the Buccaneers like to guarantee 2 years of a contract, well when you are looking to sign a deal with a Revis that is going to be a large amount of money. With $33 million in cap space and likely no first round draft pick to sign the Buccaneers could give Revis as much as $26 million in 2013 in both cap and cash considerations.

Per the rules of the CBA Revis would need to earn at least $13 million in 2014 to avoid the difference being treated as a signing bonus. Per my estimates the Buccaneers have around $98.25 in cap commitments in 2014 for 43 players, making a $13 million dollar hit very reasonable for the team. While they do need to either re-sign Josh Freeman or find a new QB, both moves are doable within the Bucanners cap especially considering that they could be parting with two number 1 draft picks in a trade with the Jets. Structuring a deal this way gets $39 million out of the way in two years, a number almost equal to the $40 million two year payout received by the Bills Mario Williams, who Revis is looking at as a guide for his contract. By using conditional guarantees in the third year of the contract the Buccaneers could likely structure a deal where Revis could be cut in 2015 with no or limited penalty if unhealthy.

The other more “out of the box” possibility is that the Buccaneers are creating cap space to essentially take on a salary dump from the Jets. In other sports we see trades for cash, something that can’t be done in the NFL. But if a team has the cap space to absorb a bad contract with guaranteed salary they can sweeten a trade offer by essentially taking a majority of the cash and cap obligation away from the trading team.

The Jets have three bad contracts on their team that contain minimal prorated money but guaranteed base salaries. These guaranteed salaries essentially prevent the Jets from cutting the player but by no means prevent the trade of a player. The two big ones on the books are LB David Harris and WR Santonio Holmes. Harris has $9.5 million in fully guaranteed salary in 2013 and a $13 million dollar cap hit. If traded Harris’ dead money would only be $4 million freeing up $9 million in cap for the Jets. Holmes carries a $9 million dollar cap hit, $7.5 million of which comes from a fully guaranteed base salary. Trading Holmes frees up $5.25 million in cap space for the Jets. The other name is QB Tim Tebow, who only carries a $2.586 million dollar cap charge, of which $1.531 million is owed to  the Denver Broncos. None of these 3 players, to the best of my knowledge, carry any guaranteed salary in 2014 pretty much making them a 1 year rental for Tampa with no damage done to their future salary cap.

Of these names the two that make the most sense would be Holmes and Tebow. Holmes, if healthy, could be a good complement to WR’s Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams giving Freeman another weapon in the passing game. Holmes could be convinced to play the slot in Tampa. The money he would free in cap space would balance out the $3 million loss of cap from Revis and the $1.83 million cap charge the 13th pick in the draft should carry making the trade much more acceptable to the Jets. If Tampa has to part with a 1st round pick in 2013 plus a 2nd or another 1st in 2014 the addition of a second contributing player in the trade will make the price more acceptable to the Buccaneers. Tebow does not benefit in the same way, but gives the Jets the chance to save face and money from the ill advised trade with the Broncos. The low cap charge for Tebow would not impact the Bucs ability to frontload a deal with Revis the way Holmes’ would.

While nothing more than wild speculation on my part I do think that it can provide a pretty interesting way to manipulate the salary cap that has not really been used at all in the past. As more teams move towards the cash to cap philosophy it could open the door for more teams to consider trades as a normal business operation to fix a teams salary cap.

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Thoughts on Darrelle Revis…

Posted on by Jason Fitzgerald

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I just wanted to touch on a few things Revis this morning. There were multiple stores yesterday on conditions in Revis’ contract with the Jets that tie together his three offseason bonuses. I think Rich Cimini was the first with the story but pretty much everyone on the Jets beat had similar information. I have to admit those conditions were news to me and illustrated a very strong position maintained by the Jets in regards to Revis. While the Jets were not happy to rework Revis’ contract back in 2010 the Jets did a stellar job of protecting themselves from another holdout from their star cornerback, essentially taking away his ability to collect some money in the offseason to support a holdout position throughout the summer.

