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Currently, the Rams' Available Salary Cap Space is $113,676, lowest in the league. The roster will be trimmed to 75 players by 4pm today. None of those cuts will affect cap space, as they're not among the top 51 cap space hits counted in the off season.
Once the regular season begins - all players under contract - including the practice squad and players on IR, count against the cap. The practice squad players cost the Rams $6,000 per week - per player. The necessity of counting 53 final roster players against the cap - instead of the current 51 - will cost a minimum of $810,000 against the cap. The Rams must also begin the season with a cap space "reserve" [a minimum of $2 million approx.]. The reserve is a contingency for adding players - to replace those that may end up on injured reserve throughout the season. The Rams will need to create approximately $2.7 million in cap space before the beginning of the season. They will need to be in compliance - with the change in accounting for cap space - by 4pm, September 4.
The Rams can achieve their cap space requirements in one of two ways: restructuring an existing contract, or cutting players with large enough salaries to have an impact on available cap space.
The accompanying chart presents the Rams' highest 25 cap hits for 2013:
Player Position Base Salary Signing Bonus Other Bonus Cap Figure Cortland Finnegan CB 9,000,000 1,000,000 5,000,000 15,000,000 Sam Bradford QB 9,000,000 3,594,800 200 12,595,000 James Laurinaitis LB 1,000,000 400,000 11,000,000 12,400,000 Chris Long DE 7,250,000 1,500,000 8,750,000 Scott Wells C 5,500,000 1,000,000 6,500,000 Kendall Langford DT 5,000,000 1,000,000 6,000,000 Jake Long LT 3,000,000 1,250,000 4,250,000 Jared Cook TE 3,000,000 1,000,000 4,000,000 Harvey Dahl G 4,000,000 4,000,000 Robert Quinn DE 1,232,829 1,340,646 2,573,475 Tavon Austin WR 405,000 1,913,364 2,318,364 Michael Brockers DT 822,818 1,341,272 2,164,090 William Hayes DE 800,000 1,250,000 2,050,000 JoLonn Dunbar LB 1,300,000 500,000 1,800,000 Rodger Saffold T 655,000 580,000 225,000 1,460,000 Chris Williams OL 925,000 451,154 1,376,154 Alec Ogletree OLB 405,000 873,187 1,278,187 Eugene Sims DE 1,201,021 25,825 141 1,226,987 Brian Quick WR 634,845 589,250 1,224,095 Lance Kendricks TE 759,118 393,437 1,152,555 Janoris Jenkins CB 480,000 517,331 136,382 1,133,713 Darian Stewart S 700,000 300,000 1,000,000 Isaiah Pead RB 573,550 344,200 917,750 Austin Pettis WR 580,000 153,604 733,604 Jermelle Cudjo DT 555,000 175,000 730,000
There are very few players in the top 25 cap space hits considered as candidates for release. Bear in mind, the cap space savings from any players cut, would be somewhat minimized - by adding the contracts of players who replace them.
A far more likely scenario - the Rams restructuring an existing contract. Cortland Finnegan's contract is the one that makes the most sense to restructure, especially given the circumstances surrounding other high-priced players on the roster. The restructure would be done along the lines of Chris Long's, completed earlier this year. The accompanying chart breaks down Long's restructure - which essentially converted $6 million of base salary into a signing bonus. The resulting cap savings was $4.5 million for 2013.
Original Contract Year Base Signing Bonus Roster Bonus Cap Hit 2012 10,310,000 8,247,500 18,557,500 2013 13,250.00 13,250,000 2014 13,200,000 13,200,000 2015 8,000,000 2,000,000 10,000,000 2016 9,750,000 2,000,000 11,750,000 Restructured 2012 10,310,000 8,247,500 18,557,500 2013 7,250,000 1,500,000 8,750,000 2014 13,200,000 1,500,000 14,700,000 2015 8,000,000 3,500,000 11,500,000 2016 9,750,000 3,500,000 13,250,000
TST will keep you updated on the cap space situation as it evolves. One thing is for sure: having Kevin Demoff in the front office means the Rams are in good hands.