To the better armchair GMs/Capologists here:

[Gin and Juice]

We have had one offseason to watch Gman work and he did well as he taught us the magic of the one-year contract!

But realistically, how does he get us out of this mess now? Logic says we cannot fill the rest of our roster with 6mil needing a starting caliber LT.

1)Restructures just push back the inevitable, making future years just as bad or worse.

2)Seems fan faves are gonna get let go......someone we don't expect like a Kalil?

3)Are there new tricks to dealing with dead money?

4)On the surface, no way we can keep Hardy?

He has got to have a plan, a viable one that doesn't financially kill our next 5 years. Taking fan emotions out of it, any idea of how he realistically pulls it off?

[Gin and Juice]

Keeping in mind that our roster will be "complete" by the draft.....so says the Gman

[PantherPhann89]

Yeah, I don't like giving Hardy 13 million for one year. I know we need him but I don't think that's the decision I would've made, but that's why Gettleman is the GM...

[panthers55]

We have had one offseason to watch Gman work and he did well as he taught us the magic of the one-year contract!

But realistically, how does he get us out of this mess now? Logic says we cannot fill the rest of our roster with 6mil needing a starting caliber LT.

1)Restructures just push back the inevitable, making future years just as bad or worse.

2)Seems fan faves are gonna get let go......someone we don't expect like a Kalil?

3)Are there new tricks to dealing with dead money?

4)On the surface, no way we can keep Hardy?

He has got to have a plan, a viable one that doesn't financially kill our next 5 years. Taking fan emotions out of it, any idea of how he realistically pulls it off?

We really only have to get through this year.  We have 17 million in dead cap space which coupled with a possible increase of 7 million next year gives you a cushion of 23 million next year.  Add in that if we cut or restructure Johnson next year we could gain anywhere from another 5 if we restructure to 11 if we release him.  As Hardy's salary goes up so does the cap for example.  Kalil is going nowhere.

The news about the cap increasing almost 20 million over the next 2 years as the TV money finally kicks in makes it very envisionable.

[Jangler]

Just wing it....would be my approach.

[Gin and Juice]

Is it even possible to keep him? I don't see how it is! Pretty convinced the plan is to trade him

[sml1950]

The new NFL roster is 2-3 max contracts, 6-8 decent contracts and the rest on rookie contracts and veteran minimums. One of the things to remember on the veteran contracts is that they only count the 2nd year minimum ( around $500,000) for cap purposes. So even though a 6-8 year vet may be getting close to a million,he is only counting the lesser amount. This means that even though we still may need to add 20 more player contracts, they could only add a little more that 10 million against the cap.

[Gin and Juice]

I misspoke on Kalil, forgetting he restructured! Was meaning does someone we least suspect get cut? Not sure what CJ does free up, but trading him and signing Tuck save us space? I think the cap increase just makes it easier to re-sign Cam, Luke, Star, and Short. All 4 will probably garner top dollars

[Ruff]

If an All-Pro like Kalil gets let go, then there would be absolute chaos.

[Gin and Juice]

Give a brief summary on your thoughts of how Gman puts an entire team together BEFORE the draft

[Ruff]

Give a brief summary on your thoughts of how Gman puts an entire team together BEFORE the draft

 

Well, seeing as Free Agency is before the Draft, he hopes to fill the holes before going into the Draft, that way we can draft BPA.

[Gin and Juice]

Well, seeing as Free Agency is before the Draft, he hopes to fill the holes before going into the Draft, that way we can draft BPA.

This I know! I am asking the better armchair GMs here.....

How can he do it?

Clearly we can't go into draft without a viable LT option or a legit #1 WR

[Ruff]

This I know! I am asking the better armchair GMs here.....

How can he do it?

Clearly we can't go into draft without a viable LT option or a legit #1 WR

 

I think when all of this happened, there was the assumption that Gross would return for a year. Maybe Gettleman thought he had it in the bag. But, either way, that created a large hole. Plus, I think a lot of it is "coach-speak". He's not going to come out and say "well, you know, we kinda are losing every key piece that we have, and may have to play Byron Bell at LT, but we got this!"

[CarolinaNCSU]

I'm never one who gets overly concerned about the cap because it's seemingly always workable. Franchising Hardy buys us a year while only costing a couple million (if that) over what a long-term deal with Hardy probably would cost anyway.

 

This time next year? There will be more contracts that are workable as far as unloading. CJ's dead money alone takes a large drop off after next season if I'm not mistaken. Combine this, with the projected jump in salary cap, and we'll be fine. Sure, it would be nice to have more money to spend right now...but the doom and gloom is often overstated IMO with how easy it seems teams navigate cap trouble.