Salary Cap Consequences of the Packers Trades

The Packers will save some cap space due to trading Clinton-Dix and Montgomery.  The team should save $3.15 million on Clinton-Dix and $379,323 for Montgomery for a total of $3.53 million.  The Packers will certainly fill the two roster spots created by the trades.  That will reduce the benefit to the cap most likely.  If they promote two players from the practice squad who earn the rookie minimum, that would count as $508,235 against the cap.  A decent estimate would be $500,000.  The Packers could recall Trevor Davis and Jake Kumerow from IR to fill those roster spots.  Since they both already count against the cap, the team would realize the full $3.53 million.  The most likely scenario is that the Packers gained between $3 million and $3.5 million or so in salary cap space.

The Clinton-Dix trade means that Green Bay with have two draft picks in rounds one, four, and six, and its normal pick in the other rounds, for a total of 10 picks in 2019.  Green Bay also is projected by OTC to have $45.6 million of salary cap space (assuming a $190 million salary cap limit in 2019).  Overthecap estimates that Green Bay has $10.57M in current (2018) salary cap space.  That would mean $56.17 million in salary cap space if that entire amount were rolled over.  However, since the Packers have only forty players under contract for 2019 and certainly will have at least 51, about $5.5 million should be deducted from that amount for a net of $50.67 million.  The results of the Martellus Bennett signing bonus could change that amount.  If Green Bay loses, that would reduce the Packers salary cap space by $3.78 million, and if the Packers win the appeal, its salary cap space would increase by about $2.52 million.  Some additional accounting also will need to be done such as calculating active game bonuses earned or not earned, and any incentives earned by the players.  The bottom line is that the Packers could enter 2019 having about $50 million in salary cap space for 2019, give or take $4 million.

One thing is clear: GM Gutekunst will have quite a bit of salary cap space plus 10 draft picks (including three in the top 100 picks and five in the top 150 picks) to remake the roster using his own vision next year.       

 

 

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Comments (26)

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TKWorldWide's picture

October 31, 2018 at 07:08 pm

I thought GB already challenged and lost that whole Martellus thing.

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Jonathan Spader's picture

October 31, 2018 at 08:54 pm

Packers' appeal for Martellus Bennett grievance still pending
https://www.google.com/amp/s/247sports.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/Bolt/Pa...

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TKWorldWide's picture

October 31, 2018 at 08:57 pm

GB should win this one. What a stinking pile of disappointment that guy was.

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Jonathan Spader's picture

October 31, 2018 at 09:16 pm

Check out the latest on Bennett, won't let me post the link. He's now in a Twitter fued with Packer fans.

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Jonathan Spader's picture

October 31, 2018 at 07:09 pm

Can't wait to see who Gute drafts and what FAs he signs in the offseason. He had quite a few draft picks in 2018 but not a ton of capital. Now he has just as many draft picks and a lot more capital to restock the roster with.

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SoCalJim's picture

October 31, 2018 at 08:18 pm

So, on top of the modest draft picks from these two trades, we pick up a few million dollars of cap that can be rolled into 2019. Win!

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Since'61's picture

October 31, 2018 at 08:28 pm

TGR - nice job and thanks for this information.

Just to be clear, the $50 million estimate for 2019 cap space assumes that we have not resigned CM3, Cobb, or any of the Packers FAs, correct? Thanks, Since '61

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

October 31, 2018 at 10:22 pm

Correct.

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Since'61's picture

November 01, 2018 at 09:09 am

Thanks TGR. Since '61

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Lare's picture

November 01, 2018 at 09:48 am

I wouldn't be surprised if Gutekunst used some of this year's unused cap money to re-sign one or two players that will be free agents next year.

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EdsLaces's picture

October 31, 2018 at 09:59 pm

I love looking forward to next season while this season is still not even half over ...

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

October 31, 2018 at 10:34 pm

Duh, GB will have 4 in the top 100, not 3. The two firsts, the 2nd and the 3rd.

Duh, GB will have 6 in the top 150 with the 2 fourth rounders.

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TKWorldWide's picture

November 01, 2018 at 04:43 pm

Nah, man, you ain’t no Homer Simpson!

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Guam's picture

October 31, 2018 at 10:50 pm

TGR - any guesstimates on what it cost to keep CMIII and Cobb given their respective ages and productivity (assuming the second half of the year production looks like the first half)?

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Jonathan Spader's picture

November 01, 2018 at 12:15 am

Why keep Cobb? We kept him in 2018 because we didn't know what we had in our rookie WRs. ESB can replace Cobb in the slot for a fraction of what Cobb would cost. Cobb can't stay healthy he hasn't since 2014. Great guy, great hands, still shifty but Packers have great WR depth. I see Adam's on one side of the field and MVS on the other. Moore could develop year 2 Adam's used to drop balls. We still have Allison and Kumero for depth. Where does Cobb fit in?

CM3 could stick around due to a lack of depth at OLB for the right price. He can also transition to ILB if we develop more OLB depth.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

November 01, 2018 at 04:08 am

My history on guessing what a player will get is sketchy. First, I agree with Jonathan, and of course one of my recent articles was about watching young players with an eye to see how their development affects the thinking about our guys with expiring contracts.

Cobb will be 29, probably young enough to command a 3 or 4 year contract (maybe with a certain structure so his dead money isn't too high in years 3 and/or 4). At age 32 Amendola got 2 yrs/$12M with $6M guaranteed in 2018 and nothing guaranteed in year 2 (when he'll be 33). Cobb is younger and arguably better, plus add a year of cap inflation (8% to 10%) and position inflation arguably. IDK, maybe $6.75M to $8M, or 4 years, $28M to $32M? Not too much signing bonus, maybe a roster bonus stuck in year one and/or two.

