Potential cap casualties that the Commanders could be interested in

Breaking down some potential cap casualties around the NFL that could interest the Commanders in free agency

NFL free agency is right around the corner and while I’ve been profiling different options the Commanders could consider at various positions, there’s some options that aren’t yet available but could soon be. As we get closer to the new league year, teams start to cut veteran players to create more cap space, which widens the pool of free agents.

So I thought I’d have a quick look around the league at some teams that are struggling with cap space and look for potential cut candidates that could be of interest to the Commanders. All the numbers listed here came from OverTheCap, which is a terrific site for all sorts of salary cap and contract information. It’s important to note here that just because someone would provide significant cap savings doesn’t mean they will be cut, as I’ll list in each appropriate section. But here are some options to keep an eye on over the next week or so leading into free agency.

Minnesota Vikings: $43 million over the cap

Edge Jonathan Greenard - $12.25m cap saving, $9.9m dead cap

DT Javon Hargrave - $10.9m cap saving, $10.5m dead cap

TE T.J. Hockenson - $8.8m cap saving, $12.4m dead cap

RB Aaron Jones - $7.75m cap saving, $6.8m dead cap

LB Blake Cashman - $4.5m cap saving, $4.65m dead cap

CB Isaiah Rodgers $4.5m cap saving, $4.4m dead cap

Analysis: This is the most obvious team to look at for potential cap casualties. The Commanders have a ton of holes on defense and they just hired Daronte Jones from the Vikings to be their new defensive coordinator. It would make sense that Jones would like to bring a few pieces with him if they become available.

The Vikings are way over the cap at the time of writing and they have plenty of candidates that could help save them significant chunks of cap space, which they may need if they opt to get into the veteran quarterback market this offseason. I’d be surprised if the Vikings cut Jonathan Greenard, they’d be more likely to trade him than cut him if anything, but I think he will ultimately remain in Minnesota. But he would provide the most cap saving of anyone on this list and given the Commanders need for an edge rusher, he would be a perfect fit for Washington to pursue if available.

The Vikings have made it known that Javon Hargrave is available for trade, which is typically a sign that the player will be cut by the new league year if a trade partner cannot be found. I’m not sure anyone would trade for him knowing that, so I think it’s pretty likely he’ll become a free agent. Hargrave is a versatile defensive lineman that can play multiple spots along the front and provide stout run defense. Beyond the obvious link to Jones, Hargrave also has another link to Washington, with Adam Peters being part of the 49ers team that signed Hargrave when he was a free agent in 2023. Having just turned 33, Hargrave isn’t a long term option but he could be a nice addition on a one-year deal.

I don’t see the other two defenders on this list being available. Cashman and Rodgers both played key roles for the Vikings last year and their cap saving and dead cap values are pretty similar, which usually means it’s not worth cutting them. Hockenson and Jones could be interesting options for the offense too. Jones is still a good zone runner, though I’m not sure he’d be worth a free agent price tag over the younger guys that Washington currently has. Hockenson at his best would be a huge addition to the tight end room, but he’s suffered a bunch of injuries throughout his career and last season those injuries looked like they taken their toll.

Dallas Cowboys: $55 million over the cap

DT Kenny Clark - $21.5m cap saving, $0 dead cap

S Malik Hooker - $6.8 cap saving, $2m dead cap

Analysis: With Pickens likely to get the franchise tag or a big money extension, the Cowboys will have to make a lot of moves to get back under the salary cap limit. I believe there are a lot of restructuring they can do with some of their longer term contracts that can free up a fair bit of cap space and that’s likely the road they will go down, but there are a few cut candidates to consider.

It’s hard to imagine the Cowboys cutting Clark after Jerry Jones made such a huge deal about him being a key part of the Micah Parsons trade. But Clark would have no dead cap hit and would save them a huge sum against the cap, so they have to be considering it. Clark is a very strong run defender and would fit nicely at both nose tackle and 3-4 defensive end in Daronte Jones’ system. At 30, he’s still young enough to provide good value for a few years so he could get a decent contract on the open market, but he’d be a valuable piece for any defensive line if he becomes available.

Hooker is the other main cut candidate for the Cowboys. Obviously Dan Quinn coached Hooker in Dallas, but Hooker was always seen as more of a rangey deep safety to play in a single-high defense. With Quinn handing over his defense to Jones, it’s expected we’ll see a lot of two-deep safety coverages. That’s not necessarily what Hooker does best, so the fit might not be ideal. But it’s worth looking at given the connection to Quinn.

Chicago Bears: $4 million over the cap

LB Tremaine Edmunds - $15m cap saving, $2.4 dead cap

TE Cole Kmet - $8.4m cap saving, $3.2m dead cap

RB D’Andre Swift - $7.5m cap saving, $1.3m dead cap

Analysis: The Bears had a very similar 2025 season to the Commanders 2024 season, but their cap situation isn’t quite as nice. They’re only slightly over the cap and should be able to get under it easily with a few moves, but it’s always nice to create extra space to give yourself some room to go after a few free agents.

The obvious move for the Bears is linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. He’s been in the league forever it feels like but won’t turn 28 until later this offseason. He’s still an excellent athlete and offers more coverage upside than Washington’s current projected starters. The Bears have given Edmunds permission to seek a trade. He’s a good enough player still for some teams to be interested in trading for him, but they’d have to take on his contract in order to do so. That could mean teams will ultimately wait until the Bears release him. I wouldn’t be trading for him, but I’d certainly take a look if he became a free agent.

