Potential Cap Casualties 2025

[eball]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

I'd cut Von and Daquan because I think they are done basically. I'd consider cutting AJE too but possibly not until after the draft. I wouldn't cut Edwards.

Those were the two that jumped out at me also. I haven’t “graded out” Epenesa but he does make some splash plays occasionally and seems to be a decent value at that number. 
 

[jahnyc]

Interesting that we don't seem to have a lot of flexibility in terms of player releases to improve our cap situation.  Seems like a year where we are going to need to rely heavily on restructures and potentially a new contract for JA to provide some cap space.

[eball]

1 minute ago, jahnyc said:

Interesting that we don't seem to have a lot of flexibility in terms of player releases to improve our cap situation.  Seems like a year where we are going to need to rely heavily on restructures and potentially a new contract for JA to provide some cap space.

I see a 10-year Allen extension coming…

 

[ColoradoBills]

21 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think he is finished. I wouldn't keep Jones at any money. I don't think he is physically able to contibute anything beyond replacement level play.

 

I also agree that he is finished.  DaQuan Jones' contract goes farther than what most see on the surface.

 

IF the Bills keep Jones the cap hit for 2025 is $9.4M and then $3.7M in dead cap in 2026.

That mean to keep him this year costs a total of $13.1M.

Cutting him costs $7.6M.

 

His play has gone way downhill.  I think Beane will let him go.  He may end up being THE Post June designation cut to give Beane

the $5.5M he needs to through the season.  I would do the June 1st with Jones over Miller.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/14523/daquan-jones

[Sweats]

20 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

That’s why I made the list.  Not a ton of real net savings to be had without June 1 designations or other restructuring.

 

I’m actually in the camp of Miller returning at a greatly reduced contract value.  Maybe down to the 8 mill range.  I don’t know how that works with the cap or CBA, but getting him down to that kind of $ unlocks most if not all of a June 1 cut without creating another roster slot to fill.

 

FYI:  Jones already has a 3.724 million dollar savings dead cap hit in 2026.  
 

Besides Miller, I’m cutting AJE because he was awful last year at the pass rush and RDC convinced me to at least consider trading Edwards.  I do believe Beane unlocks most of the cap savings this season through restructuring Dawkins, Milano and others.

 

 

 

AJE has been a huge disappoint to me.........i mean, he shows some flashes of dominance here and there and then just rolls over and goes to sleep too many times. It's just too inconsistent and if you never know when a guy's going to show up, then it's time to look elsewhere, i'm thinking.

 

And Von?!?.........i'm of the opinion to just cuts the ties and completely move on from him.

[ColoradoBills]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFan said:

Other potential cap casualties (I’m not saying any of these are likely, just possible)

Miller - Cap 23.814 Dead Cap 15.417 - Savings 8.397
D. Jones - Cap 9.408. Dead Cap 7.632 - Savings 1.776

McGovern - Cap 9.385 Dead Cap 7.74 - Savings 1.645

AJE - Cap 7.487 Dead Cap 4.1.48 - Saving 3.339

Edwards - Cap 4.905 Dead Cap .875 - Savings 4.03

Bass - Cap 4.67 Dead Cap 3.06 - Savings 1.61

Rapp - Cap 3.667 Dead Cap 1.333 - Savings 2.334

Trubisky - Cap 3.25 Dead Cap .750 - Savings 2.50

Martin - Cap 2.485 Dead Cap .400 - Savings 2.085

Lewis - Cap 1.969 Dead Cap .213 - Savings 1.756

 

 

I see a very good chance that Miller, Jones and Martin (if the challengers win) are all gone this year.

Trubisky is a maybe.  He is to the point with his cap hit where it may be worth it IF a younger guy is as good.

 

I put Edwards as a maybe too, only because I get a feeling that 1 move on the IOL will happen.

I say this because the Bills are in a very good spot this year with Anderson and Van Demark, but both of them will need to

have long-term decisions next season and if SVPG is serviceable then Edwards is expendable and will not get another contract with Buffalo.

I think Edwards is tradeable.  

[MikePJ76]

26 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

I also agree that he is finished.  DaQuan Jones' contract goes farther than what most see on the surface.

 

IF the Bills keep Jones the cap hit for 2025 is $9.4M and then $3.7M in dead cap in 2026.

That mean to keep him this year costs a total of $13.1M.

Cutting him costs $7.6M.

 

His play has gone way downhill.  I think Beane will let him go.  He may end up being THE Post June designation cut to give Beane

the $5.5M he needs to through the season.  I would do the June 1st with Jones over Miller.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/14523/daquan-jones

if those are accurate numbers then yes.  Jones will not be on the team.

[GunnerBill]

47 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

ya he was invisible basically all year, 9.5 cap hit stinks, rare bad contract by Beane, but most loved it at time

 

I said at the time it was too rich for my blood. When the wall comes for the big men it tends to come fast.

