Salary cap recap 11.13.18: More NLTBE bonuses means less cap space for Patriots

Measuring the moves the Patriots made the last couple of days and their impact on the salary cap:



1. On Nov. 7, the Patriots signed running back Josh Ferguson to the practice squad. They waived him two days later. Ferguson was paid $7,600 for his very brief stay.

2. Also on Nov. 7, they signed offensive lineman Matt Tobin to the 53-man roster. Tobin's cap number is $296,471 ($630,000 divided by seventeen weeks times the eight remaining weeks).

3. New England made room for Tobin by waiving defensive lineman Geneo Grissom. Grissom was paid $41,471 for the week.

4. On Nov. 8 the Patriots signed offensive lineman Cole Croston to the practice squad. Croston's cap number is $60,800 ($7,600 times eight weeks).

5. New England made room on the practice squad by releasing safety David Jones. Jones was paid $7,600 for the week.

6. On Nov. 9 the Patriots signed wide receiver Damoun Patterson to the practice squad. Patterson's cap number is $60,800 ($7,600 times eight weeks).

7. The Patriots lost $31,250 in cap space when Chris Hogan earned a NLTBE 46-man active roster bonus. Hogan has been active ten times this season after being active only nine times in 2017. His 46-man active roster bonus is $31,250. The Patriots will lose $187,500 in cap space if Hogan is active for all six of the remaining regular-season games.

8. The Patriots lost $25,000 in cap space when Nate Ebner earned a NLTBE 46-man active roster bonus. Ebner has been active ten times this season after being active only nine times in 2017. His 46-man active roster bonus is $25,000 -- they will lose $150,000 in cap space if Ebner is active for all six of the remaining games.

9. The Patriots lost $25,000 in cap space when Matthew Slater earned a NLTBE 46-man active roster bonus. Slater has been active ten times this season after being active only nine times in 2017. His 46-man active roster bonus is $25,000, which means they will lose $150,000 in cap space if Slater is active for all six of the remaining games.

10. The Patriots lost $31,250 in cap space as Julian Edelman earned another NLTBE 46-man active roster bonus after not being active at all in 2017. Edelman's 46-man active roster bonus is $31,250 -- they will lose $187,500 in cap space if Edelman is active for all six of the remaining games.

11. The Patriots lost $54,687.50 in cap space when Dont'a Hightower earned another NLTBE 46-man active roster bonus. Hightower has been active nine times this season after being active only five times in 2017. They will lose $328,125 in cap space if Hightower is active for all six of the remaining games.

In all, the Patriots will lose a total of $1.65 million in cap space if...

Edelman: $187,500
Hightower: $328,125
Hogan: $150,000
Ebner: $150,000
Slater: $150,000
Marcus Cannon: $187,500
LaAdrian Waddle: $112,500
Brandon King: $46,875
Kyle Van Noy: $93,750
Stephon Gilmore: $93,750
David Andrews: $50,000
James White: $62,500

...are all active for the rest of the year.

The net effect of all of the above moves was to lower the Patriots salary cap space number to $4,311,868 with the 53-man roster and the practice squad being full.

We're still waiting to learn the amount of Malcolm Mitchell's grievance settlement -- his grievance amount of $252,000 remains on the cap. The Boston Herald's Kevin Duffy tweeted in late September that Mitchell's grievance had been settled.

Answering some logical follow-up questions:

Question: When can the eligible players on IR play again with the Patriots?

Answer: Duke Dawson could have played in the Week 9 game against the Packers while Rex Burkhead can play in the Week 14 game against the Vikings on Dec. 2. Per a bylaws change, this year they have to miss eight games, not eight weeks.

Question: When can the players who have previously reached injury settlements re-sign with the Patriots?

Answer: Jordan Matthews - after Week 3. Please note -- Matthews is currently on the Eagles roster.
Nate Theaker - after Week 4
Will Tye - after Week 7
Harvey Langi - after Week 7 . Please note -- Langi is now on the Jets practice squad injured reserve.
Luke Bowanko - after Week 9 . Please note -- Bowanko is now currently on the Washington roster.

Question: Who are the current members of the Patriots practice squad?

Answer:

1. QB Danny Etling


2. CB Jomal Wiltz


3. DE Trent Harris


4. OL Eric Smith


5. TE Stephen Anderson


6. LB Calvin Munson


7. DT Frank Herron


8. LB Ufomba Kamalu


9. OL Cole Croston


10. WR Damoun Patterson

1. Isaiah Wynn


2. Jeremy Hill


3. Duke Dawson - Designated for return on Oct. 24. The deadline to activate him is November 14


4. Ryan Izzo


5. Braxton Berrios


6. Christian Sam


7. Ulrick John


8. Rex Burkhead - Designated for return on November 8. The deadline to activate him is November 29.


9. Ja'Whaun Bentley


10. Eric Rowe


11. Brian Schwenke