With training camp fast approaching, NFL players have begun to exercise their bargaining right to choose not to participate in the upcoming season.
Among the men who have so far decided not to participate in 2020 due to Coronavirus concerns are also six members of the New England Patriots: fullback Danny Vitale was the first to use the opt-out option, and was followed shortly thereafter by the lineman. indoor offensive Najee Toran. and starting right tackle Marcus Cannon. On Tuesday linebacker Dont’a Hightower, running back Brandon Bolden and safety Patrick Chung joined them.
With all six players opting for their respective deals for the 2020 season, the Patriots’ salary cap situation, one that looked terrible for much of the offseason, has also changed quite a bit. With that said, let’s take a look at how the recent wave of foreclosure affects team books and contractual situations.
New England now has $ 24.7 million in capitalization space to work …
The Patriots’ casualty list includes a few big names: Hightower and Chung are starters on the defensive side of the ball and among the team’s locker room leaders, Cannon has served as the starting right tackle since 2016, and Bolden is one of the New England players. core special teams. All four are also playing with veteran contracts that had a noticeable impact on the team’s salary cap before their respective disqualifications:
- LB Dont’a Hightower: $ 12.4 million
- OT Marcus Cannon: $ 9.6 million
- S Patrick Chung: $ 5.13 million
- RB Brandon Bolden: $ 2 million
Add the fact that free agency firm Danny Vitale was capped at $ 1.29 million as well and you will get significant cap savings despite the fact that guaranteed wages were added to the New England dead cap number. Overall, however, the Patriots still made nearly $ 17 million in compounding space in the past two days and now have $ 24.75 million to trade (according to Miguel Benzan).
While it remains to be seen how the team spends its money, the safe bet is that much of it will carry over to 2021, the team does have a few places on the list where they could use it:
… and five open positions on his 80-man list
After a series of cuts to bring the roster below the NFL and NFLPA-agreed training camp threshold, the Patriots entered the week with 80 contract players. As noted above, six of them decided to give up their contract. Combined with the new signing of recently recruited rookie wide receiver Will Hastings, the latest wave of moves left the team with five open slots and several options to fill it.
New England could, for example, decide to bring in more players than it recently launched. Another option would be to explore the free agency market to increase depth in the positions players chose not to participate in.
However, one player who doesn’t seem to be on the Patriots’ radar yet is star running back Jadeveon Clowney: As Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported Tuesday, the team has yet to come close to the top pick in the overall draft. . While the fluidity of the current situation could still change this, the Patriots seem more likely to invest in depth across the board than a single player.
Four Patriots won’t make it to free agency next offseason
Under normal circumstances, four members of the Patriots’ opt-out group would have entered free agency next spring: Dont’a Hightower, Brandon Bolden, Danny Vitale and Najee Toran were all in the final year of their respective contracts. However, because they chose to exit their offers for 2020, their offers will affect next year. What does this mean? All four are still signed during the 2021 season, while incentives and bonuses from the active roster are now considered unlikely to win.
As a result of this, a player’s contract will look different in 2021 than it would for the 2020 season. Let’s take Hightower as an example: As previously mentioned, he would have reached the Patriots’ books with a salary cap of $ 12.4 million. this year. However, with his contract next season and all that goes with it in terms of bonus money, his capitalization number for next year is projected to be around $ 7.85 million (according to Miguel Benzan).
Therefore, the exclusion options not only improve New England’s salary cap situation for the 2020 season, but also for next year: everyone who opts for exclusion will have lower cap numbers in 2021.
There could still be more player losses this week
According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, “dozens of players” have informed their respective teams that they will choose not to participate in the 2020 season. However, the NFL and NFLPA are still working on the language needed to be included in the Collective negotiation. Once that side card is finalized, players will have seven days to choose whether or not to participate, setting the deadline no later than August 4 at this time. This means that there could be even more player casualties in the coming days.
