2026 Roster Thread - Semi-Live

[Pokerbrat2000]

Not really. If you look at any players contract, using Josh as our example, https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/25231/josh-sweat he has dead cap if you cut him (or trade him.)

The dead cap has nothing to do with future money owed to Sweat. The dead cap represents money that was already guaranteed and in this case, paid out to him. The dead cap is money that the team "owes" to its cap reporting, since it was given to the player and "pushed out" for cap accounting purposes.

Again, players looking for a deal post-trade aren't necessarily looking for money cash, but assurances that the deal will actually play out. The money is certainly a big driver though.

The logic of this is silly. Like I said, whether that player plays for the team he signed the contract with or the team he gets traded to, the "risks" of the contract playing out are pretty much the same. Saying "aren't necessarily looking for money cash, but assurances that the deal will actually play out. The money is certainly a big driver though", doesn't really make any sense.

Any team trading for him would be responsible for base salary, option bonuses

No, the Cards already paid him his option bonus in March. There are no more of those left on the contract the way Spotrac has it.

the Cardinals have to eat any unrealized/prorated signing bonus money.

No, the Cardinals have to eat ALL of his signing bonus money.

The only clause of his current contract that could be pushed around the table for clarity is for next season.

• $3M of 2027 salary guaranteed for injury only

Honestly, I am not 100% sure as to what that really means. If he gets hurt prior to 2027 and is cut, does his existing team have to pay him the $3M?

 

[SudsMcBucky]

Not really. If you look at any players contract, using Josh as our example, https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/25231/josh-sweat he has dead cap if you cut him (or trade him.)

This isn't accurate. Dead cap is money that was already guaranteed/paid out. It's just a team accounting procedure.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Wrong kind of protection.

He is (presumably, anyway) complete financially secure, though I'm sure that is playing into things at least a little. Players want more guaranteed money to increase their stickiness. If a player has not guaranteed money remaining, teams can just cut them at will. If there is guaranteed money, teams are more likely to keep the player. Partially they want to extract all the value they can from money already paid, partially they want to avoid accelerated dead cap.

Guarantees don't provide "stickiness" for a player. What they provide is instant money, guaranteeing them that no matter if they get injured, play poorly or are traded/cut, they get to keep that locked in upfront amount of cash for signing THAT contract.

A good GM isn't going to say "Well, we already paid him $40M in guarantees, so we might as well keep paying him another $30M in unguaranteed salary, even though the guy sucks.

Now dead caps can be said to provide a bit of stickiness, but more for how the team approaches it. They can also represent a GM running his books poorly and pushing too much money out. Obviously, there are going to be times when cutting a player, doesn't play out well against the dead cap hit created by doing so.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

This isn't accurate. Dead cap is money that was already guaranteed/paid out. It's just a team accounting procedure.

Yup. Dead cap represents money already paid to a player (like a signing bonus) or guaranteed money still owed, which must immediately count against a team’s salary cap even though the player is no longer on the roster. Also known as "dead money," it acts as a penalty for cutting, trading, or having a player retire.

 

[mradtke66]

Now dead caps can be said to provide a bit of stickiness, but more for how the team approaches it. They can also represent a GM running his books poorly and pushing too much money out. Obviously, there are going to be times when cutting a player, doesn't play out well against the dead cap hit created by doing so.

This is what I'm trying to say. Because the Packers would not have any dead-cap risk to cutting him, he is less sticky to them. Yeah, the 3/4/5 whatever round pick is something, but not quite the same.

I would expect Sweat wants some kind of bonus to increase his stickiness, but again, we are speculating.

 

[mradtke66]

This isn't accurate. Dead cap is money that was already guaranteed/paid out. It's just a team accounting procedure.

Yes and no. He already has the cash in hand, but cutting or trading him early means the Cardinals have to eat the yet-to-be-prorated portion of that money. That's the accelerated dead cap.

 

[Half Empty]

Easton Butler - "Hearing the Packers and Cardinals are working on a trade involving Josh Sweat, per source. It is coming down to how much cap the Packers are willing to take, and how high of a pick."

So, in comes down to how much one wants to pay overall - genius eval.

 

[SudsMcBucky]

Yes and no. He already has the cash in hand, but cutting or trading him early means the Cardinals have to eat the yet-to-be-prorated portion of that money. That's the accelerated dead cap.

Exactly.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Yes and no. He already has the cash in hand, but cutting or trading him early means the Cardinals have to eat the yet-to-be-prorated portion of that money. That's the accelerated dead cap.

They aren't eating anything, they already ate it.

Really just comes down to when they want those prepaid amounts to hit their cap. If they trade/cut him, they can spread his dead cap over 2 seasons (if they haven't already used up their 2 post June designations.

While this might look like "stickiness" for the player, it just comes down to cap management for the team. Tua is a good example of this. Despite the Dolphins looking down the barrel of a $99M dead cap hit if they cut him, Tua was cut, because the Dolphins viewed any future money paid to him as a lost cause and it was time to move on.

