The New England Patriots have been operating under cap restrictions throughout the NFL offseason.
You may ask, well, where are the Patriots in terms of cap space? And how does that compare with other NFL teams?
Albert Breer of the MMQB tweeted out answers Monday, noting his numbers include NFL Draft selections. And let’s just say the Pats aren’t exactly where you’d want to be.
The Patriots currently have the second-lowest amount of cap space with merely $1.077 million, according to Breer. Only the Los Angeles Rams ($419,169) have less.
Least cap space, post-draft …
1) Rams $419,169
2) Patriots $1.077M
3) Falcons $2.233M
4) Saints $3.855M
5) Bucs $4.364M
6) Chiefs $4.912M
7) Seahawks $5.257M
8) Steelers $5.768M
9) 49ers $6.767M
10) Panthers $7.008M— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 27, 2020
The number isn’t exactly what Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan has, but he tweeted why that’s the case.
Benzan’s number, as he wrote, includes the signing bonus prorations from six of the team’s undrafted free agents, while also accounting for Keionta Davis’ release and James Develin’s retirement.
Why is my number so different? Am accounting for 6 UDFA’s signing bonus prorations, Keionta Davis’ waiver and James Develin’s retirement. Obi’s waiver did not change my number. https://t.co/3WeRYeZu4v
— Cap Space=$1,666,777 (@patscap) April 27, 2020
A few ways the Patriots can create much-needed cap space, as noted by NESN.com prior, is by extending players like Joe Thuney, Dont’a Hightower, Stephon Gilmore or Lawrence Guy.
So, while cap space can (at times) be manipulated, we’ll have to wait and see if, or what, the Patriots do to help themselves out.
