Williamson: Early AFC West Salary Cap Check...

[DaWolf]

Early AFC West salary-cap check
January, 8, 2013
By Bill Williamson | ESPN.com

The focus is on 2013 for all but eight teams in the NFL.

Teams will soon be readying for free agency. To get a feel for what teams will have to spend in free agency, ESPN’s John Clayton has the current salary-cap numbers.

Please remember all salary-cap numbers are fluid and things change. But this gives you a working idea of where each team stands.

In the AFC West, the best team is in the best cap standing. The Broncos, who host Baltimore on Saturday in the divisional playoff round, are $18.5 million under the cap. They should be able to add some solid pieces if they wish. They do have to either extend or give the franchise tag to standout left tackle Ryan Clady. That will take up some space.

The Chiefs continue to be in good cap health. It is $16.1 million under the cap. It has free agents, receiver Dwayne Bowe, left tackle Branden Albert and punter Dustin Colquitt, to deal with. I think Albert and Colquitt are more likely to return to Kansas City at this point, but it has flexibility.

San Diego is $8.7 million under the cap. It should be enough to get a couple of starters. The Chargers need the most help on the offensive line.

Meanwhile, Oakland is one of 10 teams currently over the salary cap. Oakland is $4.5 million over the cap. It was severely over the cap last season. This year, the Raiders, who will have to address punter Shane Lechler, tight end Brandon Myers and linebacker Philip Wheeler in free agency, will still have to make a lot of tough decisions and will have to tweak some contracts again. But they should be able to do a little more than they did last

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcwest/post...lary-cap-check

http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2012...t-cap-strategy

[BossChief]

We are 16 million under BEFORE we roll over the unused cap space from last year and cut Tyson Jackson.

The rollover should add another 15 and cutting Jackson should add another 8-10.

They better utilize the rollover and use it to lock up Bowe.

[ChiefsandO'sfan]

Originally Posted by BossChief

We are 16 million under BEFORE we roll over the unused cap space from last year and cut Tyson Jackson.

The rollover should add another 15 and cutting Jackson should add another 8-10.

They better utilize the rollover and use it to lock up Bowe.

The 16.1m is with the roll over.

[DoucheMcCloud]

Originally Posted by BossChief

We are 16 million under BEFORE we roll over the unused cap space from last year and cut Tyson Jackson.

The rollover should add another 15 and cutting Jackson should add another 8-10.

They better utilize the rollover and use it to lock up Bowe.

The cap this year shouldn't effect Bowe, unless they plan to put his guaranteed money on the books this year.

As I've stated so many times, it's ALL about the signing bonus/guaranteed upfront money, not the mythical salary cap.

[ClevelandBronco]

Make sure that you subtract whatever Rahim Moore was making from the Broncos payroll.

[BossChief]

How is that even possible?

Where can we go to see the breakdown of that?

We were like 20 under last year and that was with Bowe counting for 10.

[ChiefsandO'sfan]

Originally Posted by BossChief

How is that even possible?

Where can we go to see the breakdown of that?

We were like 20 under last year and that was with Bowe counting for 10.

Chiefs were only 14m under the cap last year.

[BossChief]

So without the rollover, we were only 2 million under and that with the contracts of Bowe, Hillis, Albert, Dorsey, Colquit and others falling off the books?

That doesn't seem right.

[Rausch]

Clearly the new CBA included a clause that Denver would be $20 mil under the cap every year.

No matter what...

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by BossChief

How is that even possible?

Where can we go to see the breakdown of that?

We were like 20 under last year and that was with Bowe counting for 10.

Remember all that talk about the cash spending last year? That cash is starting to show up on the cap.

I said this in the past. If they are telling the truth about cash spent in 2012, then our cap space will shrink in the years that follow.