2015 Salary Cap

[1959Colts]

Looking at the Salaries heading into 2015 offseason, it seems there may be a need to terminate some of these heavy contracts. 

Quite a few of the players at the top are vastly overpaid, and it looks like there may be an option to cut a handful loose.

 

If Grigson manages the situation properly, the team may end up in decent shape cap wise.

Thoughts?

 

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/indianapolis-colts/

[12isthenew18]

Cut ricky, landry, thomas and i'll be ok

[1959Colts]

Maybe D'Qwell?

[mintor]

Looking at the Salaries heading into 2015 offseason, it seems there may be a need to terminate some of these heavy contracts. 

Quite a few of the players at the top are vastly overpaid, and it looks like there may be an option to cut a handful loose.

 

If Grigson manages the situation properly, the team may end up in decent shape cap wise.

Thoughts?

 

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/indianapolis-colts/

 

Cut ricky, landry, thomas and i'll be ok

  cut 

Gosder Cherilus  save almost 7 million

 

 

alot rg, rt in draft this year. in 1st and 2st rounds 3 rounds.

[PrincetonTiger]

Cut ricky, landry, thomas and i'll be ok

RJF should be kept

[lollygagger8]

I wouldn't be upset to see us cut:

 

L. Landry, G. Cherilus, T.Richardson, Shaun Philips, J. Cribbs

[TKnight24]

I don't care who we cut, just make sure we're bringing in someone better

Even though I honestly doubt you can find anyone worse than Landry & Richardson

[dw49]

Maybe D'Qwell?

 

Never happen as it saves nothing

[dw49]

  cut 

Gosder Cherilus  save almost 7 million

 

 

alot rg, rt in draft this year. in 1st and 2st rounds 3 rounds.

 

 

Cutting Cherlius might have to happen if he's just too injured to play a good RT.  But it saves nothing .. infact the cap hit is almost 9 million.

[ColtStronger]

Gosder, Walden, Werner, Landry, Thomas don't deserve the money they're getting.  Im sure we could get the same talent for half the price by dealing or cutting those players.  Even if it only means getting a future 4th round pick, I wouldn't mind a trade to free up some cap.  That way we can pay a couple big names during FA and still have money to resign our big guys next offseason.

[mintor]

I wouldn't be upset to see us cut:

 

L. Landry, G. Cherilus, T.Richardson, Shaun Philips, J. Cribbs

  t. richardson because we can,t  have pay for him he on the team are off the team . dead cap. $3,184,062

[mintor]

Cutting Cherlius might have to happen if he's just too injured to play a good RT.  But it saves nothing .. infact the cap hit is almost 9 million.

  we can if he can,t pass  physical . have surgery off season  . have get a physical . 

[21isSuperman]

On this website, you can actually see what the result would be of cutting, restructuring, trading, etc.

http://overthecap.com/calculator/indianapolis-colts

[Ja'Crispy]

If cutting an injury-plagued (at least this season) Cherilus can save money, I'd support it. I'm not as down on him as others are, but I also think Reitz did equally as well, if not better. Problem is keeping him healthy too.

[ProblChld32]

On this website, you can actually see what the result would be of cutting, restructuring, trading, etc.

http://overthecap.com/calculator/indianapolis-colts

 

This is cool, thanks for sharing!

[lollygagger8]

  t. richardson because we can,t  have pay for him he on the team are off the team . dead cap. $3,184,062

 

Ummm...I think you are saying if we cut Richardson, there's a $3.1M cap hit. 

 

 

Which looks like we'll be are taking a 3.1M cap hit when we cut him. 

[PrincetonTiger]

I wouldn't be upset to see us cut:

 

L. Landry, G. Cherilus, T.Richardson, Shaun Philips, J. Cribbs

Phillips is a UFA

[MTC]

Maybe D'Qwell?

But... But... He made the pro bowl.

[Jdubu]

Go in and look at the positional cost for each position and per unit for each team. I compared the colts to the pats and it's amazing how much better the pats defense was than ours vs how much cap space used in 2014. The lb's we used and how much we paid vs theirs. Looking at it, you would have to say out lb's had to be better. Wow

[Jdubu]

Phillips is a UFA

nooe, we have his rights for next year at the 2+ million salary. Came with the deal, his bonus money was paid by former team though.

