First, there is a giant disclaimer that just because your team doesn’t have cap space now, that may not be the case in the future. There are June 1 designated cuts. Players can renegotiate their contracts freeing up some cash for their teams. A lot of things can happen. It’s also important to note that just because a team has a ton of cap space doesn’t mean they will spend. The NFL is going into the last year of the CBA. There is a lot of uncertainty about the future of football, the number of games that will be played in a season, or even if there will be games played after this year. So cap space is not some sort of panacea, but it’s important, and we will take a look at the numbers according to OverTheCap.com. A lot of teams have room under the cap.
Miami Dolphins $89.3 million
The Dolphins did exactly what a rebuilding team should do. They shed big contracts. Got as much cap room as possible and — kind of — bottomed out. Now it’s time for Brian Flores to start pitching players to revive a historic franchise that has had some lean years recently.
Indianapolis Colts $86.1 million
The Colts have a ton of money and not a lot of holes. That means they should be in the market for every single veteran quarterback who wants one last shot. Call up Philip Rivers. Text Tom Brady. Send someone to convince Drew Brees that his best shot at a Lombardi is with the Colts.
Buffalo Bills $80.1 million
Will the Bills be able to convince big-money free agents to come and play in Buffalo? That is the only question. Buffalo has been built smartly and has a great defense. Their offense could use some work. They might want to think about using some of their current cap on Tre’Davious White.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers $79.8 million
Tampa Bay could franchise Jameis Winston and still has a ton of money to throw around. They will use some of it on Shaq Barrett. The rest can go to wherever they need help.
Dallas Cowboys $77.2 million
This is the fakest $72 million that has ever existed. The Cowboys need to re-sign Dak Prescott and Amari Coopper — fine, maybe not Cooper. They always want to make a splash in free agency as well.
Denver Broncos $61.9 million
The Broncos have a ton of space and they have their next quarterback in place. They may lose some aging players on their defense. They need to find some more weapons to help out Courtland Sutton and Phillip Lindsay. They should also look to improve their offensive line.
New York Giants $61.8 million
Eli Manning’s retirement results in the Giants’ gain. New York needs to focus on building up its defense this offseason. Their offense line could shift some players around and they could also use draft capital there again.
Houston Texans $55.1 million
Take the full $55 million and give it to Deshaun Watson as an extension. Fine, don’t do that, but give him some of it. The rest of the money that’s available should go to whoever the best defensive back in free agency happens to be out there.
Las Vegas Raiders $54.9 million
The Raiders have a ton of money and need to make a splash moving into a new market. There were already rumors that they would be in the Tom Brady bidding process. They can afford Brady and a bunch of other nice players with almost $55 million.
Arizona Cardinals $53.6 million
The Cardinals need to use this space wisely. They need to retool their entire offensive line. They need to give Kyler Murray more weapons. They need to improve their defense. They may even have more money if they cut David Johnson.
Seattle Seahawks $50.7 million
The Seahawks make the playoffs even when their team looks like it will have a down year. They will probably spend a large chunk of this money on Jadeveon Clowney. They should also work to find another pass rusher and build out their defensive backfield again.
Tennessee Titans $50.7 million
Franchise Ryan Tannehill. Transition tag Derrick Henry. All that cap space disappears real quick. That’s the reality of where Tennesee is at. They could also try and make a play for Tom Brady but Tannehill may be a better option at this point.
New York Jets $49.6 million
The Jets have almost $50 million in space even after overspending for Le”Veon Bell and C.J. Mosley. They need to add some receiving weapons for Sam Darnold. They, like many other teams, could also use help on the offensive line.
Cleveland Browns $49.5 million
Eventually, the Browns cap space window will run out. For now they still have all their young players on cheap contracts. They may want to hoard some space knowing that Myles Garrett and Baker Mayfield will need new deals in the coming year.
Los Angeles Chargers $48.7 million
The Chargers have a ton of space and an open quarterback spot. They could make a run for Tom Brady. They could also just draft a quarterback and try and develop the next Philip Rivers. Melvin Gordon is also a free agent who may or may not be back.
Detroit Lions $47 million
It’s now or never for Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn. Spend that money now or be fired later. The Lions offense wasn’t up to par this season. Their defense was even more disappointing after spending big last offseason on Trey Flowers.
