What can the Redskins really afford?

Given that Lloyd was a post-June 1 move, we could easily clear up to $15 million in cap room. So if we really wanted, we could be major players in free agency.

But Vinny said we won't, and I believe him.

We may choose not to restructure quite so many contracts and clear up to $15 million in room. Vinny may be comfortable just clearing $7 million or so.

Who knows what they're going to do. But the bottom line is we can clear enough room to go on a gigantic shopping spree if we wanted. We could get Briggs, trade for CJ, and sign a few more guys if we wanted.

But again, I expect Vinny to be true to his word, I think we'll sign just one or two, trade for one or two, and be done.

Schneed,

Why is the WP article about Lloyd's release stating that Lloyd will be treated as a 6/1/08 cut, but we won't realize any additional cap space until June 1?

Schneed,

Why is the WP article about Lloyd's release stating that Lloyd will be treated as a 6/1/08 cut, but we won't realize any additional cap space until June 1?

June 1 is the day that the NFL's fiscal year rolls forward. It used to be that if you cut a guy after June 1, you pushed most of his deadcap hit until the next season as opposed to the upcoming one.

So before the new CBA was signed, you saw teams cutting a bunch of guys for cap reasons on June 1, in order to save space in the current year and push the deadcap hit into the next year. It worked well for the NFL teams, but the players didn't like this because by the time June 1 rolls around, the NFL has gone through free agency and the draft, so teams have already had a chance to address their roster needs. It left the June 1 cuts without many options.

So the new CBA stipulated that teams could still reap the same salary cap benefits with post-June 1 cuts, and at the same time release the player earlier in order to give him a fighting chance to catch on with another team.

So in short, even though Lloyd was released yesterday, for salary cap accounting purposes he remains on the roster until June 1 2008. So even though he's gone, we don't see the cap benefit until June 1.

Here is the applicable clause from the CBA:

June 1 – Clubs may select up to two players each year who may be released before June 1 to sign with another club, but whose salary cap amount is still carried with the prior club until June 1 (such salary cap amount shall not reflect any renegotiation of the player’s contract that occurred after the last regular season game of the prior season).

http://www.nflpa.org/pdfs/CBA/2006_CBA_Extension_Term_Sheet.pdf

Essentially, the June 1 exemption is primarily a benefit the players by allowing them to due enter the FA market before offers dried up. It does allow teams to avoid roster bonuses. Also, if it was done differently, the teams could gain something of a competitive advantage b/c they would, essentially be able to spread the cap savings over more than 2 years. While it would only be by a few months, the months in question would be extremely important b/c they would include the opening of FA biddig.

What I don't know is the effect of post-cut, pre-June 1st roster bonuses. Since the player doesn't collect them, is the salary cap hit figured without them? Or, b/c the roster bonuses are contractually effective prior to June 1, are they figured into the cap hit even if not actually collected?

Since post-season renogotiations are essentially voided by a June 1 designation -it seems to me that the June 1 designation was intended to hold teams to their contractually created salary cap plans, even if the players being cut no longer benefits from those plans. If true, that would seem to me to indicate that uncollected roster bonuses would be included in calculating the salary cap hit of a June 1 designation cut.

I'd love to see us pursue the cornerback from San Diego and Hackett from Seattle in free agency to build depth at those positions, plus a veteran interior offensive lineman.

I think we can then really focus on using the draft to find potential starters for our front defensive seven and a long-term solution at guard.

hackett's probably 4mill/year... berrian would be much safer (as for talent level, not so for knowledge of the system) but beyond 6mill/per becomes unattractive.

florence/dyson for under 2mill/per is definitely worthwhile. other than that, we've got 6 draft picks, only 1 will get 1mill/per, and a bunch of UDFAs, plus our own re-signings... collins is the only one that might get money, but i doubt he gets more than 3mill/per without a starting job, and i think very few teams want to pay a backup that much. his sucking in that seahawks game made his chances of staying here much more likely.