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Potential 2026 Cap Casualties For All 32 Teams
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Potential 2026 Cap Casualties For All 32 Teams

Originally posted on NFLTradeRumors.co  |  By Logan Ulrich  |  Last updated Nov 24, 2025 8:47 AM ET

Part of the annual process for every team is reviewing the roster for potential salary cuts. Like any layoffs, it tends to be cold and harsh. Some teams have to slash payroll to get out from under past contract mistakes. But it’s not just the obvious deals. Teams will rarely pass up the opportunity to save a buck if they don’t think the production matches the salary, even if they have plenty of cap space and even if the player still has gas in the tank. 

It’s a tough time for a lot of players. However, it’s also an opportunity. One team’s trash can be another team’s treasure, and every year there are several players who are cut who go on to have successful seasons. 

Here’s the first look at all 32 teams and which players could be at risk of being caught up as cap casualties next year: 

San Francisco 49ers

The heavy cutting for the 49ers was done this past offseason as they revamped their roster, shedding aging veterans like WR Deebo Samuel and DT Javon Hargrave and adding nearly a dozen rookies to the roster. As a result, there aren’t many more high-priced veterans to let go in 2026, as the guys San Francisco kept got guaranteed money on new deals.

The exception might be Huff. The 49ers inherited the rest of the three-year, $51 million deal he signed with the Eagles in 2024, and Huff is owed $17.1 million in the last year of that deal next season. He’s been a nice find as a trade acquisition with four sacks in nine games and ranking 13th in ESPN’s pass rush win rate among edge rushers. Still, $17.1 million is a lot of savings. A win-win for both parties might be a new deal, lowering Huff’s cap hit and giving him some more long-term security. 

Chicago Bears

The Bears used a first-round pick on TE Colston Loveland this past April and he’s been platooning with Kmet while he gets used to the league. Going forward, the Bears probably expect Loveland to be top dog over Kmet, and that’s a lot of money for a No. 2 tight end. 

Swift may have played his way into the team’s 2026 plans after they didn’t have a choice but to inherit him for this year given his guaranteed salary. He’s currently averaging a career-high 70 yards rushing per game and has 134 carries for 634 yards and four touchdowns in nine games. Swift is also running as hard as he has in his career after a criticism early on was that he would go down on contact too easily. While $7.5 million is notable savings, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Bears add a more physical complement alongside Swift, not replace him outright. 

Santos just turned 34 and his current field goal percentage of 80 would be a career low for a full season. The Bears could explore a cheaper and younger alternative. 

Cincinnati Bengals

No player on Cincinnati’s defense should feel safe after this season. Slaton was signed to be a run-plugging nose tackle, but the Bengals rank 31st in the league defending the run with 1,609 yards allowed in 10 games. Hill was a semi-rare third contract re-signing by the Bengals, and while he has two sacks on the year, he’s also on the other side of 30. He has more equity banked with the team than Slaton and is the more likely of the two to be back. 

Karras has been locked in as an every-game starter for the Bengals since signing in 2022. The savings aren’t particularly notable for a starter, but if the team wants to get ahead of the curve and get younger after being bitten by declining players the past couple of years, Karras could be targeted as a cut. 

Gesicki has just eight catches in six healthy games this year after a breakout last year. He was one of the players QB Joe Burrow stumped for to re-sign this offseason. Maybe the two get some momentum together down the stretch. Otherwise the Bengals have some depth at tight end they could roll with and pocket the savings. 

Buffalo Bills

Knox has been pushed to the No. 2 tight end role by Bills TE Dalton Kincaid, who’s had a strong 2025 season. Nearly $10 million in savings will be too much to ignore for a Bills team close to the cap, but Knox has been a valued contributor and some sort of reduced salary could make sense for both sides. 

Had Samuel’s 2025 salary not already been guaranteed, he likely would have been cut this past offseason. As it is, Buffalo will likely move on from the veteran wideout who still somehow doesn’t turn 30 years old until next August. He has just seven catches this year. 