All I know is I don't want to pay Cobb. Other than that 75 TD pass reception (off a scramble when Cobb wasn't initially open, so I think it was all chemistry between Cobb and AR), Cobb is averaging just 6.85 yards per reception. Teams might look at his declining yds/rec average over the last few years, I suppose.

I think CM3 is the more interesting decision. We are really thin at OLB. He played 14 games in 2017, and every game this year. I could see a 3 yr/$21M deal with $4M to $6M signing bonus. I'd be fine with some incentives, even if they were based on snaps instead of quality of play. CM3 is still on pace for 6 sacks (8 sacks if you count the one he was robbed out of by the roughing penalty). He still can move. I'm not sure of his market, but $6M to $8M AAV doesn't seem like a big stretch. Is he down to the Dumervil/Ahmad Brooks $4M AAV range? I tend to doubt that.

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Coldworld's picture

November 01, 2018 at 06:34 am

No disrespect to Cobb, but I don’t see the argument for significant spend on him given the progress of MVS and particularly EQ. Happily it looks like there will be a log jam of receivers next year and I believe that it is simply appropriate for both the team and Cobb that they part ways.

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Guam's picture

November 01, 2018 at 08:16 am

Thanks TGR! Your history on guessing a player's worth may be sketchy, but it is much better than mine. I appreciate your insights.

I wasn't advocating keeping either Cobb or CMIII, but I was curious what their markets might look like. I agree that Cobb is a likely departure and I would not pay $6-8 million per year to keep him given our youth and depth at WR. I suspect some team would be willing to pay that price however and we would get the potential of a decent compensatory pick.

CMIII is playing adequately at OLB, but at 32 how long can he keep that up? If they move him to ILB, he might be able to extend his career, but I am not sure he would be worth $7 million per year. I am concerned about his age and the natural athletic deterioration that goes with it. We might be better off gambling on the compensatory pick. I think it depends on how many holes Gute thinks he can fill with 10 draft choices and free agency this year.

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Guam's picture

November 01, 2018 at 08:24 am

Mea Culpa on the responses by JS, Coldworld and TGR on keeping Cobb. I went back and read my question and I did say "keep" Cobb and CMIII. Really meant to say what would they be worth on the free agent market. That's what I get for asking questions past my bedtime...…:)

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Big_Mel_75's picture

November 01, 2018 at 08:37 am

Do you think that Nick Perry should be worried about getting cut after this season? He has a few years left on that huge deal that he isn't even close to living up to. I know we don't have much for OLB but why keep a guy with a huge salary when we could get the same production out of a cheaper option. I would have less heartburn giving Matthews an extension and cut Perry. Matthews has lost a step or three but at least he has been good. Perry is a one year wonder.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

November 01, 2018 at 10:08 am

Depends on your view of Perry and how he plays. I thought he'd play much better than he has. Not sure if I am slipping into being an apologist for Perry, but I am wondering if there is some injury hampering him. If not, then he might be in some modest danger.

Does anyone have a site that notes how many pressures Perry has? Right now I see an OLB who can't cover, isn't generating sacks or much pressure, and whose run defense isn't as stellar as I remember it being. Cutting Perry generates $3.6M in cap savings. There are guys who can play the run well but aren't much in the other departments who probably are out there for $4M or $5M. Ahmad Brooks, had he been healthy, would have done so, IMO. But... Perry has a $4.8M roster bonus due on the 3rd day of the league year. That means GB has to decide early to get any cap savings, before the draft and just two days into free agency (tho I don't expect too many pass rusher types to last long).

Another option is to ask Perry to take a pay cut. How much? IDK. I'd definitely keep Perry until I had either CM3 or a FA pass rusher under contract. Yeah, if we get a Free Agent pass-rusher or if CM3 would agree to 3 yrs/$21M or less with a good structure, I'd definitely consider dumping Perry next year. But that's just me.

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Oppy's picture

November 01, 2018 at 10:12 am

If being an apologist means you watched Perry play the last two seasons and saw a very good OLB who was hard to block and set a strong edge, then yes, you are an apologist. Welcome to the club. :)

I have also been wondering if Perry's ankle (which he had surgery on before training camp) or some other injury is hampering him. He certainly does not look like the player he was for all of 2016/17, or even the player who was on the field when not battered by injury earlier in his career.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

November 01, 2018 at 01:30 pm

I think it is a nice club. I also remember seeing Perry, even if he didn't get a sack or exactly get a pressure, bull-rush OTs back towards the QB, letting the QB know that he did have a finite amount of time to throw the ball. I don't really remember thinking that so much this year.

I hoped that the bye would help him. Wrote in a thread of another article that the greatest disparity between production and talent belonged to Perry, and that I thought a resurgent Perry was the most likely boost to GB's playoff chances. Well, maybe one of the rookies.

Fingers crossed.

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Lare's picture

November 01, 2018 at 03:12 pm

I could accept Perry's lack of a pass rush if he would just consistently hold the edge on RB's. But he hasn't even been very good at that.

Time to move on from Perry IMO. The Packers can get players of comparable production for a whole lot less money.

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PatrickGB's picture

November 01, 2018 at 01:07 pm

Perry has been on the injury report every week for a while now. Limited but he still plays on game day. He is just another good but not great player. Right now that’s all we have at OLB, Good but not great starters and average to below average backups behind them. But Pettine’s system can work around that. Martinez has been good rushing from the inside behind Clark and Daniels push.

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4thand1's picture

November 01, 2018 at 03:39 pm

Perry the Packer, as in pack yer bags.

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