[PrincetonTiger]

nooe, we have his rights for next year at the 2+ million salary. Came with the deal, his bonus money was paid by former team though.

Thanks for the correction

[Superman]

 

If Grigson manages the situation properly, the team may end up in decent shape cap wise.

 

 

We're already in decent shape, cap wise. Any additional cap space is just gravy.

[polk_high_allstar]

I like to use Over The Cap.  Shows what type of dead money there is and cap savings.  If the cap is $140 mil it looks like we have around $29.5 mil to play with.  Cutting RJF, Landry, Walden (Not a fan), Thomas and Phillips and the number grows to $45.5 mil.  Cutting Trent doesn't get us anything and the guys who say to cut D'Qwell we would only be looking at a cap savings of $370K.  Could have another $5.5 mil in cap savings if we cut Toler but he played ok this year and would think we will keep him.

[1959Colts]

We're already in decent shape, cap wise. Any additional cap space is just gravy.

 

We may be in decent shape cap wise. But I feel, talent wise, we need to improve.

Cutting the high priced, over paid players, not only rids us of their bad contracts, but allows the team to find new better replacements.

[polk_high_allstar]

I like to use Over The Cap.  Shows what type of dead money there is and cap savings.  If the cap is $140 mil it looks like we have around $29.5 mil to play with.  Cutting RJF, Landry, Walden (Not a fan), Thomas and Phillips and the number grows to $45.5 mil.  Cutting Trent doesn't get us anything and the guys who say to cut D'Qwell we would only be looking at a cap savings of $370K.  Could have another $5.5 mil in cap savings if we cut Toler but he played ok this year and would think we will keep him.

Also for those who would want to cut Cherilus.  Has a cap hit of $6.9 mil in 2015.  Cutting him would  cost us $8.7 mil and would leave us with $1.8 mil less then what we would have available in the first place.

[1959Colts]

I like to use Over The Cap.  Shows what type of dead money there is and cap savings.  If the cap is $140 mil it looks like we have around $29.5 mil to play with.  Cutting RJF, Landry, Walden (Not a fan), Thomas and Phillips and the number grows to $45.5 mil.  Cutting Trent doesn't get us anything and the guys who say to cut D'Qwell we would only be looking at a cap savings of $370K.  Could have another $5.5 mil in cap savings if we cut Toler but he played ok this year and would think we will keep him.

 

http://overthecap.com/salary-cap/indianapolis-colts/

 

From what I see, on spotrac: http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/indianapolis-colts/dqwell-jackson/

They have DQuell Jackson as scheduled to make $5,750,000 with most of the money in the form of a "roster bonus"

He counts $750,000 dead money.

If he is cut that would save the team 5 million.

 

It seems the two websites have conflicting numbers

[bavanlan]

nooe, we have his rights for next year at the 2+ million salary. Came with the deal, his bonus money was paid by former team though.

AFAIK, players claimed off waivers become free agents at the end of the year.

Correction:

"...However, if such player is claimed and awarded, he shall have the option to declare himself an Unrestricted Free Agent at the end of the League Year in question if he has a no-trade clause in his Player Contract. If such player does not have a no-trade clause and the Player Contract being awarded through waivers covers more than one additional season, the player shall have the right to declare himself an Unrestricted Free Agent as set forth above at the end of the League Year following the League Year in which he is waived and awarded."

[1959Colts]

Here is a breakdown of D'Qwell Jacksons contract:

http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-browns/post/_/id/4452/the-details-on-dqwell-jacksons-contract

 

...In 2015, Jackson is due a $4.63 million roster bonus that is guaranteed only if he is on the roster on the fifth day of the league year. He then earns an $870,000 base salary, guaranteed for injury.

 

That $5.5 million in ’15, then, is truly not guaranteed. Because the Colts will be able to decide if Jackson’s play in 2014 merits the pay/bonus in 2015.

The deal looks even more iffy in ’16 and ’17. In those seasons, Jackson will turn 33 and 34, and is due salaries of $5.5 million and $5 million (with a $500,000 roster bonus).

Which means his base pay goes up as he ages.

Jackson, of course, can earn all the money by being productive on the field. And technically it is a $22 million contract.

But the likelihood of him seeing all $22 million might not be that high.

He might not even see more than $5.5 million.

In reality, it’s a one-year deal worth $5.5 million, with team options the next three seasons.
 