Denver Broncos

  • NA

There are a few Broncos veterans with sizable base salaries that aren’t guaranteed like OT Mike McGlinchey and G Ben Powers, but those players are all still productive starters. With $34 million in projected effective cap space next year (a metric from Over The Cap that accounts for filling out a full roster, signing draft picks, etc), the Broncos are in great shape. 

Cleveland Browns

The Browns subscribe to the credit card philosophy of salary cap management, which means there aren’t many cuts they can make to clear cap space. If they move on from Lucas, who turns 35 next year, it will have more to do with revamping an underwhelming offensive tackle group than saving a paltry $2 million. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • NA

Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin’s $22 million base salary in 2026 is guaranteed, which shuts down any idea of him being a cut after an injury-marred 2025 season. Other big-name veterans like DT Vita Vea and S Antoine Winfield Jr. have major base salaries that aren’t guaranteed, and both are getting closer to 30 years old — the age teams start reassessing a player’s potential longevity. For now, though, both Vea and Winfield are playing well, and the Buccaneers aren’t pressed hard up against the cap enough to be forced into those kinds of tough decisions in 2026. 

Arizona Cardinals

Arizona has invested a lot in free agency over the past few years to try and turn around the roster, and several of those deals are starting to hit the expiration date. Jones hasn’t been on a practice field for the Cardinals since early August with a knee injury, and he was limited to just three games in 2024. He’s an obvious cut, along with Nichols who signed at the same time as him in 2023. Nichols has played in two games this year and eight over the past two seasons. Murphy-Bunting signed back in 2023 too and was placed on the non-football injury list back in the summer. He has likely played his last down for the Cardinals, who moved on to younger options at the position this year. 

Tomlinson has been more productive than the other three, starting all 10 games for the Cardinals after inking a two-year deal this past offseason. However, the 31-year-old has no sacks, is on pace for a career-low in tackles and has the worst PFF grade of his career so far. He’s due nearly $15 million in cash next year and there’s a good chance the Cardinals continue the reset to get younger and cheaper up front. 

Conner’s season-ending foot injury puts him in a tough spot with the team next year, even after signing an extension last November. His absence has been a big reason for the Cardinals’ struggles this year but he turns 31 next May and plays a position with a notoriously volatile shelf life. It’s not a guarantee he comes back as the same player. He has no guarantees next year but there is a $1 million roster bonus due in March which could at least prompt the Cardinals to make a decision earlier. The worst-case scenario for players in these situations sometimes is having a deal that teams can squat on until the summer when budgets have been spent and landing spots around the league have been filled, giving them more leverage to negotiate a pay cut. 

Brown’s versatility to play center and guard has come in handy, and he’s made 10 starts at guard for the Cardinals in 2025. However, Arizona used a third-round pick on Isaiah Adams with the idea he’d eventually take over and be an upgrade. If Brown is pushed to a depth role, $5 million is a bit of a premium to pay for that. 

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers are projected to lead the NFL in available effective cap space in 2026, coming in well above $80 million right now. There’s not a lot of urgency to clear more room but Dissly has slipped behind some other options on the depth chart and is a strong cut candidate to add a little bit more to the team’s offseason war chest. 

Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City currently ranks last in the league in projected effective cap space, with a $60 million deficit to rework before the start of the league year in March. Cutting Taylor would knock out a third of that, and considering the team is paying OT Jaylon Moore $15 million a year to be a swing tackle right now, it feels probable that Taylor will be chopped. 

Danna would be a harder cut, as he’s been a solid piece of the defensive line rotation for several years now. He’s a great glue guy and solid run defender. Still, he has just one sack so far this season and his career high is just 6.5 back in 2023. Nine million in savings seems like a lot to pass up for a glue guy, and the Chiefs could stand to get more dynamic up front. The defensive line market has also exploded, and when the top of the market is over $45 million a year, $9 million is put into a little more perspective. 