New England Patriots $45.5 million
The Patriots offseason will focus on Tom Brady and what he’s going to do but New England has other issues. They need to figure out what they are doing with Devin McCourty. They need to figure out if they will re-sign Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy. Joe Thuney is a free agent. That’s not a lot of money if they try and keep everyone.
Cincinnati Bengals $44.7 million
They should spend every last bit of their money improving their offensive line for Joe Burrow. The Bengals kind of need to tear the whole thing down and start over again. They may also just pull a Bengals and give A.J. Green a massive deal coming off injury.
Philadelphia Eagles $40.9 million
The Eagles have some space this year. Carson Wentz needs to stay healthy and cap space won’t buy that. The Eagles offense was a bit pedestrian this offseason. They need to revamp their receiving corps which is injured and aging.
Washington Redskins $38.9 million
Spend all that money on the offense. The defense will be just fine. Ron Rivera’s scheme and the talent that’s already there should make it work. Find a running back who can play a full season. Get some real wide receivers. Revamp that offense.
Carolina Panthers $32.6 million
Matt Rhule first needs to figure out who is playing quarterback and then the Panthers can make moves in the offseason. Luke Keuchly will be tough to replace. Greg Olsen is gone as well. Veteran leadership players may be able to cash in in Carolina.
Baltimore Ravens $27.7 million
It feels like the Ravens don’t need much. Maybe they want to spend their space keeping their talent around and running it back in 2020. They may want to spend a good chunk of that money on Matthew Judon.
Green Bay Packers $23.7 million
The Packers went on their spending spree last year. They don’t have much space compared to other teams in the NFL. They need help in their linebacking corps. They can try and get that through the draft. They also probably need to beef up an aging offensive line.
Kansas City Chiefs $16.6 million
Know this: that cap space is not enough to give Patrick Mahomes the contract extension he deserves. The Chiefs may have to gut their roster to pay Mahomes. That puts a bit of a damper on the future outlook of a Chiefs’ dynasty.
Los Angeles Rams $14.7 million
This is the problem when a team goes all in. If they don’t win the Super Bowl, they are pretty hamstrung by the cap. The Rams also don’t have draft picks. Could they trade one of their big stars? They might have to. They should be looking to restructure Todd Gurley’s contract . . . except they just signed him to an extension.
San Francisco 49ers $13.8 million
The Niners should simply run things back. They could get off of Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract if they wanted to, but that would be a bit drastic. The defense is young and should have most of its best players back. The offense is all about the scheme so Kyle Shanahan should be able to patch together enough points to make the Niners contenders again.
New Orleans Saints $9.3 million
The Saints have been kicking the can down the road for years when it comes to the salary cap. Give it one more boot and bring back Brees. If they don’t bring back the most successful quarterback in team history, they may want to run with Teddy Bridgewater — except he’s a free agent as well.
Atlanta Falcons $5.2 million
The Falcons paid everyone the past two years so they don’t have the cash to throw out there. That’s fine. They should be better in 2020, but they won’t be able to fix holes in their team through free agency.
Chicago Bears $4.9 million
The Bears cap number is pretty rough if they want to get into the quarterback market this offseason. Maybe that’s why they have been steadfast about bringing back Mitch Trubisky. The Bears made their push by signing Khalil Mack and playing in free agency a few years ago. Now they don’t have space to fix the most important position in football.
Pittsburgh Steelers $1.4 million
The Steelers essentially can’t do anything with their cap space. They need to pray Ben Roethlisberger comes back healthy and that he was the missing piece to them making a Super Bowl run. The good news is that the defense is locked up — outside of Bud Dupree.
Jacksonville Jaguars -$3.4 million
Jacksonville somehow has negative cap space. That’s not good. They can’t really get out from under Nick Foles’ contract. Gardner Minshew will be a bargain for them, but they are paying Foles too much to be a backup. There will be cuts made to get under the number. Say goodbye to Yannick Ngkokue who will get paid in 2020 — unless Jacksonville uses the franchise tag, but then they will still have to cut more players.
Minnesota Vikings -$11.3 million
Jacksonville isn’t in as bad of a spot as the Vikings. The Vikings will let some big names go to get under the 2020 cap number. They also probably have to start looking at extending Dalvin Cook. Maybe that fully-guaranteed contract to Kirk Cousins was not a great idea.
