The NFL can be a tough business sometimes. Though he was well respected by his teammates, coaches and the Baltimore Ravens’ front office, safety Tony Jefferson was cut this offseason. It ends Jefferson’s tenure after three years in Baltimore.
The writing was on the wall when Jefferson suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 5. With backup Chuck Clark performing well and ultimately earning a three-year contract extension this offseason, it was just a matter of when the Ravens would pull the trigger on Jefferson’s contract in order to save a little money on their 2020 salary cap.
But just how much does cutting Jefferson help Baltimore’s salary cap?
According to Over The Cap, Jefferson had an $11.66 million cap hit for the 2020 season — the final year of his four-year, $34 million contract. Cutting Jefferson freed up $7 million, meaning the team will carry $4.66 million in dead money for this season.
With Clark having a $3.42 million cap hit in 2020, Baltimore effectively saved a little more than $3.5 million by extending Clark and cutting Jefferson this offseason.
Though the formal 2020 NFL salary cap figures haven’t been released, the Ravens are now expected to have $31.4 million available to them.
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