Fulton was one of the Chiefs’ biggest signings this past offseason but battled injuries and hasn’t been able to get onto the field a whole lot until lately. Entering Week 12, he’d appeared for 26 snaps across three games. The Chiefs already guaranteed $5 million of the $10 million he’s owed next year, but if he’s not going to play a bigger role in 2026, keeping him would just be falling prey to the sunk cost fallacy. 

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are in solid shape financially for next year, ranking 10th in the league in projected effective cap space. However, they have a host of players due for new deals, including QB Daniel Jones, WR Alec Pierce, RT Braden Smith and a handful of others. If they need to make more room, Stewart’s contract could be scrutinized. One of the league’s most established run-stuffing nose tackles, Stewart is 32 years old and in his ninth season with the Colts. It’s also his lowest-graded season since Year 2 per PFF, and he’s been noticeably less disruptive. The savings from cutting Stewart would be substantial. 

Washington Commanders

The Commanders traded for Lattimore at the midseason deadline in 2024, and despite his struggles when he finally got healthy enough to play again, they doubled down for another season. It’s hard to see them making that mistake two years in a row after Lattimore struggled once more before tearing his ACL. 

Allegretti came up in some trade rumors this year, and the Commanders could gain a little bit of cap space by moving on this offseason. His contract isn’t expensive for a backup but Washington will likely try to reallocate its resources and get younger overall. 

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas is neck-and-neck with Kansas City for the biggest salary cap hole to dig out of before the offseason begins, with -$60 million in projected effective cap space. The Cowboys also have to clear nearly $30 million beyond that to fit a potential franchise tag for WR George Pickens, let alone any other moves. That makes the defensive tackle position crucial to watch for the Cowboys. Three players are on deals averaging more than $20 million a year, including Clark, Quinnen Williams and Osa Odighizuwa.

Clark and Williams were big-name trade acquisitions, while Odighizuwa was a priority to re-sign just this past offseason. So the team has a lot invested both in terms of assets and emotions, even as there are major questions about the wisdom of investing that much into a single position group. It’s something Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was quick to point out as negotiations dragged on with WR CeeDee Lamb and DE Micah Parsons — he only had so much pie to split between players. It’ll be interesting to see if his tune changes. 

Of the three players, Clark would have the biggest savings if cut, as none of his deal is guaranteed and there’d be no dead money after his trade from the Packers. He’s arguably the least effective of the three as well, and the least likely to figure into the team’s plans three years from now. 

Even if the team cuts Clark, plenty more moves will need to be made. It feels like the relationship between Diggs and the Cowboys has run its course with frustrations on both sides following his injury problems in the past year or so. Dallas will likely be glad to pocket the savings and Diggs will be glad to chase a fresh start. 

Steele has been a solid player for a while, better than his reputation, but the Cowboys showed a willingness to open up a competition in recent weeks. If they’re thinking about pivoting after the year, they could save nearly $9 million but offensive tackle is not necessarily the position teams want to be taking big risks at. 

Hooker turns 30 in April and safety is a position that teams do tend to have a lot of success when they try to go younger and cheaper. Wilson was brought in at the trade deadline to try and stabilize the defense, and if he does that he’s on an fairly affordable contract. If not, there’s no dead money for the Cowboys to move on. 

Anger just turned 37 last month and is at the age where he’ll have to keep fending off competition that has the advantage of being on a much cheaper deal if they can produce at a similar clip. 

Miami Dolphins

This coming offseason has been a clear exit ramp for the Chiefs and Hill for some time. His season-ending knee injury earlier this year just put it into focus a little earlier. The two sides could always work out a new deal that is friendlier to Miami’s books but one way or another, Hill is not going to be playing on his current contract. The cap savings are far too much for a rebuilding team like the Dolphins to turn down, especially for a player coming off an injury. 