Cole Kmet is another one that could be on the move from Chicago. I’d imagine he’s someone that could also get a return in the form of a draft pick. Kmet has been a steadily productive but unspectacular tight end throughout his career to date, but the Bears spent a first round pick on Colson Loveland last year and he looked very promising. Kmet would be a solid addition to a lot of tight end rooms around the NFL with solid pass catching ability and solid run blocking skills too.

I’m not sure the Commanders would pursue D’Andre Swift if the Bears were to release him, but he has a lot of connections to Washington. First, he played with Commanders new offensive coordinator David Blough in Detroit. Blough and Swift overlapped on the Lions in 2020 and 2021. Blough left in 2022 and by the time he returned, Swift had been traded to the Eagles. But Blough isn’t the only connection. Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark was a high ranking member of the Lions front office when they drafted Swift in the second round back in 2020.

Swift has always provided a nice receiving option out of the backfield, which is a role the Commanders do need to fill. Jacory Croskey-Merritt only has a handful of catches in his college and professional career and Chris Rodriguez is more of an inside thumper than pass catcher. So Swift has some logical fits and links to the Commanders if the Bears decide to move on from him.

Miami Dolphins: $3 million cap space

Edge Bradley Chubb - $7.3 cap saving, $23.8m dead cap. Post June 1 - $20m cap saving, $10.9 dead cap

S Minkah Fitzpatrick - $5.8m cap saving, $13m dead cap. Post June 1 - $15.6m cap saving, $3.2m dead cap

Analysis: The news broke a while ago now that the Dolphins were planning to release Chubb this offseason, along with a number of other players. Those other players have already officially been released, but the Dolphins are waiting until the new league year to officially release Chubb. This is because they want to release him with a post June 1 designation. This is an accounting trick teams can do where they split the dead cap hit over two years, saving them more money in the short term. However, the downside of that is that the team doesn’t get that cap space until June, while the player is able to sign elsewhere immediately.

So we know Chubb will be released come the start of the new league year, when teams are allowed to use the post June 1 designation. After the news broke, I watched a couple games to see what Chubb still has to offer. He’s still a decent player but he’s clearly not the player he once was, likely due to injuries over the years adding up. He doesn’t quite have the first step burst he once had, which limits his speed rush, but he still has some good power and knows how to use his hands and work over a tackle with a variety of moves.

I’m not sure Chubb will necessarily be someone that any team jumps at the chance of signing. Perhaps a team with a coach that is familiar with him and values his leadership will want him, but Chubb strikes me as a solid veteran that could sit on the market for a little while and see how things develop before making a move. There’s a world where he comes in and is a mentor for a young rookie, but I don’t think he’s someone Washington should be pursuing as a full time starter.

There’s no guarantee that Fitzpatrick gets cut given the Dolphins are under the cap and will be moving on from Chubb, but they are still quite tight with space and have a daunting situation to handle with Tua Tagovailoa’s contract. But if Fitzpatrick becomes available, he is a little more intriguing than Chubb. He’s playing at a higher level than Chubb, but the question is how much versatility does he still have in his game. Coming out of college, Fitzpatrick was super versatile and could play deep, in the box, cover the slot and just about any other role you could ask of a safety. Now though, I’m not sure how many different roles he can still do. That type of flexibility would be something highly valued by Jones but I don’t know how much of that he still has to offer.

Other Notable Cut Candidates:

Panthers DT A’Shawn Robinson - $10.5m cap saving, $2m dead cap

Cardinals DT Dalvin Tomlinson - $9.4m cap saving, $6.8m dead cap

Analysis: These two players are on teams that aren’t necessarily desperate for cap space, but they are all still potential cut candidates due to their age and the amount of potential savings involved. Both will be 31 by the start of this season and both fill similar roles on their respective defensive lines. Both also have links to the Commanders coaching staff.

Let’s start with Dalvin Tomlinson. Tomlinson is a big bodied, prototype nose tackle for a 3-4 defense. He’s listed at 6-foot-3, 335 pounds and has made a nice career for himself out of being an incredibly stout run defender at the heart of the defense. The Commanders are keeping Daron Payne and have Javon Kinlaw, both are big, stout run defenders but both are probably slightly more suited to playing 3-4 defensive end rather than nose tackle. Tomlinson would give them someone that could fill that role on obvious run downs and then rotate out on third down and other obvious passing situations.

Tomlinson did play for the Vikings while Daronte Jones was on the staff in 2022, but he was also teammates with Daron Payne in college at Alabama, so there would be some familiarity there. It’s unclear if the Cardinals plan to move on from him, they do have nearly $40 million in cap space so they definitely don’t need to, but they also just fired head coach Jonathan Gannon, though new head coach Matt LaFleur did retain Nick Rallis to maintain continuity on the defense. But there’s likely a pretty big revamp coming in Arizona with a new head coach, which always leaves older players with high cap hits vulnerable.

The other one to keep an eye on is A’Shawn Robinson with the Panthers. Robinson has a higher cap saving and lower dead cap hit, making him a better cut candidate than Tomlinson. The Panthers aren’t desperate for space either but they only have about $12 million in cap space right now, which isn’t a ton if they want to try and make some moves in free agency. Looking at their contracts, Robinson is the obvious one to move on from and create some more space.

For Washington, Robinson would fill a similar role to Tomlinson. He’s not quite as big as Tomlinson, but he is still listed at 320 pounds. He’s also a bit more versatile in that he can play more than just a pure nose tackle role and does offer a bit more push as a pass rusher too. Robinson doesn’t have as many links to Washington, but he did spend three seasons and won a Super Bowl with the LA Rams under Commanders new defensive line coach Eric Henderson. The word is the Panthers might try and trade him for something, but I think he likely ends up cut and I would think he’d be a good option for Washington if that does happen.