2020 NFL Salary ReCap NFC North Edition

It's that time of year again! Come March 18th, football season is officially back! No disrespect to the XFL, but there's nothing like the real thing. Now we can turn our attention to free agency and soon after, the NFL Draft. In advance of a potential new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the NFL and NFL Players Association are projecting the league's salary cap to rise to $200 million this season, marking the seventh consecutive year the cap has increased by at least $10 million.

The league year and free agency doesn’t officially start until 4:00pm EST on March 18th. However the action will start on March 16th when teams are legally allowed to negotiate with impending free agents. Since there are just a few short weeks away I decided to assess each team’s salary cap situation and predict where the available cap space will go. I also included each team’s likeliest cap casualty. Make sure to check back each day for the latest installment as this will be released in 8 parts. Please remember that these numbers are subject to change as moves are made this week.  Today we will wrap up with the NFC North. 

Chicago Bears

Available cap space $16,640,111

With very little cap space and several key players with expiring contracts, things are not heading in the right direction for Chicago. With two inside Linebackers, Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski, as well as starting safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in need of contracts the Bears will need to find ways to shed some salary. They've already shown interest in upgrading the TE position as well as bringing in a QB to compete with Trubisky. Without a pick in the first round, it will be an uphill battle for the Bears.

Possible cap casualty

Trey Burton has Chicago in a bind. The often injured TE has a cap hit of over $8 million but they'd still be on the hook for over $7 million if they cut him. Is saving the $1 million in cap space worth it? Or does the Swiss Army knife TE deserve another chance after catching just 14 passes in 8 Games? That's for GM Ryan Pace to decide

Detroit Lions

Available cap space $47,713,544

With a good amount of spending freedom, Detroit could be very active in FA as they're reportedly not going to re-sign many of their plethora of impending free agents. After releasing Damon "Snacks" Harrison and not showing much interest in re-signing Mike Daniels or A'Shawn Robinson, they could be completely renovating the interior defensive line. GM Bob Quinn also looks to be playing hard ball with reliable offensive lineman Graham Glasgow who is taking a highest bidder approach.

Possible cap casualty

Rick Wagner signed his contract back in 2017 which was the biggest contract for a right tackle in the entire NFL at the time. His average level of play, when he's paid to be one of the best, makes him a cut candidate. Detroit would save $6.1 million and would it would leave them with $5.8 million in dead money. The move would still make sense since his backup Tyrell Crosby played well when given the chance and is currently on his rookie deal.

Green Bay Packers

Available cap space $20,460,042

After revamping their defense last season and finally being aggressive in free agency, Green Bay will try to do the same on the other side of the ball. With not too much to improve on and not too much cash, The Pack would like to try and get Rodgers another weapon or two but with a starting offensive lineman and several backups hitting free agency, they may need to put the money there. They also could try to keep productive Linebacker Blake Martinez but he will most likely be out of their price range on the open market.

Possible cap casualty

Jimmy Graham seems to be an inevitable cap casualty with an $11.6 million cap hit in 2020. Green Bay can save roughly $8 million of that by cutting the aging Tight End.

Minnesota Vikings

Available cap space $1,379,736

Overpaying will catch up to you sooner or later. Minnesota will have to start cutting players and rework contracts very soon. Right now they couldn't even afford to pay their incoming rookies. Expect a lot of cuts, not many signings, and maybe a few trades from the Purple cap space eaters.

Possible cap casualty

Xavier Rhodes was once again a pro bowl selection, but wasn't his usual dominant self. After arguably the worst season of his career, the soon to be 30-year-old is due $12.9 million. If the Vikings parted ways with the star cover corner they would save $8.1 million this year and a total of $33.7 million over the next three years. With Minnesota's extreme cap issues,

they may have to put Rhodes out on the... ahem, streets.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope that it was as enjoyable to read as it was to write and research. The NFL draft is right around the corner, new content is coming soon. Stay tuned, and most importantly #staytrue