[ColtStronger]

Also for those who would want to cut Cherilus.  Has a cap hit of $6.9 mil in 2015.  Cutting him would  cost us $8.7 mil and would leave us with $1.8 mil less then what we would have available in the first place.

That's why I think we should keep him and see what how his injury is during the preseason.  If it doesn't look good, I think we should try to ship him to a needy team, for a 4th rounder just to get rid of his contract.  We could prepare for him being out by drafting a RT in the 3rd or 4th round of the draft.  I think RG is our #1 priority that should warrant the 1st rounder if Colts don't pick one up via FA. Then either OLB for a pass rusher as the 2nd and perhaps a S ILB or RT with # & 4th, if they are still needs.

[Buddy Lee]

RJF should be kept

He doesn't play up to his salary/cap hit. He also doesn't measure up to boss Irsay's got to get tougher standard. Use the savings to pick up someone who will.

[Bravo]

Gosder, Walden, Werner, Landry, Thomas don't deserve the money they're getting. Im sure we could get the same talent for half the price by dealing or cutting those players. Even if it only means getting a future 4th round pick, I wouldn't mind a trade to free up some cap. That way we can pay a couple big names during FA and still have money to resign our big guys next offseason.

Werner already? Seriously?

[DougDew]

Based upon the number in the right hand column, which i will call "cap savings if cut before June 1" , the only clear candidate is Donald Thomas at about $2.875 million.  Possibly RJF at over $4.5.

 

It only makes sense to cut a FA for cap reasons if you can replace him with someone better...or someone equal at a lower price to then use the savings elsewhere.

 

Unless there are other FA out there that would make a good addition, I don't see how cutting anyone other than Thomas would really help us, since the FA in return likely won't make that big of an impact, even if it is at another position.  That's why draft picks are important.

 

Most of the time, teams cut FAs because they have salary cap problems.  The colts don't have that problem, so I wouldn't expect a flurry of cuts this offseason.

 

If Kerr can replace RJF (and I wouldn't count on it), fine.  But, Redding will likely retire, (almost did last year), so that would make another  DT that would need to be found.  Which means, we'd be cutting RJF just to replace him with another FA or a draft choice.  I don't see the talent gain there, and it would cost us a draft choice that could be applied to a position of real need.  (Like WR, ILB, S, OL, or RB )

[bababooey]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nfl-playoffs-postmortem-ravens-colts-broncos-packers-cowboys-panthers/

 

Indianapolis Colts

Big Question: How do you take the next step?

Indy has made small, steady improvements over the past three years. After drafting Andrew Luck, the Colts have produced three consecutive 11-5 seasons and have gone one step further in the playoffs during each of those campaigns. They lost in the wild-card round to Baltimore in 2012, beat the Chiefs before losing to the Patriots in the divisional round in 2013, and then made it past the Bengals and Broncos before losing again to the Patriots in the conference championship this season.

The good news is that Luck isn’t going anywhere. The Colts still have one more year left with his cap hold at a bargain-basement $7 million before the raises come. Luck will get a fifth-year option in the $15 million range for 2016 if he hasn’t already negotiated the biggest contract extension in league history by then. If the Colts want to make a big splash in free agency, 2015 would be the right time to do it.

 

Including rollover from 2014, the Colts are projected to have somewhere in the range of $40 million in cap space to work with this offseason. That doesn’t even include the likely releases of Ricky Jean-Francois (which would save $4.9 million), Donald Thomas ($3.3 million), and Shaun Phillips ($2.7 million), which would create nearly $11 million more in space. While the likes of Reggie Wayne, Hakeem Nicks, and Matt Hasselbeck are unlikely to be re-signed, there’s not a lot of talent going out the door, either.

The Colts need to add stars. This huge swath of cap space before the Luck extension gives them the opportunity to do so without crushing their cap in years to come. We talked on Monday’s podcast about Ryan Grigson and his propensity to give average players above-average deals in free agency, but the Colts can’t do that again. They have to shop at the top of the market and bring in impact players, and it has to happen now.

 

That starts at the absolute top. If anyone should consider giving Ndamukong Suh a $25 million base salary in 2015 to reduce his signing bonus and make his future cap hits more palatable, it’s the Colts. They play a 3-4 and Suh has spent his career as a 4-3 tackle, but he could be a J.J. Wattesque force as a 3-4 end. They need run-stopping defenders and pass-rushers, and Suh is one of the few players who can do both.

