Thought we could use a separate thread for our cap situation and detail some of the scenarios we're hearing over and over. A lot of this is pulled from Overthecap.com so please feel free to point out any errors and I'll edit the original post. 2017 Total Liabilities: $147,319,098 2017 Salary Cap (Projected): $173,076,549 2017 Cap Room: $25,757,451 Scenario #1: Cut Brock Osweiler - Texans owe Brock $16M fully guaranteed with a $3M prorated bonus for a total cap hit of $19M in 2017. - By cutting him, the cap hit increases by $6M to $25M. - Bottom Line: The Texans put themselves in a worse position financially by cutting Brock. So unless some team miraculously trades for him, Brock will be in a Texans uni next season. Scenario #2: Trade for Romo - Cowboys owe $14M in base salary and a $10.7M bonus in 2017. He is also due a $8.9M bonus in 2018. - If cut pre-June 1st, all bonuses roll into 2017 so his cap hit goes from $24.7M down to $19.6M. - If cut post-June 1st, bonuses remain so cap hits of $10.7M in 2017, $8.9M in 2018 (same as being traded). - Bottom Line: Any team trading for Romo will need to be able to absorb his $14M base salary for 2017. So unless we ship some contracts along with the picks Dallas will want, trading for Romo will eat more than 1/2 of our current cap space alone. - Romo will likely have to restructure his deal to make a trade work. Otherwise, teams in running should just wait for the Cowboys to release him and bid for him while keeping their picks. Scenario #3: Trade for Jimmy G. - Not much consequence from a financial standpoint since he is still on his rookie deal as a 3rd rounder. - Like Mallett, he is going into the final year of his contract so there is a chance he walks after 1 season. Otherwise, he will be due a big contract if he plays well. Notable FAs: - A.J. Bouye - Vince Wilfork - John Simon - Quintin Demps - Nick Novak - Shane Lechler - Akeem Dent - DeAndre Hopkins (for all intents and purposes) Possible Cap Casualties: - Jonathan Joseph: $6.5M Savings - Brian Cushing: $5.5M Savings - Tony Bergstrom: $2.8M Savings - Chris Clark: $2.75M Savings - Brandon Weeden: $2.15M Savings Bottom Line: Assuming we want to keep Bouye and DeAndre undoubtedly getting a new deal this summer, Rick is going to need some magic to keep this roster intact while looking for a QB. Watt, KJ, Martin, Braxton, and Strong bring back 4-5 starters we didn't have which is nice but once again, it will come down to who we can get behind C when it's all said and done.
I think Nick Martin will solidify that center spot. Sucks he was injured all season, but I think he'll be our future at center.
Brian Cushing and Kareem Jackson should be on the possible cap casualties list as well. Jackson might have a future at S just because he still hits hard and doesn't make as much as JJo, but man was he our weakness DB in that New England game. As for Cushing, cut him, draft a cover ILB in the 3rd or 4th, use the cap savings on OL, and profit.
I'd rather roll with Savage (or find a good value placeholder in FA) and draft a QB rather than overpay for another QB. Romo and Garoppolo are too pricey. Our capspace should first be used to keep AJ and DeAndre. Then maybe add some OL.
Had Cushing originally but removed him since he played better as the season went on I thought, but added him back. Kareem is a different story, I think JJo is gone and depending on what happens with A.J., not sure we'd have the luxury of cutting or even moving him to another position.
Cap carry over: 2017 Cap projection: 2017 Salary Cap Space Projected Team Cap Space (updated January 11th, 2017) Top 51 Rule in Effect Contracts: 54 NFL Salary Cap :$169,000,000 Team Carryover: $4,935,924 Team Adjustment :$0 Effective Cap: $173,935,924 OTA Workout Debt: $0 Top 51 Rule Spending: $148,205,930 Practice Squad: $0 Injured Reserve: $0 Dead Money: $112,953 Estimated Cap Space: $25,614,541 Notes: Projected based on $169,000,000 salary cap, which has not been set by NFL. Injury Grievances are included, but not listed individually in player tables. http://texanscap.com/team-salary-cap-space/2017-salary-cap-space/
RT, S, ILB and RB should be our first 4 picks in that order. You could slip QB in at the #2 spot and so forth ONLY if someone falls; we don't need to surrender any more picks trying to trade up. This allows us to cut Cushing, Newton and let Demps walk(or 1 yr deal while S develops). As for the RB pick, if we're going to roll with our same circus of a qb group, the least we can do is master the run attack. Like someone pointed out in another thread we need a legit bruising power back to pair with Miller because at the rate we're using him he won't make it through his contract. And Lord knows Blue ain't getting it done. Btw does anybody know how much Bouye and Hopkins could demand considering his down year and all. Rick looks like a genius for not folding on the hold out stunt.
Re-Signing Bouye wipes out probably half of that right away lol. I'd offer the Patriots two 2nds for Garropolo but not a first. QB situation next year: Jimmy G/Brock/Savage (unless someone would give you a late pick for Savage and then I'd dump him and keep Weeden)
Yeah but where is the scenario to cut the loser JJ Fatt? He is dead weight and dead money. Bobby Brown of the Rockets.
How dare you make that comparison. He plays eggball, therefore he is not worthy to be compared to anyone on the Rockets Sidenote: it gives me great joy that someone out there beat you to "Rockets FTW" and you had to improvise.
They need to keep DeAndre Hopkins, but don't overpay him. And maybe keep A.J Bouye too. I don't care about the rest, let them all walk away, they need to sign an OL this off season, get the best one they can get, and then draft another OL in the first round. They need to build a top 5 Offensive line in the league.
Read that Bouye will easily command $10M+. Coming off a $1.6M salary, he's going to be the biggest expense of the offseason. Hopkins is a bit of the wildcard IMO. If he restructures his deal, believe it hits the books immediately.
I'm inclined to believe they will keep Hopkins on his 5th year option and then will try and negotiate something at the end of the summer near camp time.
I'd expect the Bouye first year to be in the $7-8M range for cap hit. If Hopkins signs new contract I wouldn't expect his cap hit to increase much
Hope you're right. The league puts a premium on corners so let's hope we can lock him up without getting into a bidding war. Like rocketpower2 posted, good chance they keep him on his 5th year option ($7.9M) but expecting his next contract to be significantly higher than that.
So you're suggesting the Texans should address the QB nightmare by trading for a 37 yr old who's as fragile as a toothpick (Romo)? You might want to rethink that.
