NFL Trade Rumors
The offseason has begun for all but two teams, with free agency coming up in March and the draft in April. But there’s another phase of the offseason that’s not talked about as much for team building — and that’s salary cap casualties.
Every year, teams take a fresh look at their roster to see where they can trim off some of the fat. It’s a ruthless exercise. Even if a team is awash in cap space, even if the savings are relative pocket change, if the front office decides the production is not worth the salary for a player, they will make the cut.
Like layoffs in any industry, usually the players who are cut skew older. Many have injury issues and for a lot of these players, their career goes downhill from this point. But there are also players who are reinvigorated by the fresh start, and one team’s trash can become another team’s treasure.
Here’s an early look, team-by-team, at the potential players who could be on the chopping block this offseason and join a free agent pool that frankly could use as much help as it can get.
The 49ers tipped their hand for one of their big moves coming this offseason, agreeing to a restructured deal with Hargrave that essentially was a $17 million pay cut and paved the way to make him a June 1 release. San Francisco had a lot of problems this past year but one that I think has gone under the radar is the team wasn’t as overpowering up front as they’ve been in the past. By March, the 49ers will have cut Hargrave and DT Arik Armstead in back-to-back offseasons, so retooling the defensive tackle spot seems like a priority.
Another high-profile cut candidate to watch is Samuel. The two sides agreed to a restructured contract last offseason after Samuel was the subject of trade discussions. He has a $15 million option bonus that’s due on March 23. That date is intentional because it creates an early deadline for the team to decide on its plans. While the 49ers can’t cut or trade Samuel outright because of the dead money hit, they could designate him as a June 1 cut and avoid paying that bonus.
Samuel will be 29 in 2025, which is also a contract year, and his production dipped this season. His yards per game and yards per touch were the lowest of his career and he scored just four times in 15 games. There seems to be a natural pivot point coming up with the 49ers offense, as high-priced skill players like Samuel, TE George Kittle and RB Christian McCaffrey get older and QB Brock Purdy nears what will be a massive, massive pay raise.
The door could be cracked for...