 

But it should be more than Suh. They should think about Devin McCourty, who would give them the coverage safety they lacked this year without Antoine Bethea. Brian Orakpo and Jason Pierre-Paul should be in play for the pass rush. Terrance Knighton would be the nose tackle Indy has lacked for years. Mike Iupati would combine with Jack Mewhort to give the offensive line a massive upgrade. And if Cobb, Dez Bryant, or Demaryius Thomas somehow hit the market, could you imagine what Luck could do if he had Hilton on one side and a top-10 weapon on the other?

This isn’t Madden. Indy can’t sign all of those guys. But the Colts are faced with a rare opportunity: They have gobs of cap space and a star quarterback who is contractually obligated to play for far below his market value. Seattle is one win away from turning that combination into two Super Bowl wins. If the Colts play their cards right and use their 2015 cap space as a bucket for big deals, they could very well emulate the Seahawks next season.

 

Position of Need: Front seven

I would be surprised if the Colts didn’t add one of the aforementioned top-tier weapons to their front seven, if only because they’re so obviously lacking up front right now. A subtler choice might be Pernell McPhee, who knows the Chuck Pagano scheme from his time in Baltimore. Grigson has exhibited a propensity for going with younger, under-the-radar free agents with perceived upside, which would make McPhee — who had 25 quarterback hits despite playing just under 48 percent of Baltimore’s defensive snaps — a likely choice for the Colts.

[Superman]

I like to use Over The Cap.  Shows what type of dead money there is and cap savings.  If the cap is $140 mil it looks like we have around $29.5 mil to play with.  Cutting RJF, Landry, Walden (Not a fan), Thomas and Phillips and the number grows to $45.5 mil.  Cutting Trent doesn't get us anything and the guys who say to cut D'Qwell we would only be looking at a cap savings of $370K.  Could have another $5.5 mil in cap savings if we cut Toler but he played ok this year and would think we will keep him.

 

You have to use both to fill in the gaps as best as possible. Spotrac has some stuff OTC doesn't, and vicey versy.

[Superman]

Here is a breakdown of D'Qwell Jacksons contract:

http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-browns/post/_/id/4452/the-details-on-dqwell-jacksons-contract

 

...In 2015, Jackson is due a $4.63 million roster bonus that is guaranteed only if he is on the roster on the fifth day of the league year. He then earns an $870,000 base salary, guaranteed for injury.

 

That $5.5 million in ’15, then, is truly not guaranteed. Because the Colts will be able to decide if Jackson’s play in 2014 merits the pay/bonus in 2015.

 

 

Here lies the question, which I've been asking for 10 months. I've seen some resources that report that roster bonus as guaranteed on the fifth year of the 2015 league year, but MOST have reported it as guaranteed as of March 14, 2014. Which means that roster bonus went guaranteed a week after he signed the contract (I don't believe you can guarantee a future roster bonus at signing, but if that's the case, you may still be able to guarantee a future roster bonus after signing).

 

Those are contradictory, by the way. The fifth day of the 2014 league year was March 15, 2014. 

 

I'd like to know the truth. If that roster bonus doesn't go guaranteed until 2015, then it changes everything.

[colts_100nascar17fan]

In a perfect world dump: cherilus,landry,rjf,trich,wayne (make wr coach),thomas,redding,werner,thornton,ballard,harrison,gordy,moala,mcnary,nixon,cribbs,they all suck/below average. Keep bradshaw and nicks if cheap. Somehow try to keep the few stars we have after luck gets paid and have perfect drafts while luck is here cuz after the draft picks contacts are up you will always lose a few good ones cuz there isn't always enough dough to go around so keep turning draft picks over which is why drafts are going to be KING & KEY.

[Superman]

AFAIK, players claimed off waivers become free agents at the end of the year.

Correction:

"...However, if such player is claimed and awarded, he shall have the option to declare himself an Unrestricted Free Agent at the end of the League Year in question if he has a no-trade clause in his Player Contract. If such player does not have a no-trade clause and the Player Contract being awarded through waivers covers more than one additional season, the player shall have the right to declare himself an Unrestricted Free Agent as set forth above at the end of the League Year following the League Year in which he is waived and awarded."