36 minutes ago, eball said:

Those were the two that jumped out at me also. I haven’t “graded out” Epenesa but he does make some splash plays occasionally and seems to be a decent value at that number. 
 

 

If you are going after a big fish in the edge pool via trade or FA you cut AJE and put that money towards it. If you are relying on drafting a rookie at that spot you keep him. 

 

That is the calculation for me.

[Cray51]

Edwards wont be cut, however if Grable/SVG come into camp and look great I could see a trade.  O-line is such a need around the league, I'd be shocked if a team wouldn't trade a 4th or 5th for him closer to preseason

[MikePJ76]

2 minutes ago, Cray51 said:

Edwards wont be cut, however if Grable/SVG come into camp and look great I could see a trade.  O-line is such a need around the league, I'd be shocked if a team wouldn't trade a 4th or 5th for him closer to preseason

if they have edwards on the team at training camp I imagine that would be too late to trade him.  He is not keeping the younger guys off the roster, they already have room for those guys.  One of those young guys will take his spot next year unless they use a high pick in 26 for that spot, highly unlikely.  

[gobillsinytown]

I could see Von in some sort of coaching capacity if he's interested.  I was at the Broncos preseason game in '22 and Von was drawing up plays on a whiteboard with Ed.  That's not really something that you see in preseason.    I think Ed really benefits from having Von show him the finer points and they seem to get along well.  But it doesn't make sense to keep him as a player given his cap hit.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

1 hour ago, Matt_In_NH said:

Joe Marino made a case to cut Edwards.  Not for his play but just because the pipeline of talent is there with Anderson and grable and it saves money.  

I would rather extend Edwards. Can lower his cap his substantially.

[Matt_In_NH]

3 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I would rather extend Edwards. Can lower his cap his substantially.

that would be an option too....how about trade him?  Again Edwards is somewhat expendable in some eyes because the next man up is on the roster and cheap so you are not creating a hole like you woudl be if you release Daquon Jones

[Buffalo_Stampede]

54 minutes ago, eball said:

Those were the two that jumped out at me also. I haven’t “graded out” Epenesa but he does make some splash plays occasionally and seems to be a decent value at that number. 
 

There has to be a bad GM out there that will look at Epenesa having 18 sacks the last 3 years and want to trade a lower mid round pick for him.

 

Epenesa is also the type of young player that could be used in a packaged trade. Either for another player or to trade up.

[eball]

21 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

If you are going after a big fish in the edge pool via trade or FA you cut AJE and put that money towards it. If you are relying on drafting a rookie at that spot you keep him. 

 

That is the calculation for me.

 

Makes sense.

 

[ColoradoBills]

8 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

if they have edwards on the team at training camp I imagine that would be too late to trade him.  He is not keeping the younger guys off the roster, they already have room for those guys.  One of those young guys will take his spot next year unless they use a high pick in 26 for that spot, highly unlikely.  

 

I think it might be that Anderson is a better G than Edwards.  If Anderson starts, then Edwards is pretty expensive as a backup.

The thing is these "younger" guys are not that young.  Anderson is 26 and Van Demark is 27.

If McGovern is going to get another contract, then Edwards is 100% gone next year anyways.

 

All this makes me think something is going to happen with the IOLs this spring, especially if the Bills see a couple of IOL prospects in Day 3

of the draft.

[GASabresIUFan]

23 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

I see a very good chance that Miller, Jones and Martin (if the challengers win) are all gone this year.

Trubisky is a maybe.  He is to the point with his cap hit where it may be worth it IF a younger guy is as good.

 

I put Edwards as a maybe too, only because I get a feeling that 1 move on the IOL will happen.

I say this because the Bills are in a very good spot this year with Anderson and Van Demark, but both of them will need to

have long-term decisions next season and if SVPG is serviceable then Edwards is expendable and will not get another contract with Buffalo.

I think Edwards is tradeable.  

It’s easy to say to dump Jones and Miller, but then they have to be replaced. If Beane & Co think they are done as NFL players then moving on is the right thing to do regardless on cap hits.  However, Miller was effective last season in a situational role and we don’t have an obvious successor.  Solomon showed some effectiveness, but had significant tackling issues and I’m not sure he’s any better than Miller.  Jones had a mediocre season, but Carter didn’t look a replacement which means Beane will have to also find a FA to replace him or start a rookie from the draft. I’d move on from AJE before Jones or Miller.   
 

Fixing the DL will be critical this offseason.  Beane is going to have to make the right moves like he did with the Oline last year.  

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFan said:

Besides the obvious cutting or restructuring of Von Miller, who are the other potential cap casualties?

