Good questions this week -- topics include 2020 draft, Brian Hoyer, Kyle Rudolph, Rex Burkhead, Ryan Allen ... and much more. Let's get started.
Why does your salary cap number of $13,120,889 differ from the NFLPA's by about $600,000?
Answer: The main reason? NFLPA is still including Patrick Chung's play-time incentives in his 2019 cap number. They were removed. I expect the NFLPA to correct their data entry error in a couple of weeks. A secondary reason? I'm including the signing bonus prorations of these three UDFAs (Terez Hall, Tyree St. Louis, and Tyler Gauthier).
Answer: Gilmore's cap numbers are:
2019 - $9,170,833
2020 - $18,670,833
2021 - $19,670,834
Answer: $1.71 million in dead money consisting of his $200,000 March roster bonus and his fully guaranteed $1.51 million salary. If he signs with another team Pats will receive a credit up to $1.51 million. Hoyer's minimum salary = $1.03 million. Releasing Hoyer would create $795K in cap space if we presume a player with a $495K takes his roster spot. Since Hoyer is in the last year of his deal the timing of the release/trade has no significance. His dead money scenarios are:
$1.71 million if he's cut and does not sign elsewhere.
$680,000 if he's cut and signs with another team.
$200,000 if traded.
Answer: The offset applies to any cash received by the player, be it salary if placed on IR/PUP or salary if on a team's 53-man roster or salary if on any team's practice squad. For example, Ralph Webb had $50,000 of his 2018 salary guaranteed by the Patriots. It was offset by him earning $38,000 while on the Patriots practice squad, $22,800 on the Buccaneers practice squad and $30,400 on the Steelers practice squad. This year Hall has received the largest salary guarantee ($70,000) of any reported Patriot UDFA. He can earn that $70,000 in three weeks on the 53-man roster or nine weeks on the practice squad.
Answer: QB: Earlier this year, I predicted a quarterback would be chosen in the 2019 draft and the Patriots quarterback of the future will be taken during the first round of the 2020 draft. Continue to believe that. Jarrett Stidham's rookie deal will end in 2022, the same year Tom Brady will stop playing, provided he intends to play three more years past 2019.
Offensive tackle: The Jared Veldheer visit indicates the swing tackle spot may not be locked down even with the drafting of Yodny Cajuste.
Running back: Hopefully, the Damien Harris selection means no more playing a wide receiver at the running back position.
Tight end: Since Stephen Anderson is the only tight end on the Super Bowl LIII 53-man roster currently on the Patriots, expect Patriots to acquire a veteran tight end between now and the start of the regular season.
Wide receiver: Even with the N'Keal Harry selection, the Patriots can’t have enough receiving options for Brady.
Guard: The drafting of Hjalte Froholdt seems like a proactive move, given that both Joe Thuney and Ted Karras are in the last year of their deals.
Defensive tackle: Even after the Byron Cowart pick, the Patriots still need to replace Danny Shelton and/or Malcom Brown.
Safety: The cap numbers and ages of the safety trio (Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, and Duron Harmon) dictate finding a replacement or two sooner than later.
Special teams: Matthew Slater, Nate Ebner, and Brandon King are all in the last year of their deals. Are the replacements currently on their roster? Or is there a UDFA standout in training camp who could take one of their roster spots?
Punter: Addressed below in another answer.
Cornerback: After the Joejuan Williams and Ken Webster selections, the Patriots are extremely strong and deep at cornerback. Expect a trade of a current Patriots cornerback before Week 1, as long as there are not numerous injuries at that position. (Trading Jonathan Jones not only creates $2.6 million in cap space but also results in no dead money.)
Answer: Yes. I will soon be writing a piece explaining how the Patriots are in excellent cap shape for the rest of the 2019 league year.
Answer: The idea that it's more costly to cut Burkhead and Bolden than to keep them is incorrect. Burkhead's current cap number is $3 million. If cut, his cap number would decrease to $2.5 million. Bolden's current cap number is $2 million. If cut, his cap number would decrease to $1.8 million. The Patriots would receive a credit on their 2020 cap if another team signs a released Burkhead or Bolden, since their fully guaranteed salaries have offsets. The more expensive scenario to cut than to keep is impossible for players in their last year of the deals like Bolden and Burkhead.
Answer: Right now, it would be Rudolph. I have to wait for the inevitable preseason injuries to answer after the final cuts scenario.
Answer: The longer I cover the salary cap, the more convinced I am winning the Super Bowl is NOT the primary goal for all 32 teams. On May 1, the average NFL team had over $19.7 million in cap space. The 12 teams that made the playoffs last year averaged $21,782,803 in cap space. Yet it appears some teams are waiting for May 8 to sign big name free agents. A 2020 compensatory pick will not help a team win any games during the 2019 season. I'd expect Ndamukong Suh to sign a similar deal as his 2018 contract -- $14 million salary with $1 million in incentives. I'd also expect Ziggy Ansah to sign an incentive-laden deal.
Answer: Yes. There are nine tight ends whose APY accounted for at least six percent of the cap. Only one of them (Tony Gonzalez) signed their deal before 2011.
Answer: No, teams are not allowed to go over 90 players when it comes to their active roster. Hollister may have been traded as a way to clear roster space for ten draft picks and UDFAs. Under the new CBA, draft picks immediately count against the 90-man roster limit. Under the old CBA, draft picks only counted against the 80-man limit after signing their deals. (Note: Jakob Johnson does not count against the 90-player active roster, as part of the International Player Pathway Program.)
Answer: Over the Cap's Nick Korte currently projects Bailey's signing bonus to be $290,076. I expect to learn the official rookie pool numbers sometime this week. Bailey's signing bonus is his only guaranteed money. If Bailey's signing bonus is indeed $290,076, his cap hits will be:
Answer: $109,115. That is, one player could get the entire allocation.
Answer: It would be $7.625 million:
$100,000 -- offseason workout bonus
$250,000 -- 46-man active roster bonus ($15,625 per game)
$7,275,000 -- salary
Answer: Less than ten percent. The Vikings have four ways to lower Rudolph's cap number.
- Have him to agree to a pay cut
- Have him agree to convert some salary into a signing bonus while extending his deal past the 2019 season.
- Trade him
- Release him
Answer: There is a league cap of $188.2 million. Because of differing carryover amounts and adjustment numbers, each team has its own adjusted cap number.
Answer: McClellan may have retired or been unofficially retired by the NFL as teams have decided to have a younger and cheaper player on their roster over the 32-year-old special teams player.
Answer: Via Chris Malumpy of DraftHistory.com: The NFL Draft went to seven rounds in 1994. The Browns had 14 picks in 2016 as did the Dolphins in 1997. From 1994 through 2019, the Packers and the Patriots have each had 234 picks. These figures exclude supplemental draft choices.
Answer:[table id=132 /]
The 83 players include 17 of 22 SB LIII starters, 41 of 53 SB LIII active players, and 6 of 13 players that were on IR/NFI.