With the new salary cap limits set in stone for the NFL, veteran players with lofty salaries will be the victims with teams that are currently over the cap. With teams forced to work under the 120 million dollar cap, and rookie salaries under more control with the new CBA deal, veteran players with high price tags are sure to be the victims with teams needing to trim down on salaries.
The Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Ravens were two examples of teams that were over the salary cap who cut high salary veteran players to make room under the new salary figure. A couple of veterans that the Cowboys released included, wide receiver Roy Williams, running back Marion Barber, and offensive lineman Leonard Davis.
The Ravens cut key veteran members from their 2010 team, which include running back Willis McGahee, tight-end Todd Heap, and wide receiver Derrick Mason. The moves by both teams saved the teams 15 to 20 million in cap dollars for the upcoming season. With teams forced to make a number in such a short time, other high priced veterans around the league will soon become cap casualties.
Other veterans that will either be released or traded include Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Barnett who finished last year on the injured reserve list. Barnett met with Packers General Manager Ted Thompson earlier in the week after arriving for training camp to begin workouts with the team. The New York Giants also released veteran lineman Shaun O'Hara in attempts to get under the salary cap. The Giants were about 6 million dollars over the salary cap coming into the 2011 season.
With dollars a premium for teams above, or near the salary cap threshold veteran players with large dollar figures who don't produce as they once did will ultimate be the victims with how the league operates. Other names that may be part of this list shortly include high priced running back Reggie Bush, and quarterback Donovan McNabb. The Washington Redskin quarterback signed a large deal during the end of the 2010 season, and his salary number is around 14 million for the 2011 season. The Redskins are surely not going to pay McNabb that number so they're currently in trade talks with the Vikings on trading McNabb for a 6th draft pick. The Vikings want to have McNabb restructure his salary before they make the trade with the Redskins. Saints running back Reggie Bush is another veteran who has a salary number of 11 million dollars for this coming season. The Saints drafted rookie running back Mark Ingram out of Alabama in this year's draft, and the Saints definitely don't want to commit to Bush's 11 million dollar salary. If the two sides aren't able to come up with a restructured salary for 2011 Reggie Bush will probably be the next veteran cut before the season starts.
Veterans will have to focus even more on their guaranteed signing bonus when signing contracts because in a league with a stringent salary cap for all teams across the board. Once production drops for a veteran, or a team is able to sign a younger player for a lot less money the veteran with the high salary cap number will be the first option for a team trim off its roster.
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