 

The Rochester paper thinks David Edwards could be cut.  https://www.democratandchronicle.com/sports/
 

Their rationale is with a $4.9 mill price tag and only 875K dead cap if released he’s a likely candidate because of young talented depth on the roster like Anderson, SVPG, and Grable.  IMHO this is an unnecessary risk to the strength of the roster.  I also think if they wanted to open a space for one of the kids, Edwards would be traded, not released.  The Bills received a 5th for Bates last year and he wasn’t even a starter.  Surely Edwards is worth a 3rd rd pick.  Given our lack of a 3rd rd pick in the draft, a trade makes significantly more sense.  
 

Other potential cap casualties (I’m not saying any of these are likely, just possible)

Miller - Cap 23.814 Dead Cap 15.417 - Savings 8.397
D. Jones - Cap 9.408. Dead Cap 7.632 - Savings 1.776

McGovern - Cap 9.385 Dead Cap 7.74 - Savings 1.645

AJE - Cap 7.487 Dead Cap 4.1.48 - Saving 3.339

Edwards - Cap 4.905 Dead Cap .875 - Savings 4.03

Bass - Cap 4.67 Dead Cap 3.06 - Savings 1.61

Rapp - Cap 3.667 Dead Cap 1.333 - Savings 2.334

Trubisky - Cap 3.25 Dead Cap .750 - Savings 2.50

Martin - Cap 2.485 Dead Cap .400 - Savings 2.085

Lewis - Cap 1.969 Dead Cap .213 - Savings 1.756

 

Obviously most of these cuts won’t occur, but Beane could restructure guys like McGovern or Jones through a void year or two to create more current savings and push the kick down the road.  
 

Also some of the cuts create little savings when you factor in the cost of the replacement.  For example Martin (P) who was solid last year costs 2.485.  His dead cap is 400K, but Camarda, a potential replacement on the roster costs 1.1 mill.  The net savings is less than $1 mill.  Not sure it’s worth the hassle unless Camarda really outkicks him in the pre-season.  

After putting together the list, I can see why the RDC focused on Edwards.  A potential $3-4 million dollar savings is worth exploring if management feels Anderson, Grable or SVPG is truly ready to start.  As the article pointed out Edwards was the 6th OL in 2023 before starting.  Maybe Anderson is ready to replace him after being the 6th OL in 2024.  The real question is do we really want to mess with one of the strengths of the roster?

 

 

The article makes a good point, there was another article also suggesting he could be gone.  Edwards has one year left on contract, he'll be gone next year for certain due to the youth around him, so would make sense to make the move now so you have 3 years of playing time while on rookie deal.  I don't agree with  the article on who the replacement will be, I think the starter will end up being Van Pran-Granger.  While the trade idea sounds good, question would be do they re-coup the same saving if he's traded compared to cut.  And also don't think you'd get a 3rd, maybe a 4th, but that's even debatable.  I believe Bates had more time left on contract so was worth giving up more for him, whereas Edwards only has one year left.

 

Do think Miller either takes a huge pay cut o he's gone.

 

I do think Martin may be gone as they signed at least one (thought there was a 2nd?) punter and it give a $2 mil savings. 

 

No idea how much money if any could be saved by cutting Morris but see they signed Davidson to a contract, could see him being the #3 TE assuming he is a half way decent blocker and can play ST. 

 

I wounder if they'd consider cutting Trubisky as also a $2mil saving.  They signed M White and have that other player Bushle?? 

 

AJ also could be gone if they sign a high end vet DE plus a depth DE free agent and draft another mid round that leaves, Groot, new FA, rookie, vet, and Solomon .

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Just now, Matt_In_NH said:

that would be an option too....how about trade him?  Again Edwards is somewhat expendable in some eyes because the next man up is on the roster and cheap so you are not creating a hole like you woudl be if you release Daquon Jones

He’s our most consistent OG right now. Extend him a year or 2. Sign Alec Anderson next year. Then decide on what OGs to keep in 2 years. Torrence isn’t a lock to me. His price tag will be a lot higher than the other two and I don’t know if he’s worth it yet. No need to create a possible problem.

 

If a team wants Edwards as part of a trade for a bigger piece or to move up then I would consider it. 
 

Another thing is we’ve been extremely lucky with injuries on the OL. I would rather have Alec Anderson ready to go off the bench.

[GASabresIUFan]

22 minutes ago, Cray51 said:

Edwards wont be cut, however if Grable/SVG come into camp and look great I could see a trade.  O-line is such a need around the league, I'd be shocked if a team wouldn't trade a 4th or 5th for him closer to preseason

We got a 5th for Bates last year and he was a backup with a $4 mill cap hit. Edwards is a starter and $4.9 is a relative bargain for a starting guard.  I suggested a 3rd for him in the OP and would be very disappointed if we got less than a 4th for him.