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The New England Patriots have released CB Ras-I Dowling in a bit of a surprising early roster move. Dowling was the first pick in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft, but has battled injuries for the last two seasons. Perhaps this is a situation where New England had seen enough and feared injury occurring in the 4th Preseason game tying them down to a player they did not want.
By no means was this a salary dump. As a top second round pick, Dowling had a portion of his salary guaranteed this season. The Patriots will still pay Dowling $351,377 of his $732,190 Paragraph 5 salary. The savings are just $380,813 which means the team will actually lose net cap space in 2013 by cutting him once his roster spot is taken by another player. The minimum salary in 2013 for a player is $405,000.
The Patriots will carry a dead money charge of $1,065,759 in 2013, assuming he earned his workout bonus this season, and $589,382 in 2014.
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Jason is the founder of OTC and has been studying NFL contracts and the salary cap for over 15 years. Jason has co-authored two books about the NFL, Crunching Numbers and the Drafting Stage, which are widely circulated in the industry and hosts the OTC Podcast. Jason’s work has been featured in various publications including the Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, NFL Network and more. OTC is widely considered the leading authority on contract matters in the NFL.