We're $10,000,000 UNDER the salary cap

[ActingWild]

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/0912boivin0912.html

Okay, we the fans have held up our end of the deal. We voted for a new stadium and we bought every seat in the place. Why are we still this far under the cap when our O-Line has serious issues and we're thin at the CB position?

 

[Card Trader]

Well then, who do we pick up? Good linemen and CB's are just falling freely out of the sky...so who do we sign?

 

[abomb]

Well then, who do we pick up? Good linemen and CB's are just falling freely out of the sky...so who do we sign?

Exactly.

 

[ActingWild]

Exactly. The excuse we get told is that we want money around in case of injuries. I think $10,000,000 is a little more than necessary for insurance money. Because, as you say, good O-Linemen and CBs aren't falling out of the sky, so it's not like the Cardinals are expecting the next Jonathan Ogden or Deion Sanders to miraculously become a free agent. That money could have been spent in the off-season for some solid players that we could really use right now.

My problem with having that much money under the cap is not that we need to go out and spend it now...it's that it SHOULD have been spent during free agency to shore up the some glaring needs.

 

[joko4]

Let's just go out and show everybody how good we are and spend the $10 million by the end of the day. Man, this simple. Matter of fact, spending some one else's money is always easy and fast.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

The problem is that very few decent offensive linemen actually hit the free agent market in the first place.

 

[football karma]

The Cards could have signed one more solid starting player and still had plenty of money left over--

Will Witherspoon at LB? Will Allen at CB?

I am sure there are many others.

 

[D-Dogg]

I'd rather spend that money on quality players at need positions than just spend it because we have it.

And name me the guys we should have picked up with that money....

 

[Slacker]

After watching the Raiders play last night, our line looks like All-Pro.

 

[ActingWild]

Well, let's see. Let's say the Cardinals leave themselves with 1 million for insurance money. So we had 9 million to go shopping with for this season alone.

Here's the list of free agents last season.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9273738/2

I'm no salary cap expert but Bentley signed a 5 year deal worth $36 million. Just over $7 million a season.

Steve Hutchinson's contract also works out to $7 million a season.

I'm not saying we had to get either of those guys, but as they're the TOP names (and pretty dang good ones) I think some of the other guys on this list could have been had and still left us with insurance money.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I'd rather spend that money on quality players at need positions than just spend it because we have it.

And name me the guys we should have picked up with that money....

LeCharles Bentley, Witherspoon, Will Allen, former Baltimore DT whose name i cant spell (plays in Carolina - Kiwaneouke?), Damione Lewis, Julian Peterson, Chris Hope, LB from Baltimore (something Bart) and on and on and on...

Guys can we PLEASE stop defending ownership for not doing something EVERY OTHER NFL TEAM DOES. The cards have made great strides over the years but this is probably the final piece to prove we have legit owners. I guess i will give them till next year when the stadium money comes rolling in but Billy boy sure ain't helping his cheap image with this much money under the cap. I mean how much can bowties and vanilla ice cream really cost?

You can tell from his comments that Denny is very pissed and if we have the success many of us hope for this year- Green could be on the first train to San Diego this off-season. What coach would want to come to a owner who is not fully commited? We have great pieces but that would be sticking point for the top tier coaches....And the insurance company line is getting REAL old...

 

[overseascardfan]

Does anyone have a FA list on whose available next year?

 

[ActingWild]

former Baltimore DT whose name i cant spell (plays in Carolina - Kiwaneouke?).

Maake Kemoeatu, DT, Ravens: This guy is powerful against the run. He won't give much in terms of a pass rush, but if a team wants an improving run player, he's it. Retaining him is the Ravens' top priority.

 

[DevonCardsFan]

I wouldn't mind seeing Ty Law out there Sunday as opposed to a pile of cash in Bidwills pockets.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Retaining him is the Ravens' top priority.

Kemo left via FA and they drafted Ngata to replace him in the lineup....

 

[nidan]

My problem with having that much money under the cap is not that we need to go out and spend it now...it's that it SHOULD have been spent during free agency to shore up the some glaring needs.

Once again, on whom should have spent it ?

 

[ActingWild]

Kemo left via FA and they drafted Ngata to replace him in the lineup....

Oops, meant to have quotations around the analysis of him. I pulled that off of the link from earlier.

 

[ActingWild]

Does anyone have a FA list on whose available next year?

