After most of the teams have completed their free agency signings, or at least the expensive ones, what’s left is picking up small pieces for minor roles, mostly and setting as much as possible left for the NFL draft. As it just happens, the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cleveland Browns are in the best shape at the moment, while the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers and the St. Louis Rams can’t afford another player.
The Cowboys’ situation is extremely pitiful, having only $51,000 available for signings. I’m not sure that can get them a video assistant or something like that. The team was over $20 million above the cap when the off-season began, but by reworking more than 12 contracts and franchising Anthony Spencer they got into a position which can give them some flexibility, depending on one thing – they have to restructure the contract of Tony Romo, or they’ll be completely helpless to add any other players, with guys like Henry Melton and Michael Huff they were really interested in getting away from them because of their inability to make plays.
The Miami Dolphins, despite all of their signings, including Mike Wallace, Danelle Ellerbe and others, are still with over $15 million to spend, which is why you keep seeing them and the Cleveland Browns, another busy team in free agency with over $28 million left to spend, linked to every still-available free agent on the market. The Cincinnati Bengals weren’t planning on being major players – their main goal after the season was to keep their best players away from the market, doing very in that, especially by keeping defensive end Michael Johnson, and hoping to continue and improve through the draft.
It is worth mentioning that some teams, even with plenty of cap-space, aren’t really in the business of making moves. Sometimes it’s the Packers ($18.3 million) who don’t like signing free agents, preferring to build through the draft, while it’s also about thinking ahead – better free agency years like the one projected in 2014, or knowing that a big raise or contract renewal is coming up. Again, the Packers, with Aaron Rodgers on their mind, are keeping a lot of money on the side for that exact reason.
Full List
Bengals: $28.9 million.
Buccaneers: $28.8 million.
Browns: $28.7 million.
Jaguars: $26.6 million.
Eagles: $26.3 million.
Packers: $18.3 million.
Bills: $16.8 million.
Dolphins: $15.7 million.
Cardinals: $14.0 million.
Patriots: $13.4 million.
Jets: $13.0 million.
Colts: $11.7 million.
Titans: $10.7 million.
Broncos: $8.8 million.
Lions: $7.2 million.
Ravens: $7.2 million.
Chargers: $7.0 million.
Seahawks: $6.8 million.
Falcons: $6.2 million.
Bears: $5.3 million.
Vikings: $5.1 million.
Texans: $4.9 million.
Giants: $4.5 million.
49ers: $4.5 million.
Saints: $3.3 million.
Redskins: $3.2 million.
Chiefs: $3.1 million.
Raiders: $2.8 million.
Steelers: $2.5 million.
Rams: $1.0 million.
Panthers: $936,000.
Cowboys: $51,000.