If Sweat is refusing to suit up for the Cardinals, kind of the same thing. Better to cut bait ($31.8M dead cap), get a draft pick and run.

 

[mradtke66]

They aren't eating anything, they already ate it.

Really just comes down to when they want those prepaid amounts to hit their cap. If they trade/cut him, they can spread his dead cap over 2 seasons (if they haven't already used up their 2 post June designations.

They are on the hook for the money, but the it's how and when the cap hit is realized. 16 and change were he to play this year, 31 and change to cut or trade outright, just shy of 16m for the next to two years if they chose to declare him a June 1st.

The cash is generally less valuable than cap space to NFL teams.

While this might look like "stickiness" for the player, it just comes down to cap management for the team. Tua is a good example of this. Despite the Dolphins looking down the barrel of a $99M dead cap hit if they cut him, Tua was cut, because the Dolphins viewed any future money paid to him as a lost cause and it was time to move on.

While true that the dophins finally decided to bit the bullet and move on from Tua, I'd argue that without the contract structure he had, he would have been cut a year sooner.

As far as giving him more bonus money if the Packers want to and choose to trade for him, I wouldn't be opposed depending on what it is he wants. You would have to understand why he wants out of Arizona, but that's part of the discussion before you even pull the trigger on the trade. Maybe they really are that bad of a organization. Maybe they see themselves in the middle of rebuild and Sweat prefers to play for a contender. Maybe its somewhat mutual.

Off the cuff, if we halved his salary for each of the remaining three years (for easy numbers, lets say 5, 8.5, 8.5) and in convert the difference to bonus money, ( 5 + 8.5 + 8.5) and keeping the yearly cap number the same wouldn't be a horrible idea. I'd hope we're looking to keep him for ~3 years. You can slide it more towards bonus or more to salary, I'm very much spit balling.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

They are on the hook for the money, but the it's how and when the cap hit is realized. 16 and change were he to play this year, 31 and change to cut or trade outright, just shy of 16m for the next to two years if they chose to declare him a June 1st.

This isn't the full picture though. They would have an additional almost $10M being new money paid to him after he is on the Roster in Sept. Plus, the per game roster bonuses that can reach $1M. If he hadn't said "I want to be traded and won't practice until you do so", then that is the "new money" which the Cardinals GM would be looking at to keep him for another season. $11M? A bargain, they wouldn't even be thinking about trading him.

Back to your $16M to keep and $31M to cut/trade. That really isn't the way to look at it, you are comparing cap hits to dead cap hits and they really aren't the same . Since if for some reason he does do a 180 and stays, his dead cap in 2027 is still sitting at $16.5M and meanwhile his cap hit in 2026 is that $16M. On the flip side, if he is traded/cut, they have a dead cap hit of that $31.8M, which they might be able to spread out over this and next season.

 

[mradtke66]

This isn't the full picture though. They would have an additional almost $10M being new money paid to him after he is on the Roster in Sept. Plus, the per game roster bonuses that can reach $1M. If he hadn't said "I want to be traded and won't practice until you do so", then that is the "new money" which the Cardinals GM would be looking at to keep him for another season. $11M? A bargain, they wouldn't even be thinking about trading him.

I'm not sure about that timeline. All I have is Sportrac and the like, but I'm seeing his 2026 salary is already guaranteed. "$38M guaranteed (signing bonus + 2025 salary + 2026 salary/option bonus)"

Of course, this could be yet another "practically guaranteed" situation, since they paid the option bonus.

Back to your $16M to keep and $31M to cut/trade. That really isn't the way to look at it, you are comparing cap hits to dead cap hits and they really aren't the same . Since if for some reason he does do a 180 and stays, his dead cap in 2027 is still sitting at $16.5M and meanwhile his cap hit in 2026 is that $16M. On the flip side, if he is traded/cut, they have a dead cap hit of that $31.8M, which they might be able to spread out over this and next season.

They actually are the same, just when they apply changes. In the 180 degree example, if he played for Arizona this year (16.3) and then you cut/trade him before 2027 (dead cap of 16.5) your total is 32.8. They could also elect to spread 2027's dead cap over 2 years (8.25 per year). Now obviously 32.8 is more than 31.8, but 1m in NFL salary is peanuts these days.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I'm not sure about that timeline. All I have is Sportrac and the like, but I'm seeing his 2026 salary is already guaranteed. "$38M guaranteed (signing bonus + 2025 salary + 2026 salary/option bonus)"

Of course, this could be yet another "practically guaranteed" situation, since they paid the option bonus.



They actually are the same, just when they apply changes. In the 180 degree example, if he played for Arizona this year (16.3) and then you cut/trade him before 2027 (dead cap of 16.5) your total is 32.8. They could also elect to spread 2027's dead cap over 2 years (8.25 per year). Now obviously 32.8 is more than 31.8, but 1m in NFL salary is peanuts these days.