The savings for Chubb’s contract aren’t nearly as extreme from a cap perspective but from a cash perspective, they’re going to be hard for Miami to turn down. You might hear about cash versus cap when it comes to NFL salary cap analysis. Cap space can be manipulated, but cash can’t. Any dollar a team pays to a player is a dollar that eventually hits the cap and can’t be paid to anyone else. When the Dolphins evaluate whether it makes sense to bring back Chubb in 2026, they’ll be asking whether he’s worth his current $20 million compensation, even if a release saves just a third of that in cap space. 

A similar calculation will be made for Fitzpatrick, who’s due $15.6 million with no guarantees in 2026. Whereas Chubb has been decently productive with five sacks in 11 games, Fitzpatrick hasn’t made quite the same impact on the stat sheet. He’s got one pick, two fumble recoveries and six pass breakups — solid numbers but probably not worth over $15 million. 

Sanders hasn’t played this season with a hip injury, one that cropped up during warmups in the last week of the preseason. He just turned 30 years old, and while kickers can play deep into their 30s, they’re just like any other position and tend to have more injury risk as they get older. Miami might decide it’s not worth paying a premium for a kicker if they’re not getting premium results. 

Philadelphia Eagles

  • NA

Because of the way the Eagles structure their contracts, they’ve basically pulled most of the levers they can to create flexibility. There aren’t any straight cuts they can do to make more cap space. One situation to watch is veteran TE Dallas Goedert, whose deal is set to void after this season. That would accelerate $20 million in dead money from previous restructures, but an extension keeps that money spread out over multiple years. 

Atlanta Falcons

Cousins has an opportunity to breathe life back into his career down the stretch here this season after regaining the starting job following QB Michael Penix Jr.’s season-ending knee injury. If he plays well, he can create a market for himself as a bridge quarterback from another team, perhaps even Atlanta. The team owes him a $35 million base salary as well as a $10 million roster bonus that became guaranteed when they didn’t cut him this past March. With uncertainty about when Penix will be ready, the door can’t be completely closed on Cousins being back, especially with how unconventional Atlanta has been when it comes to handling the position. 

But conventional thinking suggests $35 million is far too much for any team to pay Cousins next year, and the only way for the Falcons to get any kind of relief for that plus the bonus is to cut Cousins and hope he gets a decent-sized bridge quarterback deal elsewhere. They could really use the savings to build out the rest of the roster too, which this season has made clear still has holes and isn’t ready to contend at a major level. 

If the Falcons are looking for more personnel tweaks, Mooney and Woerner have been two of the glaring underperformers on an offense that overall has been emblematic of the team’s failure to meet expectations. Mooney has a bit of an excuse because of a broken collarbone that wiped out his training camp and left him playing catchup. Woerner was signed to be a blocking specialist but has been enough of a liability at times that he’s been de-emphasized in the game plan. Given the lack of depth at receiver, it feels more likely that the Falcons would move on from Woerner out of the two, if they decide to cut either one. 

New York Giants

By keeping GM Joe Schoen and firing HC Brian Daboll, the Giants have implicitly put the onus more on the coaching staff than the front office for the team’s struggles. That doesn’t mean the front office won’t have to make some major changes this offseason. 

Lawrence being on this list might seem surprising at first, but his production has taken a major step back this year, with just half a sack and nine solo tackles on the season. He’s made more headlines for feuding with team legend Carl Banks than anything he’s done on the field. Lawrence is due $20 million in cash next year, and that would be a lot for the Giants to give up for another year of this version of Lawrence. Schoen might be reluctant to just cut a former building block, but a trade might make the pill easier to swallow if they can find a buyer. 

Runyan and Okereke have been starters since signing as free agents, but they’re getting to a point where the production isn’t worth the price tag. There was buzz that the Giants didn’t think Okereke was the best fit for DC Shane Bowen’s scheme (though Bowen is likely not coming back next year). Runyan has been fairly average and the Giants can get more bang for their buck. 

