One prime cut or trade candidate for every NFC team

As NFL teams approach the new league year (March 12), they are not just focusing on the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis (through Monday) and draft in Green Bay (April 24-26).

Behind the scenes, teams are deciding on potential cut and trade candidates. Ahead of the new league year, Yardbarker NFL writers offer one player each NFC team should jettison. (2024 regular-season records are in parentheses.)

NFC East

DALLAS COWBOYS (7-10) | Trade DE Micah Parsons | The four-time Pro Bowler will be a free agent in 2026 and is unlikely to play under a fifth-year option that will pay him $24M in 2025. Earlier this month, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported the Cowboys have internally discussed “whether to pay Parsons or trade him for a king’s ransom.” If an agreement can’t be reached with him, a Khalil Mack-style deal that includes multiple first-round picks could be their best option.

NEW YORK GIANTS (3-14) | Cut kicker Graham Gano | When healthy, Gano may be one of the best kickers, but groin and hamstring injuries have limited the 15-year veteran to 18 games over the past two seasons. He’s also the sixth-highest-paid player at his position. The team can save $4.4M against the salary cap by designating him as a post-June 1 release.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (14-3)  | Trade QB Kenny Pickett | At least five teams are in the market for a starting quarterback, but draft options are limited beyond Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. Pickett, a first-round pick of the Steelers in 2022, went 14-11 in 25 games with Pittsburgh, and his $2.6M salary should appeal to even the most cash-strapped NFL teams.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (12-5) | Cut CB Marshon Lattimore | Washington gave up third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks to get Lattimore from New Orleans in Week 10, but a hamstring injury limited the four-time Pro Bowler to just two regular-season games. He played horribly in the playoffs, allowing 10 catches for 172 yards and a below-average 136.6 passer rating, so expect the team to let him go and clear $18M of cap space. — Bruce Ewing

NFC West

ARIZONA CARDINALS (8-9)  | Cut RB DeeJay Dallas | The Cardinals do not have a lot of bad contracts to jettison, but there is really no point in keeping Dallas around even at his relatively low cap number ($3M). He had just 12 touches on offense for the Cardinals in 2024, so Arizona could easily find a cheaper option in the draft to match — and likely exceed — what he does.

LOS ANGELES RAMS (10-7)  | Cut TE Tyler Higbee | Cutting Higbee would not be a huge cap savings ($3M) because there would be a $6M dead-cap hit, but it might not be a financially motivated move. As good as Higbee has been throughout his Rams career, injuries have taken their toll on him and at 32, it might simply be time for the team to look for a younger, more impactful player at the position.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (6-11)  | Cut WR Deebo Samuel | Samuel wants to be traded, and the 49ers seem willing to part ways with the six-year veteran. Cutting him is the more likely scenario because of the salary-cap implications. A trade would leave the team with a significant dead-cap number, but a post-June 1 cut designation would open additional salary-cap space. 

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (10-7)  | Cut WR Tyler Lockett | At his best, Lockett is an excellent wide receiver, but his production has badly tailed off in recent years. Lockett, who will turn 33 on Sept. 28, is not worth the $31M salary-cap number he carries in 2025, and while cutting him would result in a $14M dead-cap hit, it would still give the cap-strapped Seahawks $17M in savings. — Adam Gretz

NFC North

CHICAGO BEARS (5-12) | Cut safety Kevin Byard | The Bears already freed $10.75M by releasing TE Gerald Everett and DE DeMarcus Walker, and they could save another $7M by cutting ties with Byard. The veteran is coming off a career-high 130 tackles, but Jaquan Brisker, 25, is a better, younger option at safety. 

DETROIT LIONS (15-2) | Cut WR Kalif Raymond | Raymond is one of the best punt returners in the NFL and a great locker-room presence, but his limited production on offense (17 catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns last season) doesn’t justify his $6.4M cap hit in 2025. The Lions can save $4.8M if they release Raymond after June 1.

GREEN BAY PACKERS (11-6) | Trade CB Jaire Alexander | Green Bay should do everything in its power to dump Alexander with two years remaining on his $84M contract. Trading him would free more than $6M in cap space. The two-time All-Pro has missed multiple games with injuries over the past four seasons, frustrating the team, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN. 

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (14-3) | Trade QB Sam Darnold | This won’t be an easy after Darnold choked down the stretch, but the Vikings should sign him to the franchise tag and trade him for a second-round pick if they can find a team desperate enough to do it. The Raiders come to mind. — Jack Dougherty

NFC South

ATLANTA FALCONS (8-9) | Trade QB Kirk Cousins | Even with Falcons GM Terry Fontenot saying otherwise, Atlanta should be extremely uncomfortable carrying Cousins’ $40M cap hit for him to wear a headset on the sidelines. Atlanta would be best off trading the veteran, even if it requires swallowing some of his $27.5M 2025 base salary to complete the deal.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (5-12) | Cut RB Miles Sanders | The former Eagles running back has failed to live up to the four-year, $25.4M contract he signed during the 2023 offseason (939 yards from scrimmage in two seasons). Carolina would save $5.255M by releasing him this offseason, which should make the decision easier.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (5-12) | Cut QB Derek Carr | As the Saints start fresh with first-year head coach Kellen Moore, they should give Carr a chance to start over, too. The Saints would be hit with a $50.132M dead-cap charge if they cut him, but that’s slightly less than Carr’s $51.458M cap number, so they’d at least see some savings for their trouble.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (10-7) | Trade cornerback Zyon McCollum | McCollum improved his stock entering the final year of his rookie contract with a solid 2024, leading Tampa in passes defended (17) and interceptions (two). But the Bucs struggled overall in pass defense last season, which could make McCollum more valuable in a trade before they’re forced to negotiate his second contract. — Eric Smithling