Salary cap recap 07.24.18: Nate Theaker for Cody Hollister swap has no impact on Patriots' cap situation

Measuring some of the moves the Patriots made in the last day or so and their impact on the salary cap:



1. The Patriots signed guard Nate Theaker. Theaker was a UDFA in 2017. He was signed by the Cowboys after the 2017 draft. He went on to spend some time on their practice squad, and ended the 2017 season on the Saints' practice squad. New Orleans signed him to a futures contract in January and then waived him in May. Therefore, Theaker does not have a credited season, making his minimum salary for the 2018 season $480,000, the same as a rookie. I expect Theaker's deal to be for the minimum. A $480,000 salary leaves Theaker short of the Top 51 list, so his salary will not now count against the cap.

2. They waived wide receiver Cody Hollister. Since his deal did not have any guaranteed money, there will not be any dead money resulting from Cody's waiver.

3. Since safety David Jones who was waived with an injured designation went unclaimed on waivers, he now becomes the first Patriot to be placed on Injured Reserve this season. By being placed on IR so early, Jones will not be eligible for the Designated to Return designation. Jones' salary will be lowered from $480,000 to $363,000. Please note his salary will not count against the salary cap until the end of the Top 51 rule on September 6. Please note -- Jones and the Patriots may reach an injury settlement in the next several days.

4. The Patriots made the signing of safety Eddie Pleasant official. The minimum salary for a player with Pleasant's experience is $790,000. It's likely Pleasant signed a Minimum Salary Benefit (MSB) deal which would lower the cap hit of his salary to $630,000. A player can receive a maximum of $90,000 in additional compensation while still qualifying for the MSB treatment. For the time being, I will presume Pleasant signed an MSB deal. As such, his cap number will be $720,000 ($630,000 salary, plus the $90,000 in additional compensation). Since the 51st highest cap number on the Patriots is $745,000, Pleasant will not be in the Top 51, so his $630,000 salary will not currently count against the cap. So the signing of a veteran safety will take up $90,000 in cap space.

Answering some logical follow-up questions:

Question: What is a credited season?

Answer: Three games or more on the 53-man roster. Games on Reserve PUP, Injured Reserve, or on practice squad do not count in the credited seasons' calculation.

Question: How many safeties are signed by the Patriots? And for how long?

Answer: Six. In descending order by 2018 cap number
Devin McCourty: Through the 2019 season
Patrick Chung: 2020
Duron Harmon: 2020
Jordan Richards: 2018
Damarius Travis: 2018
Eddie Pleasant: 2018

Question: How many offensive linemen are signed by the Patriots? And for how long?

Answer: Fifteen. In descending order by 2018 cap number
Marcus Cannon: Through the 2021 season
David Andrews: 2018
Sony Michel: 2021 with an option for the 2022 season
Trent Brown: 2018
LaAdrian Waddle: 2018
Joe Thuney: 2018
Ulrick John: 2018
Luke Bowanko: 2021
Matt Tobin: 2018
James Ferentz: 2018
Ted Karras: 2018
Cole Croston: 2019
Jason King: 2018
Nate Theaker: 2018

Question: How many wide receivers are signed by the Patriots? And for how long?

Answer: Fifteen. In descending order by 2018 cap number
Julian Edelman: 2019
Chris Hogan: 2018
Cordarrelle Patterson: 2018
Kenny Britt: 2018
Phillip Dorsett: 2018
Jordan Matthews: 2018
Malcolm Mitchell: 2019
Braxton Berrios: 2021
Devin Lucien: 2018
Riley McCarron: 2018

Question: How many players are now on the Patriots active roster?

Answer: By my count, 90. The offseason limit is 90.

Question: What is the positional breakdown of the Patriots roster?

Answer:


I consider Matthew Slater, Brandon Bolden, Nate Ebner, Nicholas Grigsby, and Brandon King special teamers.

Question: What is your current Patriots 2018 salary cap space number?
Answer -- League cap: $177,200,000
Prior year carryover: $3,012,602
Adjustment: $17,187
Patriots adjusted cap: $180,229,789
Offseason Workout Bonus charge: $619,200
2018 cap commitment: $170,801,749 with 91 signed players. The Patriots have placed Darren Andrews on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list.
2018 CAP SPACE: $8,808,840

Question: How many Patriots players are signed for the 2019 season?

Answer: Fifty-four, with a total cap commitment of $164,335,794.

Question: How many Patriots players are signed for the 2020 season?

Answer: Thirty-one, with a total cap commitment of $83,011,249.

Question: How many Patriots players are signed for the 2021 season?

Answer: Twelve, with a total cap commitment of $35,901,217

Question: How many Patriots players are signed for the 2022 season?

Answer: One (Joe Cardona), with a total cap commitment of $1,210,000

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