Salary cap recap 07.27.18: Paul Turner for Troy Niklas swap has miniscule 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 waived tight end Troy Niklas. I am presuming there will be $250,000 in dead money resulting from his release. The $250,000 consists of:

--$75,000 in signing bonus.
--$75,000 in offseason workout bonus.
--$100,000 in fully guaranteed salary. If Niklas gets paid by another team this season, the Patriots will then receive a credit on their 2019 cap up to $100,000. Since his minimum weekly salary is $46,470.59, Niklas would have to spend at least three weeks on another team's 53-man roster for New England to receive all of their $100,000 credit. This is what it is called an offset. Teams use an offset to prevent players from double-dipping (that is, getting paid by two separate teams during the same season).

2. We learned the details of the Eddie Pleasant signing. His salary will be $800,000. His deal also contains 46-man active roster bonuses -- he will earn $4,687.50 for each game that he is active for. Since Pleasant was active for all 16 games with the Texans last year, his total 46-man active roster amount is $75,000, which means his cap number is $875,000. Ulrick John now replaces Pleasant on the Top 51 list, so his $705,000 salary now counts against the cap.

3. We learned the details of the Nate Theaker signing. As I projected earlier, he was indeed signed to a one-year deal. His salary will be $480,000. Theaker's salary is too small to now count against the cap.

4. They signed wide receiver Paul Turner. His deal should be for one year, and his salary will be $555,000. Like Theaker, Turner's salary is also too small to now count against the cap.

Overall, the net effect of today's transactions is a loss of $15,000 in cap space. My new salary cap space number is $8,713,840.

5. The Patriots reached an injury settlement with safety David Jones. This is good news for the Patriots salary cap. Jones who would have counted $363,000 against the salary cap in September, but will now count for much less. How much less? We will wait for the details. The minimum length of an injury settlement is three weeks, so the amount of Jones' injury settlement will be at least $64,059. If Jones' injury was as serious as Corey Vereen's was in 2017, his injury settlement could cover six weeks and be $128,118. For the record, $64,059, $128,118 or an amount in between is at least $240,000 in cap savings over keeping Jones on IR for the entire 2018 season. Please note -- the rest of the NFL can now sign Jones to a contract while the Patriots have to wait the length of the injury settlement ... and another three weeks. (For example, if the injury settlement is for three weeks, the Patriots could re-sign Jones after the completion of Week 6.)

Answering some logical follow-up questions:

Question: How much dead money do the Patriots now have?

Answer: $4,268,586 or 2.37 percent.

Question: How much cap space have the Patriots had at the start of training camp?

Answer:
2013: About ten million
2014: Six million
2015: 8.9 million
2016: 8.9 million
2017: $13.4 million

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

Answer: Six. In descending order by 2018 cap number
Rob Gronkowski: Through the 2019 season
Dwayne Allen: 2019
Will Tye: 2018
Jacob Hollister:2019
Ryan Izzo: 2021
Shane Wimann: 2020

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

Answer: Eleven. 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
Paul Turner: 2018
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: $170,896,749 with 92 signed players. The Patriots have placed Darren Andrews and Cody Hollister on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list.
2018 CAP SPACE: $8,713,840

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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