Current Projected Cap: 180 million
Current Cap Space: 24 million
Extensions:
QB Tom Brady - Adding a 3rd year to his current deal saves us 2 million on the 2021 cap.
OT Donovan Smith, C Ryan Jensen, and G Ali Marpet - adding extensions and minimizing their 2021 cap hits would save around 12 million.
Cut:
P Bradley Pinion - Pinion makes 2.8 million, signing a suitable replacement would save us around 1.5 million.
Reduced Salary:
DL William Gholston - Set to make 5.5 million in 2021, Gholston will need to settle for a salary closer to 3 million or walk.
Draft Night Trade Bait:
TE OJ Howard (see below) - Trading OJ isn't ideal, but is necessary to keep everyone else in red and pewter.
Estimated Savings: 24 million
Estimated Cap Space: 48 million
Franchise Tag: WR Chris Godwin - We will likely tag Godwin, meaning he will make around 15 million this season, considering the market will drop a bit in 2021 due to the cap limitations.
Resign:
OLB Shaq Barrett - Sign Shaq for 4 years, 72 million (18m/year). His cap hit for 2021 would only be 10 million. 2022 would be 22 million. 2023 would be 23 million. 2024 would be 22 million. The first 3 years and 50 million dollars are guaranteed.
ILB Lavonte David - Sign Lavonte at 4 years, 40 million. 2021's cap hit would be 6 million (12m in 2022, 12m in 2023, 11m in 2024). The first three years/30 million are guaranteed.
DL Ndamakong Suh - Suh appears to be on board with returning in 2021. He won't take peanuts, but 4 million should be the most we would commit to the cap in order to bring the valuable veteran back to the trenches.
TE Rob Gronkowski - Gronk isn't playing anywhere else but Tampa. And he made it clear he doesn't intend to go hang em up again this off-season. Of all the big-name free agents, I expect Gronk to be most willing to accept a lower offer, laden with incentives, to return in 2021. Similar to Suh, 4 million is the most I expect to see next to Gronk's name when it comes to the 2021 cap.
Remaining Cap Space: 9 million - This should be enough to sign the bottom level of the roster, and our draft picks.
Draft
1 TRADE - QB Mac Jones
* OJ Howard, pick 32, and a 4th go to the Jets for pick 23. This allows us to leapfrog Pittsburgh and New Orleans to land Mac Jones and gives us the cap room we need to finalize our budget for 2021. Bruce Arians has been on record with his love for Mac Jones. Having an heir apparent at this stage of Brady's career is imperative to sustaining success when 12 rides off into the sunset. Who better for a rookie QB to learn from than the goat?
2 DL - Daviyon Nixon - Adding a big, dominant defensive line talent like Nixon is critical with this likely being Suh's last year. The futures of Rakeem Nunez Rochez and Steve McClendon are uncertain as well, though I suspect at least one of the two will return on a team friendly deal. Still, we need someone to take over for Suh in 2022 and beyond. I think Nixon could be a great player. One who may not make the splash plays, or garner all-pro accolades, but does the dirty work and makes life easier for guys like Shaq Barrett and Devin White.
OLB Ronnie Perkins - When on the field, Perkins is a beast. His pass rushing ability is highly evident and he shows the ability to play the run well also, making him a well rounded prospect. The reason why he could slide close to day 3, despite being possibly the top edge rusher in the draft, is due to off field issues. Perkins has struggled with drug use, which has kept him from being a top 10 pick this year. Despite missing on Noah Spence in 2016, who had similar concerns coming out, I think the tail end of the 3rd round is fair territory for a guy who could be an elite sack master in the NFL if he gets his priorities straight.
