I'd like to say that the end of the NFL lockout is close at hand, but I gave up the play-by-play on that front today. Schizophrenic end to the process. Let's stat with what we know, and one thing we know is that at some point soon NFL free agency will hit a fever pitch as team compete to sign hundreds of players in a matter of days coinciding with the start of training camp. Joining the ranks of free agents will be a host of players cut by the current teams, cap casualties.
Teams usually try and trade some of those players that fall under the "cap casualties" label. Two players who fall into that category received a little ink recently in relation to the St. Louis Rams: running backs Reggie Bush and Steve Slaton.
Bush counts some $16 million against the cap for the Saints, who are already pressed up against the ceiling. Slaton isn't so much a cap threat with the kind of dollars Bush has coming, but at just $7.6 million under the cap and with an already crowded backfield, Houston will gladly take Slaton's $1.2 million off the books.
Obviously, both teams would like to trade those players in the hopes getting some return on their investment. However, the compressed time frame for free agency makes trades like this less likely as teams know they can just wait for those players to be cut.
Teams will have a three day window once the lockout ends to re-sign their own free agents and make cuts. I suspect a fair number of player to shake loose into the free agent market during that period. If Slaton and/or Bush are two of those players, it will be interesting to see who the potential bidders are.