Per terms of the CBA the Jets would still have the legal right to attack most of Revis’ money if he held out. The CBA gives teams the ability to go after offseason roster bonuses, reporting bonuses, option bonuses, etc… if the player holds out in the year that he earned the money. Still it becomes a long drawn out process to get that money back in small chunks over the course of the season. With the protection in Revis’ contract its much simpler- the Jets simply do not pay it.

One of the things that has confused me in the whole Revis debate yesterday is whether or not participation at workouts can force him to lose his other bonuses. I have seen deals where escalators and de-escalators as well as incentivized bonuses are tied to workout participation, though I have never seen a post earned bonus affected by lack of participation in a voluntary workout. Through numerous Twitter discussions yesterday I think contract guru Joel Corry pointed out that it was the mandatory offseason activities that are a condition of his earning his offseason bonuses not participation in workouts. Failing to complete his workouts simply has him missing out on a $1 million dollar check.

Just to point out the overall contract structure of Revis’ deal, minus these conditions, is not unique as some method to prevent a holdout. The Jets probably tie more money into offseason bonuses than any team in the NFL. I don’t know if that will continue with a new general manger but that is pretty much a fact. The Jets are big believers in offseason participation and to ensure it they offer large bonuses to players to attend voluntary workouts. This was a big point of contention in 2011 during the lockout because the Jets players had so much money to lose. Per my records the Jets have 9 players who have the chance to earn at least $100,000 by attending offseason workouts, 4 of whom have bonuses greater than $500,000. Revis tops the list at $1 million. D’Brickashaw Ferguson is second at $750,000.

The Jets have also used reporting bonuses in their contracts. I think it was Ferguson who was the first of their younger  guys to receive reporting bonuses towards the end of his contract. Mangold also has them in his deal. Offseason roster bonuses are neither uncommon nor do they have anything to do with holdout prevention. Typically an offseason roster bonus is designed to force a team to make a decision on a players future before free agency kicks in. There is nothing worse for a player than to be cut in late April after all the free agent dollars have been used up by the other 31 teams. This forces the team to at least give the player a “parting gift” if they change their mind and move on at a later date. Again Revis’ conditions are unique to a holdout but the presence of the bonus is not. Offseason money is a benefit to a player in most situations.

Revis’ situation is a bit unique in that the team is looking to trade him though it would not be the first time the Jets have moved a player that attended the early stages of workouts. In 2009 Kenyon Coleman, among others, was traded to the Cleveland Browns during the NFL draft. He ended up completing workouts with and being paid by the Browns that year. Alan Faneca was released in the middle of workouts after the Jets drafted Vlad Ducasse in the second round in 2010. The Jets paid Faneca his bonus.

Per the terms of Revis’ contract he must attend around 29 of 36 scheduled workouts if he wants to earn the $1 million dollar bonus with either the Jets or the Buccaneers, rumored to be his landing spot in a trade. Renegotiating that aspect is not really an option even if the two sides were on speaking terms as a renegotiation would limit Revis’ ability to negotiate a new long term contract with the Jets or a team he is traded to due to limitations of renegotiating a contract twice in 12 months where a pay increase is involved. The Jets are also not going to set a precedent of any type when it comes to offseason workouts.

The Jets offseason program begins on April 15. While I am not 100% certain of how this works I would imagine Revis could miss the first few days and still qualify for his $1 million dollar bonus, since it seems his bonus is tied to a number of dates not a total per week. I do not believe he could make it all the way to the draft, though, and still qualify. He would miss too many dates at that point. In the offseason Phase before the draft workouts are strictly rehab and conditioning with no contact with coaches during the workouts. Obviously he cant avoid seeing people around the office, but its more of an opportunity to get in and get out than in the later stages of the program. This could be a situation where he waits until he has more knowledge as to the Jets plans with him. If Revis does believe that the Jets will trade him he can sit these two weeks out until the draft and then deal with the Buccaneers. If Tampa signs him to an extension the fact that he did not attend 2 weeks of Jets offseason workouts will not matter. He will get his money regardless from the Buccaneers.

