An Updated Look at the Cap + Exploring a Ndamukong Suh Contract
With free agency well underway, I thought I’d take another quick look at the cap and see how it’s changed over the last couple of days.
As it stands right now, Seattle has $17,823,267 available to spend how they see fit.
This may seem a lot lower than a couple of days ago and it is, Seattle has added the following names to their roster for the 2018 season –
Dion Jordan – Original round tender at $1,907,000
Justin Coleman – Second round tender at $2,914,000
Quinton Jefferson – ERFA tender at $630,000
Branden Jackson - ERFA tender at $630,000
Joey Hunt - ERFA tender at $630,000
J.D. McKissic - ERFA tender at $630,000
Tyler Ott - ERFA tender at $555,000
Bradley McDougald – 3 years $13.95M contract
Barkevious Mingo – 2 years $6.8M contract
That’s nine players on the roster for pretty much the same price the Jaguars paid in year 1 for guard Andrew Norwell…
We have yet to see any recent cuts however Cliff Avril will almost certainly not be on the roster in one way or another in 2018, that will add $7,125,000 to the available cap taking it up to $24,468,267. Jon Ryan and Neiko Thorpe are question marks at this point, however if the team moved on from both of them that number would rise to $27,838,267. If Seattle is going to make a push for Ndamukong Suh, they can certainly afford it.
I’d expect his contract to look very similar to that of Calais Campbell of the Jaguars, 4 years $60M (or 2 or 3 years at $15M APY).
Campbell’s year 1 cap hit was $10,500,000 so Suh would easily be affordable if Seattle did decide to pull the trigger (and they absolutely should!).
The team could even get a potential out after two years with minimal dead hit as long as they’re smart with no loading up the signing bonus. If they went low signing bonus with higher P5 base salaries for each year it would give the team more flexibility for roster movements further into the contract, however guarantees would play a part in that, of course.
They could simply make his later years guaranteed not at signing, but on the 5th day of each league year to give them an ‘out’ if they so wish. Given Suh’s ties with the Pacific North West I bet he’d love to play in Seattle, I understand he has spoken on the phone at length with Pete Carroll as well so there’s certainly conversations happening behind the scenes.
Given Suh wasn’t necessarily expected to be on the market this March, I’d imagine the team is rummaging through the film room watching his tape to make sure they’re making the right decision (it’s a well-known fact that he absolutely does take some passing plays off, but given how he performs overall, I can’t see that being an issue for the team).
I will be sure to keep everyone updated on here and via Twitter of all the comings and goings as we watch the 2018 Seahawks roster slowly but surely take shape!
It’s also worth noting that I am joining the craze of Podcasts! It’s still ‘kinda’ in the design stage at present as I like to do things properly but I will be sure to keep everyone updated as and when things start to take shape.
