Redskins Cap Series Part 5: Washington Redskins Extension and Restructure Candidates

Redskins Cap Links:

Part 1:  Redskins Salary Cap Breakdown

Part 2:  Redskins Restricted Free Agents

Part 3:  Redskins Unrestricted Free Agents

Part 4:  Savings From Cuts

Part 5:  Savings from Restructuring and Final Thoughts

Players to Restructure W/O Extension:

Pierre Garcon:

2013 Cap Hit: $8.2 million

Cap Hit after restructure: $4.75 million

Savings: $3.45 million

$1.15 million is tacked on to each of his remaining 3 years

-They absolutely should restructure Garcon, yes it pushes more money going forward, but Garcon is young and doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.

Trent Williams:

2013 Cap Hit: $8.000 million

Cap Hit after restructure: $5.16

Savings: $2.830 million

$1.415 is tacked on to each of his remaining 2 years

-They could look to work out a longer term extension, but in the meantime they need to restructure his deal. It’s a good amount of savings for a key cog on this team.

Barry Cofield:

2013 Cap Hit: $6.300

Cap Hit after restructure: $3.825

Savings: $2.475

$0.825 tacked on to each of his remaining 3 years

-Another good bet to restructure. It is such a small increase over the remaining part of the contract that it shouldn’t hurt the Redskins going forward. Also Cofield is coming off a good season, so they aren’t likely looking to get rid of him in the next year or two.

Stephen Bowen:

2013 Cap Hit: $5.500 million

Cap Hit after restructure: $3.400 million

Savings: $2.10

$1.05 is tacked on to each of his remaining 2 years

-Maybe not as likely to restructure. Bowen has been a solid player, but I don’t know if you want to add guaranteed money on his contract going forward. If he doesn’t pick up his game in 2013, he could be on the hot seat in 2014.

Chris Chester:

2013 Cap Hit: $4.300

Cap Hit after restructure: $2.800

Savings: $1.500 million

$0.750 is tacked on to each of his remaining two years

-Another guy the Redskins should have no problem pushing a little money forward with.

Total Savings: $12.355 million

Total Extra Money Added to 2014: $5.19 million

*Note: The Redskins need to be careful here. They don’t want to push too much money forward or getting that cap penalty money back in 2014 won’t look quite as good. $5 million and change isn’t too bad, especially considering the players involved, but it can’t be ignored either.

Restructured Contracts with Extensions:

*Note I’m not noting the extra money going forward, but it is something to keep in mind. Given that they are all impending free agents, the Redskins can figure out how to structure their 2014 salary in an extension to ensure that it isn’t prohibitive.

Brian Orakpo: (based on adding 4+ extra years)

2013 Cap Hit: $4.225

Cap Hit after restructure: $2.700

Savings: $1.525

-The team would be wise to work out an extension now, as his price tag will be down a little bit and they can save an extra $1.5 million.

Josh Wilson: (based on adding 3 extra years)

2013 Cap Hit: $5.333

Cap Hit after restructure: $2.970

Savings: $2.362

-There has already been some mention of extending Wilson and it makes sense. He’ll only be 28 this season and has been pretty productive for Washington. The Redskins can save a bit of money and ensure that they have a veteran corner under contract going forward.

Santana Moss: (based on adding 2 extra years)

2013 Cap Hit: $6.167

Cap Hit after restructure: $4.067

Savings: $2.10

-It is a big question mark as to if Moss will extend given his reduced role, but the Redskins should consider it. He came up with a lot of big catches last year at key spots, including doubling the next highest TD total. He came up big in the 2^nd half of games and on third down and would be tough to lose. The fact that he’s a fan favorite helps as well, and the difference in savings between cutting him and extending him is $2.400 million. The only question is will he agree to a reduced role, and minor contract extension?

Josh Morgan: (based on adding 3 years)

2013 Cap Hit: $6.750

Cap Hit after restructure: $4.310

Savings: $2.440

-Morgan is still young and had a solid year as a possession receiver for the Redskins, the one problem with extending him is he’s not worth the nearly $6 million a year the Redskins were paying him. He’d have to accept a lower extension for it to make sense. He could though, given his local ties, and the fact that unless he has a huge year this year (which is not very likely given how much the Redskins run) he probably won’t get major offers on the free agent market. If the team can clear other money they may just wait till next year to re-sign him so as not to burden the cap too much in 2014 or 2015.

Total Savings: $8.427 million

Notes:

Trent Williams could be extended and perhaps save an extra $1.5 million on his 2013 Cap hit. DeAngelo Hall isn’t a go candidate for an extension since he’s due $17 million over the next two years. He’d have to leave a significant amount of money on the table to make it even logical for the Redskins to extend him. Given that the money isn’t guaranteed, it would make more sense just to release him and try to work out a new contract if you want to retain him.

Overall Savings Prediction:

Cuts: Hall, Brown, and Carriker for $12.05 million

Restructuring: $12.355 million (I would end up restructuring all of Garcon, T. Williams, Cofield, Bowen, Chester)

Extensions: $3.887 (Orakpo and Wilson)

*Fletcher and Moss to me are real wild cards here and depending on what happens could jump the Redskins cap savings between $2-8.5 million. Remember though, either of them leaving creates more holes on this team.

Total savings: $28.292

Minimum Cap Overage: $16.658

Cap Space: $11.634 million

I know that $11.6 million sounds like a lot, but the Redskins need to be really smart with it. Remember the Redskins added $5 million to their cap in 2014 (and that doesn’t include the extra money in extensions to Wilson and Orakpo), with the restructuring of contracts. Also remember some of that $11.6 million will be taken up by the guys who take the place of Hall, Brown and Carriker in the top 51 contracts of the team. The Redskins would be wise to look for values as opposed to grabbing the first free agent or two on their wish list. If they spend all that money on guys who are signed beyond this year they could quickly have some more cap issues in the coming years.

Another important thing to consider is the Redskins are essentially using up all of their salary cap flexibility for the next couple of years. While getting the Hall, Carriker and Brown contracts off the books in 2014 and 2015 are helpful, there really aren’t going to be any other major guys that can be released next year or the year after. Guys that you just restructured will now have more guaranteed money that would need to be accounted for to release them. You are also unlikely to restructure them again as it would get more prohibitive going forward.

This cap room gives the Redskins the breathing room they need, and an ability to add some talent and depth to this team, but it absolutely should not be an invitation for the Redskins to have a major spending spree.

Redskins Cap Links:

Part 1:  Redskins Salary Cap Breakdown

Part 2:  Redskins Restricted Free Agents

Part 3:  Redskins Unrestricted Free Agents

Part 4:  Savings From Cuts

Part 5:  Savings from Restructuring and Final Thoughts