Only his "2026 Option Bonus" of $7.22M is now guaranteed and that happened in early March of this year. Had Arizona cut him prior to the 10th day after the start of the new league year, they wouldn't have been on the hook for any of that or the remainder of his 2026 salary, which is $9.78M. The 9.78 figure only becomes guaranteed if Sweat is on the Roster after cutdowns in Sept., as are all contracts (guaranteed). I am pretty sure that neither of those amounts are reflected in his current dead cap hit of $31.8M. If I had to guess, the Cardinals will try to recover as much of that $7.22M from the team they trade Sweat to (Sweat doesn't owe any of that back to the Cardinals, even if he retired).

 

[mradtke66]

Only his "2026 Option Bonus" of $7.22M is now guaranteed and that happened in early March of this year. Had Arizona cut him prior to the 10th day after the start of the new league year, they wouldn't have been on the hook for any of that or the remainder of his 2026 salary, which is $9.78M. The 9.78 figure only becomes guaranteed if Sweat is on the Roster after cutdowns in Sept., as are all contracts (guaranteed). I am pretty sure that neither of those amounts are reflected in his current dead cap hit of $31.8M. If I had to guess, the Cardinals will try to recover as much of that $7.22M from the team they trade Sweat to (Sweat doesn't owe any of that back to the Cardinals, even if he retired).

I certainly expect the Cards to try to get that money back from the trading team, but that is very much up in the air.

As far as his 2026 salary, I very much wonder. I'm working from here: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/25231/josh-sweat/contract/cap

The summary notes 38M total guarantees. 18.5 in signing bonus and 7.2M option bonus is obvious, but I can only get to 38M if I add his 2025 and 2026 salaries in.

Similar notes here: https://overthecap.com/player/josh-sweat/7015

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

The summary notes 38M total guarantees. 18.5 in signing bonus and 7.2M option bonus is obvious, but I can only get to 38M if I add his 2025 and 2026 salaries in.

Without diving in too deep. The $18.5 signing bonus, wasn't salary, but guaranteed. As was his 2025 salary + per game bonuses up to $1M. Thus the $38M guarantee.

The $7.2M he received in March wasn't guaranteed, unless he was still on the roster. He was, so it was paid and part of his 2026 salary, which only becomes guaranteed, if he is on the roster after final cutdowns.

 

[mradtke66]

Without diving in too deep. The $18.5 signing bonus, wasn't salary, but guaranteed. As was his 2025 salary + per game bonuses up to $1M. Thus the $38M guarantee.

The $7.2M he received in March wasn't guaranteed, unless he was still on the roster. He was, so it was paid and part of his 2026 salary, which only becomes guaranteed, if he is on the roster after final cutdowns.

According to Sportrac and OverThrCap, his total guarantees add to 38m. He has 18.5 in signing, 7.2 for the roster bonus.

His per game bonus is not guaranteed, because it is tied to playing each game.

Signing bonus + roster + 2025 salary + 2026 salary = 38m.

And then per over the cap and I quote:

Contract Notes​

Josh Sweat signed a four year, $76.4 million contract with the Cardinals. $41 million is guaranteed of which $38 million is fully guaranteed at signing. Sweat received a signing bonus worth $18.5 million and his 2025 and 2026 salaries are fully guaranteed. The Cardinals have the right to exercise a $7.22 million option in 2026. There are annual per game bonuses worth up to $1 million and workouts worth $100,000. There is a void year for cap purposes.

 

[Half Empty]

Or, we could just wait and see if they get him, then see what the financial results are.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Or, we could just wait and see if they get him, then see what the financial results are.

Valid point. For me the discussion is more around the aspect of players wanting to double down on "guaranteed money". But to your point, we have no idea what Sweat wants. Maybe just a new team is all he desires.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals are not going to trade Sweat. Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur sent a similar message last week when asked about a report that the Cardinals have gotten trade offers from other teams.

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[mradtke66]

I

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals are not going to trade Sweat. Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur sent a similar message last week when asked about a report that the Cardinals have gotten trade offers from other teams.

Meh. I don't trust GMs or Coaches. There is effectively zero incentive to be honest to the media and every incentive to be secretive. Apply this to game plan decisions, discipline issues, roster construction, etc. When they do come out and say something, I presume they are using the media to apply pressure where they want it.

Not saying he will or won't be traded, only that this report doesn't change that.

 

[DoURant]

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals are not going to trade Sweat. Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur sent a similar message last week when asked about a report that the Cardinals have gotten trade offers from other teams.

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All I can say to Ian and the Cardinals right now is...

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[Magooch]

I


Meh. I don't trust GMs or Coaches. There is effectively zero incentive to be honest to the media and every incentive to be secretive. Apply this to game plan decisions, discipline issues, roster construction, etc. When they do come out and say something, I presume they are using the media to apply pressure where they want it.

Not saying he will or won't be traded, only that this report doesn't change that.

Yep, agreed. That was my first thought when I saw the report from Matt Schneidman saying there were no talks in response to the rumors that we were in conversations with AZ or whatnot.

Not saying that is true or isn't (and not trying to single him out) but if we WERE trying to get a deal done with Arizona, it would not at all be surprising if the team chose to leak to a "team-friendly" reporter information to seek to squash the attention around that particular rumor