Hudson was signed to provide depth at tackle this past year but hasn’t been great when he’s been pressed into action. The Giants probably should try again to shore up the swing tackle spot, particularly with veteran OT Jermaine Eluemunor set to be a free agent. Singletary was a favorite of Daboll’s and likely won’t be back with the coach gone. He’s third on a fully healthy depth chart anyway. Gano is ending a season on injured reserve once again and it’s past time for the Giants to find a more reliable, healthier kicker. Robertson-Harris is a decent rotation player but is at the point in his career when teams will think they can get similar production from a rookie or minimum salary veteran. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

Because new Jaguars GM James Gladstone and HC Liam Coen have already shaken up the roster dramatically, there aren’t a lot of obvious salary cuts for Jacksonville going into 2026. The team is bearing over $80 million in dead money this year and has another $40-plus million hitting the books next year, including for CB Tyson Campbell, S Darnell Savage and WR Gabriel Davis. 

If they cut Armstead, that would add another $17 million to that total. But they have to decide whether Armstead will be worth $14.5 million in cash next year when he’ll be 33 years old. He does have 5.5 sacks so far this year which is pretty strong production. 

New York Jets

The Jets aren’t hard up for salary cap space after shedding a pair of huge contracts at the trade deadline. They’re projected to have the fourth-most effective cap space in the NFL next year. They can add to that total by cutting Phillips, who has no dead money on his contract after arriving in a preseason trade from the Vikings. He’s been a solid contributor, playing nearly 60 percent of the snaps and helping the Jets to a fairly solid run defense ranking. Nose tackles can be somewhat fungible, however. 

Cutting Fields won’t save the Jets a lot of cap space but it will save them half of his $20 million base salary, which is cash they can redirect elsewhere to rebuild the roster. Twenty-two million in dead money will remain on the books in 2026 as a reminder of the mistake they made this past offseason. 

Detroit Lions

Decker has been a mainstay on the Lions’ offensive line since 2016, and the front five has been at the center of the organization’s resurgence the past few years. Unfortunately nothing lasts forever. Decker has played through some painful injuries that have sidelined him for a couple of games, and he turns 33 next year. He’s not a liability yet but it’s probably fair to guess his best days are behind him. As the Lions figure out how to go from rebuilding to sustaining success, how they handle Decker will be one of their first big tests. He’s due a little over $18 million in cash next year. 

What could help keep Decker in the fold is that there are more teams looking for quality left tackles than there are quality left tackles available. On the interior of the offensive line, that scarcity is a little less extreme. Glasgow is getting older as well and might find himself in the crosshairs as the Lions try to turn their interior starting three into a strength again. 

Green Bay Packers

It shows just how cold the cap casualty calculus can be that Jenkins, a rock-solid foundation piece for the Packers the last seven years and a two-time Pro Bowler, is in serious danger of getting laid off this offseason. Any time a team can save $20 million by cutting a player, the bar for them to keep their job is incredibly high. Jenkins’ season-ending injury after nine games will make it hard for him to meet that. There was some friction between Jenkins and the Packers over his contract this past offseason, so the veteran probably won’t mind the chance to test free agency, which has been incredibly kind to offensive linemen recently. 

The Parsons trade was supposed to help supercharge the production for other Packers defensive players, including Gary who had a case for a while as one of the most underrated edge players in football. He has 7.5 sacks in 11 games but his underlying pressure numbers have been disappointing, especially recently. As the Packers look forward, it makes sense to have two highly-paid edge rushers — as long as both are producing at a high clip. 

Banks was one of GM Brian Gutekunst’s biggest signings ever, inking a deal worth nearly $20 million a year. The Packers have not gotten what they thought they were paying for, though. The interior offensive line hasn’t been the strength they were hoping it would be, and it’s contributed to the overall offensive inconsistencies. Because of the Packers’ policy of not guaranteeing money past Year 1 outside of rare exceptions, they can cut Banks before a $9.5 million roster bonus in March kicks in and avoid paying him over $18 million next year while still saving a little bit of cap space. 