This is one of two strange offseason situations involving the Jets. While I think Revis’ situation is unique due to his stature and the trade possibility I do think if you have no intention of keeping a player you should release him before your offseason program begins. That is often a reason behind the early April releases for many teams. In the Jets case most feel that Tim Tebow is no longer in the teams plans. Based on the trade market last season and the rumored trade market this year the odds of finding a partner for him on draft day are next to nothing. He also does not have a role where you are finding a draft day replacement for him either. The Jets should know by now if he is or is not in their plans this season. While Tebow has no contracted workout bonuses in  his deal he should be released prior to the start of workouts if the Jets want to avoid that whole situation as well.

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Reported vs Effective Cap Space

Posted on by Jason Fitzgerald

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Great question yesterday from DMB asking about “reported” cap space versus “real” or “effective” cap space. Upon reading it I realized it would be a great post topic and since I have a large Jets readership we will focus on them as an example.

There are a number of misconceptions that occur when people talk of salary cap space during this time of year. Perhaps the biggest comes from a majority of the media who say the team needs to set aside x amount of dollars for the rookie class, which in the Jets case is $5.6 million. We have touched on that before but the basic consideration that is missed is that each player being signed replaces a player already under contract so the space needed is much less than the full amount.

Secondly you have to remember that during the offseason only 51 players count towards the cap. Once the regular season begins you have to account for 53. Not only that but you have to allocate resources for a practice squad, injured reserve replacements, injury settlements, and possible grievances. Each team also is going to want a cushion to make sure they are not forced to re-work deals in the season to remain cap compliant in the event of excessive injuries or other unexpected cap issues.

Now going back to the Jets DMB wanted to work under the assumption that the Jets are trading Revis before the draft. Considering the Jets have been shopping Revis this is a pretty solid assumption as to a contingency that the Jets must build into their cap management right now. So here is how you break down the real cap space for the Jets.

Start: $13 million- Reported cap room for the Jets

Less: $4 million- Loss of cap space in a trade of Revis due to acceleration of bonuses paid

Less: $480,000- Replacement of Revis on roster by 52nd highest cap player

Less: $5.6 million- Estimated Year One Rookie Pool Allocation for Jets 7 draft picks

Add: $1.92 million- Rookie displacement of players 48-51 in the current salary cap ($480,000 x 4)

Add:  $1.215 million- Removing the base salaries from the rookie pool for players who do not displace a current top 51 contract ($405,000 x 3)

Less: $960,000- For players 52 and 53 who will now count against the cap once the season begins

Less: $816,000- Maintaining an 8 player Practice Squad for the season (8 x 17 x $6,000)

Finish: $4.279 million- This is the Jets effective cap space for the season.

So for all of the fans of the team clamoring for the Jets to spend that $13 million and wondering why certain players are not being retained or signed this is why. $13 million for the Jets is really only worth about $4.3 million in actual spending room unless they decide to not trade Revis before the draft. And that $4.3 million is really the amount you probably want as the in-season cushion to make sure you can operate effectively and deal with those costs mentioned above dealing with injury replacements, settlements, and other emergency needs of cap dollars. Basically the Jets are limited to signing minimum salary benefit players until a decision is made on Revis. Those MSB players will only cut into the cap by about $150,000.

While the Jets are unique in that they need to plan for a trade of a player the method above is relevant for most teams in the league. If Revis’ trade was not a possibility it would be around $8.76 million which would give the Jets really an opportunity to sign maybe 1 player of note with the $13 million in reported cap room. So that is why sometimes the cap numbers that I put on a page or you see reported elsewhere don’t really mean spending money, which is what everyone thinks they mean. You have to adjust for what is going to happen in the season.

As you look at the cap estimates I have there are a number of teams who don’t have the real cap space to actually function in August and September. Teams like the Chiefs, Rams, Redskins, Saints, and Giants are going to need to restructure more deals or make more cuts in July and August to be able to navigate the 2013 season. Teams such as the Lions and Titans are probably finished without paycuts. Teams like the Broncos and Patriots may be able to add an extra player before shutting the door on free agency. The reality is there are only 5 or 6 teams left that can actually spend on some of the more quality players who are still floating in free agency. Money is really that tight in the league right now.

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