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2007/nfl/freeagents.html

 

[nidan]

I'm not saying we had to get either of those guys, but as they're the TOP names (and pretty dang good ones)

That's the problem.

You want to spend money on NAMES, if they are so good why are they on the FA market. These days there is usually a reason and their old team knows it.

Occasionaly it is a cap issue, like Edge but that is rare these days. Take Larry Allen, great player when he was younger but old and injury prone now.

 

[Renz]

I wish we had Julian Peterson now, but when he hit the market he was coming off a bad achilles injury and there were serious doubts about his ability to come back. As I recall, he didn't have many suitors.

I'd like to have Hutch too, like most teams would, but at that price we would probably lose Leonard Davis, so we'd be back at square one again.

 

[40yearfan]

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

With all this complaining, I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about our defensive coordinator. Is it all in the players or does coaching also have to take it's kicks after a performance like this? It looked to me like we didn't have much of a game plan for the defense. Maybe we have the players we need, but they need to be utilized better.

 

[Pariah]

Fact is there WERE good players in the FA market and we should have pursued them aggressively. Maybe we did that and lost out, but it sure doesn't seem like it.

It's bothersome, to say the least.

 

[AntSports Steve]

Hopefully, the Cards will use some of that to extend Big.

But, if the Cards decided to spend to the cap, if they don't just throw the money away, but instead target the top quality free agents, it still may take some time to finally spend completely to the cap.

For instance, I think next year, with the Cards current contracts, they are $50M under the cap. If they extend Big, then they will be using mostly this year's money and not really eating into that $50M. Most of the Cards top players are signed next year, so besides big, no real quality targets of our own to resign.

Then the cap keeps going up each year. $109M next year, but I bet they do the math from this year and it's more like $111M. (In the past, I optmisticly predicted a $100M+ cap by 2007... Ha was i wrong. 100M got here faster than even I predicted. That new CBA extention racked it up)

So, next year the Cards have about $50M to target players. How are they going to find that many good players? Say there are 10 quality $10M/per year players available. Are half of them actually going to sign with the Cards? Some will be at positions the Cards don't need. They don't need another $10M WRs or RB, so even if there are ten quality players, only about 3 players will fit the bill. WIth luck, the Cards sign 2 of those guys, leaving $30 M to spend on cast offs. Probably leaving the Cards with once again $10M under the cap.

I think even if the Cards decided to spend as best as they could, it would take them 3 years of smart spending to finally hit the cap.

Now, do I think they'll do that? No. I think they'll like what they have got going cash flow wise and enjoy it some. Each year, they can target 1 quality stud like Edge. The fans will be happy. Then they can sign several mid guys that are young and show promise. (like Brown at RG this year and that DT from NYG). Then each year, they'll still be well under the cap and can continue that for a long long time, before they have cap problems.

Sooner or later, the players are going to realize that with these huge caps, they need to ask for way more dollars. Right now, as weird as it sounds, players salaries are lagging behind the cap increases.

Has there been a non-QB $10M / year player yet? If not, I'm betting next year there will be several.

 

[ActingWild]

Once again, on whom should have spent it ?

Before I reply I just want to say on the grammar. For some reason who and whom always trip people up.

Okay, back to the topic...

Assuming we had no shot at Hutchinson or Bentley (which, I think at $10 million in cap sapce, we had a shot) pick one option from below...

--6. Chris Hope, S, Steelers: He had more tackles and more interceptions than Troy Polamalu did last year. He's a rangy player who can also play the run when needed. Chris Hope's contract with the Titans averages $5 million a season and includes $10 million in guarantees."

--"18 Stephen Neal, G, Patriots: A self-made former wrestler who has developed into a solid guard. He's a mauler." Patriots G Stephen Neal's contract is for four years and slightly more than $10 million, including a $3.2 million signing bonus.--


--35. "Justin Hartwig, C, Titans: He has developed in a solid starting center for the Titans, who would love to keep him. That won't be easy as teams look to upgrade their offensive lines. The Panthers also agreed to terms with center Justin Hartwig, giving him a five-year contract worth $17 million to get him to leave the Tennessee Titans."

--40. "Mike Flanagan, C, Packers: He started 14 games last year and played well. He did have some injury issues in 2004. Signed three-year, $9 million"

--$10 million in insurance money.

 

[ActingWild]

Thanks for the cap insight Steve. You're always spot on with how the cap works.