Carolina Panthers

With more help around him like a healthy DT Derrick Brown and a battalion of other reinforcements in free agency and the draft, Robinson’s numbers have been down because he doesn’t have to be one of the only competent run defenders on the roster. He’s still an excellent fit in DC Ejiro Evero’s scheme and a productive player. Still, he turns 31 next year so the Panthers will have to evaluate if he can continue to be effective going forward or if they need to take the savings and find a younger alternative, as $8.5 million is not a small number. 

Jones was one of Carolina’s many free agent signings to try and augment the defense but a back injury unfortunately cut his season short. He has $1.75 million already guaranteed but that shouldn’t stop the Panthers from cutting him if they think they can find equal or better production for the same or less. Back injuries can linger, too. 

New England Patriots

Diggs has been far and away New England’s leading receiver when it comes to targets, catches and yards, which is good because the Patriots rolled the dice on the veteran with a big deal coming off a torn ACL. He’s got 59 catches, 659 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games. It’s solid production but the question the Patriots will have to ask themselves this offseason is whether Diggs’ numbers are good enough to forego $16.8 million in cap savings and $22.5 million in cash. They’ll have more chances to try and upgrade the skill position room this offseason, and Diggs will be another year older at 32. 

Jennings was a fixture on the trade block all year and the Patriots will be able to move on with no guarantees on his deal after this season. Gibson tore his ACL and the Patriots may have been interested in finding an upgrade at kickoff returner and No. 3 back regardless. 

Las Vegas Raiders

The more this season goes on and the more the Raiders spiral, the less likely it looks that Smith will be back in Las Vegas for another season. He signed a deal that gave him $18 million in guarantees next year but the Raiders could still save $8 million by releasing him. If he’s not going to be the starter in 2026, that feels like the likely outcome. 

Cappa signed with the Raiders after being a cap cut by the Bengals last year. He competed with OL Jackson Powers-Johnson for one of the starting spots at guard and got the nod over him for a couple of games. But with Powers-Johnson done for the year, it hasn’t been Cappa in the starting lineup in recent weeks, pointing to him being a cap cut for the second straight offseason. 

Los Angeles Rams

After playing over 80 percent of the snaps for the last five years with two different teams, Williams is being shuttled in and out of the lineup more this year with the Rams. He’s at around 57 percent of the snaps in eight games. Williams turns 33 in March and the NFL is pretty ageist when it comes to cornerbacks, so at minimum, I’d expect the Rams to try and negotiate a pay cut, if they don’t release Williams outright. 

The Rams’ love of multiple tight end formations has kept a role for Parkinson alive but he’s not been particularly productive since signing with the team as a free agent last year. Perhaps Parkinson is a luxury the Rams are willing to pay for, however, they have a host of players due for new contracts and might have more pressing needs for the money. 

Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore has some players who could find themselves in danger depending on how the rest of the season plays out but for now the books look relatively clean. One exception could be Washington. The Ravens’ defensive tackle room as a whole has been below expectations this year and could be due for a revamp in the offseason. If Washington’s cut, it would be for that purpose as much as it would be the cap savings. 

New Orleans Saints

  • NA

There aren’t any players the Saints could cut to get meaningful salary savings. Once again, any cap space will have to come from restructuring contracts, though they should be out of the cycle of constant restructures if they want to be after this coming offseason. 

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks have navigated a couple of interesting contract situations with Nwosu over the years and another one is coming up. He’s due to count over $20 million against the cap and $11.5 million of that could be saved in a release. However, he’s having a solid season with 5.5 sacks in nine games, which is more than he was able to play in each of the prior two seasons. This is a situation where an extension to bring Nwosu’s cap number down and still keep him in the fold could be a win-win. 

