Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Are you ready for the frenzy of NFL free agency?
In today’s SI:AM:
👋 NFL cap casualties
🐏 Belichick’s first UNC practice
📺 Why did ATH get canceled?
A few more free agents hit the market
With the start of NFL free agency less than a week away, teams are starting to prepare for the beginning of the new league year. For some players, that means unexpectedly hitting the free agent market after being cut as cap casualties. Here are a few of the most noteworthy players who’ve been released to this point.
Joey Bosa (Los Angeles Chargers)
Even though he’s a five-time Pro Bowl selection and had been with the Chargers for nine seasons (dating back to their time in San Diego), it wasn’t exactly a surprise that Bosa was cut. The pass rusher avoided being released last season by taking a $7 million pay cut (from $22 million to $15 million), saying that “winning football games is more important to me right now than making some extra money.” The Chargers had to decide quickly what to do with him in 2025 because he was set to be paid a roster bonus of $12 million on the first day of the new league year on March 12.
Bosa was set to carry a $36.4 million cap hit next season and the team will save $25.36 million against the cap by releasing him. The Chargers are projected to have roughly $90 million in cap space after the move.
Bosa, who turns 30 in July, has been a great player when healthy but has been plagued by injuries throughout his career. He has played just 107 of a possible 148 games over his nine seasons. Last season was just the third time in his career that he played more than 12 games in a season.
Tyler Lockett (Seattle Seahawks)
Lockett is another player who will be looking for a new home after a long tenure with the team that drafted him. The 32-year-old receiver was released Wednesday after 10 seasons in Seattle.
Lockett has been a remarkably durable player throughout his career, having missed just one game over the course of his decade in the league (the final game of the 2016 season after breaking his leg in Week 16). Since he entered the league in 2015, Lockett ranks 11th in the NFL with 661 receptions.
But with the emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the top receiver in Seattle, Lockett played a much smaller role in the Seahawks’ offense in 2024. After averaging 117.6 targets per season from 2019 to ’23, Lockett was only targeted 74 times last season. His $30 million cap hit for next season ($17 million in salary) was simply too large for a No. 3 receiver.
Saying goodbye to a franchise icon like Lockett is tough, and it might be just the start of an overhaul to Seattle’s receiver room. Star wideout DK Metcalf has reportedly asked for a trade.
Darius Slay and James Bradberry (Philadelphia Eagles)
These two moves, made earlier in the week, will save the Eagles a combined $6.4 million against the salary cap. Neither cut should come as much of a surprise. Bradberry, a key part of the Eagles’ defense in 2022 and ’23, missed all of last season with a torn Achilles. Slay, 34, is a six-time Pro Bowl selection but played a smaller role this season than he had in his previous four with Philadelphia. After playing 98% of the defensive snaps in ’23, he played just 81% in ’24.
Slay said on his podcast Wednesday that he is open to returning to the Eagles on a reworked deal, acknowledging that the cut is “part of the business and, nah, I’m not hurt about it.” The defending Super Bowl champs still could see a lot of turnover on defense, though. Linebacker Zack Baun and pass rusher Josh Sweat are the most significant pending free agents, and backup cornerbacks Avonte Maddox and Isaiah Rodgers will also hit the market.
Joe Thuney (Kansas City Chiefs)
Thuney wasn’t your typical cap casualty, since he was traded rather than released, but given the problems the Chiefs had in pass protection last season there’s no other explanation for why they would ditch an All-Pro offensive lineman besides the cap savings. Kansas City traded him to the Chicago Bears this week in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft. The move saves the Chiefs about $16 million against the cap, but also forces Kansas City into a tricky situation when it comes to protecting Patrick Mahomes.
Gardner Minshew (Las Vegas Raiders)
Minshew doesn’t fit the definition of a cap casualty either, since that term usually describes a player a team would like to keep but is forced to release for salary reasons. The Raiders have reportedly told Minshew they intend to release him, a move that will save the team $9.3 million if he’s designated as a post-June 1 cut. That cap relief will be a lot more valuable to the team than keeping Minshew around. He stunk in nine starts for the Raiders last season before a broken collarbone landed him on injured reserve.
Las Vegas is in a dire quarterback situation. Releasing Minshew would leave Aidan O’Connell and undrafted free agent Carter Bradley as the only quarterbacks on the roster. The Raiders hold the No. 6 pick in the upcoming draft, which is likely to be too late to select one of the top two quarterbacks available (Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward). They’ll have to hope they can sign one of the free agent quarterbacks available, such as Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. A reunion between Wilson and new Raiders coach Pete Carroll could be appealing.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Pat Forde was among the gaggle of media members granted access to North Carolina’s first spring football practice under coach Bill Belichick, a mostly mundane session that still bore the unmistakable touch of the legendary coach.
- Matt Verderame looked back at the five best NFL free agent signings of last year. You already know who No. 1 is.
- Verderame also wrote about the Chiefs’ decision to trade Joe Thuney and why bolstering the offensive line is the biggest factor in their continued success.
- Jimmy Traina tried to make sense of why ESPN would cancel Around the Horn.
- John Schwarb, Bob Harig and Jeff Ritter debate whether there are too many easy courses on the PGA Tour these days.
- Stephanie Apstein checks in from Red Sox camp, where plenty of Boston players have spring fever—literally. An illness is running through the clubhouse and forcing prospects to get more action in exhibition games than previously intended.
- The Raiders retained their best player by signing Maxx Crosby to a record-setting contract extension.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | The Most Notable NFL Salary Cap Casualties.