 

Either way it's a credit to the Colts cap figure, whether he's cut or decides to become a free agent.

[csmopar]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nfl-playoffs-postmortem-ravens-colts-broncos-packers-cowboys-panthers/

Indianapolis Colts

Big Question: How do you take the next step?

Indy has made small, steady improvements over the past three years. After drafting Andrew Luck, the Colts have produced three consecutive 11-5 seasons and have gone one step further in the playoffs during each of those campaigns. They lost in the wild-card round to Baltimore in 2012, beat the Chiefs before losing to the Patriots in the divisional round in 2013, and then made it past the Bengals and Broncos before losing again to the Patriots in the conference championship this season.

The good news is that Luck isn’t going anywhere. The Colts still have one more year left with his cap hold at a bargain-basement $7 million before the raises come. Luck will get a fifth-year option in the $15 million range for 2016 if he hasn’t already negotiated the biggest contract extension in league history by then. If the Colts want to make a big splash in free agency, 2015 would be the right time to do it.

Including rollover from 2014, the Colts are projected to have somewhere in the range of $40 million in cap space to work with this offseason. That doesn’t even include the likely releases of Ricky Jean-Francois (which would save $4.9 million), Donald Thomas ($3.3 million), and Shaun Phillips ($2.7 million), which would create nearly $11 million more in space. While the likes of Reggie Wayne, Hakeem Nicks, and Matt Hasselbeck are unlikely to be re-signed, there’s not a lot of talent going out the door, either.

The Colts need to add stars. This huge swath of cap space before the Luck extension gives them the opportunity to do so without crushing their cap in years to come. We talked on Monday’s podcast about Ryan Grigson and his propensity to give average players above-average deals in free agency, but the Colts can’t do that again. They have to shop at the top of the market and bring in impact players, and it has to happen now.

That starts at the absolute top. If anyone should consider giving Ndamukong Suh a $25 million base salary in 2015 to reduce his signing bonus and make his future cap hits more palatable, it’s the Colts. They play a 3-4 and Suh has spent his career as a 4-3 tackle, but he could be a J.J. Wattesque force as a 3-4 end. They need run-stopping defenders and pass-rushers, and Suh is one of the few players who can do both.

But it should be more than Suh. They should think about Devin McCourty, who would give them the coverage safety they lacked this year without Antoine Bethea. Brian Orakpo and Jason Pierre-Paul should be in play for the pass rush. Terrance Knighton would be the nose tackle Indy has lacked for years. Mike Iupati would combine with Jack Mewhort to give the offensive line a massive upgrade. And if Cobb, Dez Bryant, or Demaryius Thomas somehow hit the market, could you imagine what Luck could do if he had Hilton on one side and a top-10 weapon on the other?

This isn’t Madden. Indy can’t sign all of those guys. But the Colts are faced with a rare opportunity: They have gobs of cap space and a star quarterback who is contractually obligated to play for far below his market value. Seattle is one win away from turning that combination into two Super Bowl wins. If the Colts play their cards right and use their 2015 cap space as a bucket for big deals, they could very well emulate the Seahawks next season.

Position of Need: Front seven

I would be surprised if the Colts didn’t add one of the aforementioned top-tier weapons to their front seven, if only because they’re so obviously lacking up front right now. A subtler choice might be Pernell McPhee, who knows the Chuck Pagano scheme from his time in Baltimore. Grigson has exhibited a propensity for going with younger, under-the-radar free agents with perceived upside, which would make McPhee — who had 25 quarterback hits despite playing just under 48 percent of Baltimore’s defensive snaps — a likely choice for the Colts.

I've got mixed feelings about the idea of Suh. Not just because of his past behavior on the field but the fact he's spent most of his football life in a 4-3 defense. He's no where near Watt, not sure where that comes from. Would I like a player with a mean streak and talent, heck yes, is Suh that player...I don't know

[Dark Superman]

Gosder, Walden, Werner, Landry, Thomas don't deserve the money they're getting.  Im sure we could get the same talent for half the price by dealing or cutting those players.  Even if it only means getting a future 4th round pick, I wouldn't mind a trade to free up some cap.  That way we can pay a couple big names during FA and still have money to resign our big guys next offseason.

Werner is still in his rookie contract.

He won't be cut.

[Dark Superman]

Phillips is a UFA

Phillips is under contract through next season.