Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

The Giants making the decision to waive Daniel Jones, rather than keep him around ahead of a potential 2025 post-June 1 cut designation, changed their dead money outlook for this year and next. Here is how their new total fits in with the rest of the teams’ numbers for dead money — cap space allocated to players no longer on the roster — entering the final third of the regular season. Numbers courtesy of OverTheCap.

1. Denver Broncos: $85.21MM
2. New York Giants: $79.57MM
3. Minnesota Vikings: $69.83MM
4. Buffalo Bills: $68.47MM
5. Carolina Panthers: $68.28MM
6. Green Bay Packers: $65.53MM
7. Tennessee Titans: $62.89MM
8. Philadelphia Eagles: $61.95MM
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $60.64MM
10. New Orleans Saints: $59.44MM
11. New York Jets: $59.24MM
12. Los Angeles Chargers: $58.62MM
13. New England Patriots: $53.37MM
14. Miami Dolphins: $52.28MM
15. Seattle Seahawks: $52MM
16. Jacksonville Jaguars: $51.2MM
17. Las Vegas Raiders: $49.37MM
18. Washington Commanders: $42.81MM
19. Houston Texans: $39.28MM
20. Cleveland Browns: $38.79MM
21. Los Angeles Rams: $34.63MM
22. Detroit Lions: $33.71MM
23. Pittsburgh Steelers: $30.18MM
24. Chicago Bears: $29.65MM
25. Arizona Cardinals: $29.35MM
26. San Francisco 49ers: $26.91MM
27. Dallas Cowboys: $26.79MM
28. Baltimore Ravens: $21.35MM
29. Kansas City Chiefs: $12.65MM
30. Indianapolis Colts: $11.8MM
31. Atlanta Falcons: $11.55MM
32. Cincinnati Bengals: $9.11MM

The Jones release moved more than $13MM of dead cap onto the Giants’ 2024 payroll. More significantly, the Giants granting Jones an early exit — after a contract-driven benching — will prevent the team from designating him a post-June 1 cut next year. The Giants will take on $22.2MM in dead money in 2025, rather than being able to split that bill over two offseasons. The team also took on more than $10MM in dead money this year due to the 2023 Leonard Williams trade.

This year’s most egregious dead money offender has been known for months. The Broncos’ contract-driven Russell Wilson benching last year preceded a historic release, which saddled the team with more than $83MM in total dead money. A small cap credit is set to come in 2025 (via Wilson’s veteran-minimum Pittsburgh pact), but for this year, $53MM in dead cap hit Denver’s payroll as a result of the the quarterback’s release.

The Broncos more than doubled the previous single-player dead money record, which the Falcons held ($40.5MM) for trading Matt Ryan), and they will be on the hook for the final $30MM-plus in 2025. Beyond Wilson, no other ex-Bronco counts more than $7.5MM in dead money. In terms of total dead cap, however, the Broncos barely check in north of the Buccaneers and Rams’ 2023 totals. Denver is trying to follow those teams’ lead in rallying back to make the playoffs despite nearly a third of its 2024 payroll tied up in dead cap.

Twenty-two players represent dead money for the Saints, who have seen their total updated since the Marshon Lattimore trade. Rather than restructure-crazed GM Mickey Loomis using the Lattimore contract once again to create cap space next year, the Saints will take on the highest non-QB dead money hit in NFL history. Lattimore counts $14MM in that category this year before the contract shifts to a whopping $31.66MM in dead cap on New Orleans’ 2025 payroll. Considering the Saints are again in their own sector for cap trouble next year ($62MM-plus over), the Lattimore trade will create some issues as the team attempts to rebound post-Dennis Allen.

Two 2023 restructures ballooned the Vikings’ figure toward $70MM. Void years on Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter‘s deals combined for more than $43MM in dead money. Minnesota also ate nearly $7MM from the void years on Marcus Davenport‘s one-year contract, while the release of 2022 first-rounder Lewis Cine (currently on the Bills’ practice squad) accounted for more than $5MM.

Free from the Tom Brady dead money that comprised a chunk of their 2023 cap, the Bucs still have eight-figure hits from the Carlton Davis trade and Mike Evans‘ previous contract voiding not long before the sides agreed on a new deal. Elsewhere in the NFC South, three of the players given multiyear deals in 2023 — Vonn Bell, Hayden Hurst, Bradley Bozeman — being moved off the roster in GM Dan Morgan‘s first offseason represent nearly half of Carolina’s dead cap.