Kupp was the most notable addition to the Seahawks’ offense this past offseason outside of QB Sam Darnold, but so far he has just 31 catches for 414 yards and one touchdown in 10 games. His contributions go beyond the box score but Seattle has to decide if those contributions are worth $13.5 million in cash in 2026. It feels like Kupp has reached the point where the name brand is worth far more than the production. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

It was prompted by a rash of injuries in the secondary, but the Steelers seem to have stumbled into something by shifting Ramsey to safety. That role has let him maximize his physicality and instincts while minimizing his waning athleticism. The catch is it’s tough to pay over $23 million to a safety. The Steelers and Ramsey should be able to work out a new deal at a rate that makes more sense but if not, a cut is entirely possible. 

Harrison has played just four games so far this season, with a ratio of 81 snaps on defense to 53 on special teams. Unless that changes, the Steelers are paying a premium for a depth player, making Harrison a cut candidate. 

Houston Texans

A mysterious foot injury has sidelined Mixon since the summer, and six months later it doesn’t seem like he’s much closer to getting back on the field. That creates natural questions about his playing future. The situation with the Texans is a little more cut and dried. At 30 years old next July and owed $8.5 million, Mixon won’t play on that contract in 2026. 

The Texans could use some more space next year with a crowded financial situation. Edwards has been a productive role player but Houston has some depth along the defensive line to make a cut and save a little chunk. Edwards is turning 32 in January and has been a career role player. 

Tennessee Titans

Titans GM Mike Borgonzi will get to clean up some of the mistakes his predecessor made, as the guarantees on some contracts did their job and protected the players. Those guarantees have now expired for guys like Ridley and Sneed and there’s a strong chance both are cut. Sneed is on much shakier ground with his lack of production over two seasons, injury history and a legal situation where he was, at minimum, in the car when an associate of his shot up a car dealership. Cutting Sneed will save $16 million in cash and feels like a lock. 

Ridley still has $3 million in guaranteed salary but $1 million of his $21.75 million 2026 compensation is due in March. That could prompt an earlier decision from Tennessee to maximize the savings. The veteran broke his fibula this month and turns 31 in December. 

Pollard has been more productive but it’ll be interesting to see if the Titans want to take the savings and try to attack other areas of the roster. Running back is often saved as a final touch for a rebuilding team given how reliant they are on the supporting cast to be productive. 

The Titans are excited by what third-round S Kevin Winston has shown as the season has progressed, as he was eased into things coming off a torn ACL in his final college season. With him and veteran Amani Hooker manning the safety spots, there’s less of a role for Woods and an opportunity for some savings. 

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings expected to be vying for a playoff berth and perhaps more, and the roster composition reflect that with lots of older veteran players and big contracts. That’s not how things have played out and Minnesota has a lot to do to rebalance the books in 2026. Over The Cap has them in a $50 million hole as currently constructed. Some of that cap space will come from restructures but there could also be tough cuts. 

Guys like Hockenson and Jones would be headliners in that category. Hockenson was having a career season in 2023 when he tore his ACL late in the year, and that bled over into the following season, limiting him to 10 games. This year, the struggles at quarterback have impacted his production, but Hockenson also doesn’t seem like his same dynamic self. He’s got 38 catches for 299 yards in 11 games. That’s not a great return on $11 million and his salary balloons to over $15 million next year. 

Jones is still an effective player but only in limited touches given his age (nearly 31) and durability issues. The Vikings may not be in a position to pay a part-time player $10 million next year, although they’ve already guaranteed $2 million of that. 

Hargrave has been solid for the Vikings after signing a pretty strong deal after being cut by the 49ers last offseason. He’s playing a little over 50 percent of the snaps and has three sacks. Hargrave also already has $4 million of his salary guaranteed in 2026, but the Vikings are setting up to have some tough decisions and might not be able to pass on the $11 million in savings. 

Kelly’s deal is cleaner to get out of, and there’s a solid chance the 10-year veteran will elect to hang up his cleats after this season. He turns 33 next year and has had repeated concussions this year. With tens of millions in earnings and four Pro Bowls, about the only thing that’s eluded Kelly so far is a lot of playoff success.

This article first appeared on NFLTradeRumors.co and was syndicated with permission.

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