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CrazyCanuck · 10-21-2004, 12:29 PM

I considered starting a 2005 Cap thread, but didn't want to appear like I've given up hope on 2004 (cuz I haven't). But since you guys brought it up here are a few interesting cap issues for 2005.

1. Samuels - His cap hit in 2005 will be close to $10M. IMO Samuels will have to restrucutre or he'll be gone. If I had to guess I would say he'll be gone. He is tradeable since the team that acquires him wouldn't have to worry about any dead money for him. His new team would sign him to a deal of their own. So I think he will have market value. Even if he restructures with us I'm still not sure we can afford him, given other guys we want to sign. Plus when Jansen comes back it would make the loss of Samuels a little easier to swallow. PS - cutting or trading Samuels next year would leave us with about $6M in dead money, which can all go to 2005 cap or be split up ($3M in 2005, $3m in 2006).

2. Smooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot - His contract is up at the end of this year and I think most of us want to see him re-signed for the long-term. I figure we'll have to pay him somewhere between Springs and Champ (hopefully closer to Springs). I'd expect something in the neigbourhood of $2-3M cap hits for the first couple years, then around $5m in the later years. I don't think "franchise tagging" him makes much sense, since we'll have to offer him the average of the top CBs. Can't remember exactly what the tag price was for Bailey but I think it was in the $6-$7M range. Any deal we sign him to could be made much more cap friendly, at least in the short-term.

3. Ramsey - PR is signed through 2006 at a very affordable price. Getting Ramsey a new deal in 2005 probably isn't priority one for the Skins, but should definitely be considered IMO, especially given Brunell's play. Signing PR next year would also show the team's committment to him as the QB of the future. I guess a lot of this will be determined by Gibbs and the potential he sees (or doesn't see) in PR.

4. Gardner - Gardner stands to make about $2M in 2005, which is the final year on his contract. 50/50 seems to fit well in Gibbs offense, but I'd be surprised if we'd tried to re-sign him. I'm a big fan of Gardner but the fact is there are other young guys we want to sign and WR is probably the one position where we have a lot of depth. For that reason I see us trading Gardner next year, probably for draft picks. I'm hoping he can put up some big numbers this year to raise his market value. I think if he has a good year we could get a first rounder for him or maybe a 2 and a 3.

5. Wynn - He is scheduled to make $4M in 2005. The dead money if we release/trade him will be $1.75M, almost all of which can be pushed back to 2006 if we choose. I think Wynn will be gone after this year.

6. Pierce - His contract is up after this year. To be honest I'm not sure what he will demand in the offseason, or what we'd be willing to pay him. We'll have to wait and see. Other guys who fall into this category include Salave'a, Kenyatta, Sellers, Lott, Marshall.

7. Other - Some other potential 2005 cap casualties: Noble, Bowen, Rasby (gone), Raymer, Haley, Friedman, and maybe even Thrash.

Summary - According to my calculations, if we were to field the identical team we have now in 2005, we'd go about $4M over the cap, not including any new contracts we add (ie Smoot). So we will have to make some cuts somewhere. The first guys to go IMO will be: Samuels, Gardner, Wynn, and probably a few from #7. All in all I think we're ok for 2005, but 2006 will be tricky.

10-21-2004, 12:29 PM	#17
CrazyCanuck Serenity Now Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 2,008	I considered starting a 2005 Cap thread, but didn't want to appear like I've given up hope on 2004 (cuz I haven't). But since you guys brought it up here are a few interesting cap issues for 2005. 1. Samuels - His cap hit in 2005 will be close to $10M. IMO Samuels will have to restrucutre or he'll be gone. If I had to guess I would say he'll be gone. He is tradeable since the team that acquires him wouldn't have to worry about any dead money for him. His new team would sign him to a deal of their own. So I think he will have market value. Even if he restructures with us I'm still not sure we can afford him, given other guys we want to sign. Plus when Jansen comes back it would make the loss of Samuels a little easier to swallow. PS - cutting or trading Samuels next year would leave us with about $6M in dead money, which can all go to 2005 cap or be split up ($3M in 2005, $3m in 2006). 2. Smooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot - His contract is up at the end of this year and I think most of us want to see him re-signed for the long-term. I figure we'll have to pay him somewhere between Springs and Champ (hopefully closer to Springs). I'd expect something in the neigbourhood of $2-3M cap hits for the first couple years, then around $5m in the later years. I don't think "franchise tagging" him makes much sense, since we'll have to offer him the average of the top CBs. Can't remember exactly what the tag price was for Bailey but I think it was in the $6-$7M range. Any deal we sign him to could be made much more cap friendly, at least in the short-term. 3. Ramsey - PR is signed through 2006 at a very affordable price. Getting Ramsey a new deal in 2005 probably isn't priority one for the Skins, but should definitely be considered IMO, especially given Brunell's play. Signing PR next year would also show the team's committment to him as the QB of the future. I guess a lot of this will be determined by Gibbs and the potential he sees (or doesn't see) in PR. 4. Gardner - Gardner stands to make about $2M in 2005, which is the final year on his contract. 50/50 seems to fit well in Gibbs offense, but I'd be surprised if we'd tried to re-sign him. I'm a big fan of Gardner but the fact is there are other young guys we want to sign and WR is probably the one position where we have a lot of depth. For that reason I see us trading Gardner next year, probably for draft picks. I'm hoping he can put up some big numbers this year to raise his market value. I think if he has a good year we could get a first rounder for him or maybe a 2 and a 3. 5. Wynn - He is scheduled to make $4M in 2005. The dead money if we release/trade him will be $1.75M, almost all of which can be pushed back to 2006 if we choose. I think Wynn will be gone after this year. 6. Pierce - His contract is up after this year. To be honest I'm not sure what he will demand in the offseason, or what we'd be willing to pay him. We'll have to wait and see. Other guys who fall into this category include Salave'a, Kenyatta, Sellers, Lott, Marshall. 7. Other - Some other potential 2005 cap casualties: Noble, Bowen, Rasby (gone), Raymer, Haley, Friedman, and maybe even Thrash. Summary - According to my calculations, if we were to field the identical team we have now in 2005, we'd go about $4M over the cap, not including any new contracts we add (ie Smoot). So we will have to make some cuts somewhere. The first guys to go IMO will be: Samuels, Gardner, Wynn, and probably a few from #7. All in all I think we're ok for 2005, but 2006 will be tricky.