http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1749 ... oster-cuts

I didn't realize we were bumping up so close to the cap number. Any of the resident cap experts have any thoughts? Looking at this it really makes me wonder about guys like Farwell.

I'm not too worried about it. There are about 5 guys with big cap numbers in 2014 who are going to either be cut or re-structured.

Sorry, Red Bryant ... we love you, but you're top of the list. Also, Clemens, Avril, Rice ... a couple others ... once you start knocking them off, the cap room starts to come back.

Why are we worried about it? It's not our money, we haven't cut good players to get there, we're where we're supposed to be two weeks before the season starts

The team will potentially recapture some useable cap with the final cuts and undoubtedly have a plan for dealing with next year's big questions. Some significant restructures may be in the works for a few bigger veteran deals or they will be let go to keep the young proven talent. Things are fine for this year but next year the rubber will meet the road.

jammerhawk wrote:The team will potentially recapture some useable cap with the final cuts and undoubtedly have a plan for dealing with next year's big questions. Some significant restructures may be in the works for a few bigger veteran deals or they will be let go to keep the young proven talent. Things are fine for this year but next year the rubber will meet the road.

I agree! I'm sure we'll see both restructures of vets and some cuts for those that don't restructure. Looking at you Rice, Miller, Red, Breno, McQ, Clemons. Hawks won't be able to have the luxury to overpay vets once the youth needs new contract.

Plus it is a bleacher report article..

I don't know the actual numbers, but I've read that Miller and Rice in particular have much smaller cap numbers next year.

When we signed those two, we were WELL under the cap and gave them a lot of their money in the first years of the contract. In particular I've read Miller's contract is less than half the cap hit it is this year. I don't know about Rice, and I'd also agree that Bryant seems a bit over paid at this point.

Rice is a restructure/release next year.

Golden Tate will get a new contract thats very cap friendly the first few years.

Miller wont change as his cap goes down a lot next year.

Big Red is a head scratcher. Gonna have to wait till the end of the year before evaluating.

ET will get a new contract next year that is also cap friendly for at least the first year.

(these are not predictions, they are solid fact. )

Well, Thomas got paid prettt well for his rookie deal. I can't see his cap number going up significantly; a modest raise to what he's already getting, he'll still be one of the higher paid safeties in the NFL.

The only issue I have with the article is that it doesn't take into account salaries for next year. The author states that you take the top contracts and go into next year with them, but the contracts won't all stay the same. Harvin's looked front loaded. Miller's goes down by like 50%. So his cap number won't be the same next year, but this guy is assuming it will.

For all we know, we'll have 20 million in cap space next year if Miller, Rice and Bryan'ts contract all drop off a bunch.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/seattle-seahawks/yearly/

If that's accurate, Harvin and Avril represent a $14 million increase against the cap alone.

Not worried, we have a lot of talent and it's expensive, but this is the first year of the Superb Owl window. Seattle will let a couple walk, make trades, and release some non-essential players when they need to. They have options to make cap space when it becomes a problem.

Last season we dumped Winslow, true, but then the season played out, we're ready for a large payroll.

I think we'll see a very active Seahawks team during that half-week trade window right before FA starts. Barring a disaster season, I think Bryant will have trade value. Baldwin will have plenty of trade appeal as an RFA. I don't think the team would trade Avril but he might net something if needed. I don't know if Rice would have trade value but they could always try. And I don't want to speak heresy, but Lynch could probably get us a 2nd or 3rd round pick and save considerable cap room, if the team feels good enough about their RB situation (1% chance that happens). Sherman might also be considered for trade. He'd get a huge return coming back and finding the money to pay him for an extension could be difficult. I would be surprised if we don't see at least one veteran dealt at the start of the next offseason.

That said, I don't share the same optimism as others that we can just cut some bad contracts and be alright. Thomas will probably get a $4-5 million pay raise in annual salary when he gets his extension next year. If Sherman doesn't get traded, he'll get extended and it will cost us a fortune. Harvin and Avil are putting up much larger cap hits next season. Bennett, Browner, and Tate are all UFA next offseason. McDaniels is a UFA too, which could become significant if he has a strong 2013 season. Where are we finding the money to keep these guys? I see some painful losses on our roster next offseason.

We will get a ton of restructures or cuts - cutting Clemons, Rice, and Bryant alone would save us about 23M with only about 3M of dead money against the cap.

Add to that Giacomini and MRob probably walking, and I think we've found about 28M to start with.

It's good that Browner is a RFA because we can put a second-round tag on him, right? If we lose him, that at least nets us a decent draft pick.

I had no expectations that Bennett or McDaniel would be here after this season anyway.

I don't think Browner is an RFA. Baldwin is.

Timmahawk wrote:I don't think Browner is an RFA. Baldwin is.

Both guys are RFAs.

Browner is NOT an RFA next year. His one year in Denver prior to the CFL counts, making him a four year vet and a UFA after this season.

Then someone should tell SpoTrac and the other contracts site to update. They have him listed as a RFA. That's what I'm going by.

Rice and Zach Miller should be restructuring this offseason or don't expect them to be here next year.

Miller will be more likely to keep, after this season he'll have earned all his guaranteed money, so he will actually probably gain years/money by restructuring to a deal that is more cap-friendly. Rice, not so much. Unless he has a big year you might see him gone unless he wants to be here bad enough to take a pay cut.

Smelly McUgly wrote:Then someone should tell SpoTrac and the other contracts site to update. They have him listed as a RFA. That's what I'm going by.

They are wrong. Sando and others have confirmed it.

Well, I used to feel comfortable using SpoTrac. Not so much, now.

McGruff wrote:

Smelly McUgly wrote:Then someone should tell SpoTrac and the other contracts site to update. They have him listed as a RFA. That's what I'm going by.

They are wrong. Sando and others have confirmed it.

Correct. Since the last collective bargaining agreement, there are very few RFAs anymore.
Everyone though Browner was RFA until Sando pointed it out. I even emailed him to ask if he had made a mistake. He responded on his blog. Nice guy.

Smelly McUgly wrote:Well, I used to feel comfortable using SpoTrac. Not so much, now.

In fairness, Browner is a weird case. One year in the NFL as an UDFA'S, followed by
Five seasons in the CFL. 2005 was a long time ago, and his impact was so negligible that its easily forgotten and discounted.

But the NFL doesn't forget.

McGruff wrote:

Smelly McUgly wrote:Well, I used to feel comfortable using SpoTrac. Not so much, now.

In fairness, Browner is a weird case. One year in the NFL as an UDFA'S, followed by
Five seasons in the CFL. 2005 was a long time ago, and his impact was so negligible that its easily forgotten and discounted.

But the NFL doesn't forget.

You dont discount it because its easily forgotten. Rules are rules. He did his time. Rather its a weird case or not doesnt change that.