2021 Cap Space For All 32 NFL Teams
There are still plenty of quality free agents left on the board as we look ahead to training camp. Cornerback Steven Nelson, tackle Russell Okung, and longtime Legion of Boom leader Richard Sherman headline the list, along with accomplished edge rushers like Justin Houston, Melvin Ingram, and Olivier Vernon. That list will only grow larger, of course, as more teams shed veterans to redirect their funds elsewhere.
With that in mind, here’s a look at every NFL team’s cap situation, starting with the league-leading Jaguars:
- Jacksonville Jaguars — $32.7MM
- Denver Broncos — $28.9MM
- New York Jets — $28.5MM
- Cleveland Browns — $20.6MM
- Los Angeles Chargers — $19.9MM
- Detroit Lions — $17.9MM
- San Francisco 49ers — $17.8MM
- Cincinnati Bengals — $17.4MM
- Washington Football Team — $16.7MM
- Indianapolis Colts— $14.3MM
- Carolina Panthers— $14.3MM
- Minnesota Vikings — $13.5MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers — $13.1MM
- New England Patriots — $13.1MM
- New Orleans Saints — $11.4MM
- Arizona Cardinals — $11.3MM
- Buffalo Bills — $10.5MM
- Baltimore Ravens — $8.8MM
- Atlanta Falcons — $8.6MM
- Seattle Seahawks — $8.3MM
- Tennessee Titans — $8.3MM
- Kansas City Chiefs — $7.9MM
- Los Angeles Rams — $7MM
- Chicago Bears — $6MM
- Dallas Cowboys — $6MM
- Miami Dolphins — $5.3MM
- Green Bay Packers — $5MM
- Houston Texans — $5MM
- Las Vegas Raiders — $3.3MM
- Philadelphia Eagles — $3.2MM
- New York Giants — $2.4MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — $489K
LB Anthony Chickillo Retires
Former Steelers and Broncos linebacker Anthony Chickillo is calling it a career. The 28-year-old announced his retirement via Instagram earlier today.
Chickillo entered the league as a sixth-round pick of the Steelers in 2015. Over five years in Pittsburgh, he played in 65 games, primarily as a rotational defender and as a key special teams contributor.
After a quality platform campaign in 2018, during which he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 40th-best edge defender out of 103 qualifiers, Chickillo drew free agent interest from the Patriots but elected to re-up with the Steelers on a two-year, $8MM contract. However, a foot injury and an assault arrest — on charges that were later dropped — marred his 2019 season, and the Steelers cut him last March.
Chickillo hooked on with the Saints several months later, but he did not survive final cutdowns and was ultimately signed to New Orleans’ practice squad. The Broncos poached him from there and he went on to appear in 11 games for Denver in 2020, with his snaps almost equally divided between defense (164) and special teams (147).
The Miami product ends his playing career with 108 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and roughly $7.5MM in career earnings. We at PFR wish Chickillo the best in the next chapter of his life.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/6/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Reverted to IR: DT Demarcus Christmas
Christmas was waived by the Steelers last week to make roster space for kicker Sam Sloman. The defensive lineman was waived with an injury designation, but it’s uncertain what is ailing the 26-year-old. It’s worth noting that Christmas missed the entire 2019 season with a back injury.
The Florida State product was a sixth-round pick by the Seahawks back in 2019. He spent that entire campaign on the PUP list, and he spent most of the 2020 campaign bouncing between Seattle’s practice squad and active roster. He joined the Steelers practice squad in November, and he was retained into the offseason thanks to a futures contract.
DeCastro Likely To File Grievance Against Steelers
- David DeCastro was just released by the Steelers last week, and the veteran lineman is reportedly considering retirement. Although DeCastro will apparently wait at least a couple of months before deciding whether or not to play again, he has another decision that sounds easier for him to make. DeCastro is “likely to file a grievance” through the NFLPA against the Steelers, Ed Bouchette of The Athletic writes. Pittsburgh released him with a non-football injury designation, but DeCastro said recently the ankle problem for which he’ll soon undergo another surgery is something he was dealing with from last season that didn’t heal right. Bouchette seems to think the Steelers know they’ll have to end up paying DeCastro some more money down the line, but that they made the move so they’d immediately be able to fit Trai Turner‘s contract into their salary cap.
No Players Planning To Opt Out Of 2021 Season?
Nearly 70 players opted out of the 2020 season, with some of the high-profile opt-outs’ decisions affecting teams’ plans going into that uncertain campaign. A more stable backdrop exists a year later, and the NFL may have its full workforce available as a result.
No buzz has emerged on a player opting out of the 2021 season, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. Last week, the NFL and NFLPA came to an agreement that secured another COVID-19 opt-out provision. Only players deemed high risks for developing complications from the coronavirus are eligible for the $350K payout, but with vaccines now in the equation, it is possible no player opts out by Friday’s 3pm CT deadline.
Several key players opted out in 2020. Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung were among the Patriots’ league-high seven opt-outs; the Bears lost nose tackle Eddie Goldman; the Chiefs lost longtime guard starter Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and starting running back Damien Williams; the Vikings lost recent nose tackle signee Michael Pierce; Giants left tackle Nate Solder sat out as well. This group, save for the now-retired Chung, has returned. (Goldman did not show for Bears minicamp, but the team expects him back for training camp.) However, many of the lower-profile players ended up being cut after their respective opt-out decisions. With effective vaccines now available, teams will likely be less understanding of players’ decisions to skip the season.
While a few players have expressed vaccine hesitancy, at least 65% of NFL players have received at least one vaccine dose. The Broncos, Dolphins, Saints and Steelers were close to or had surpassed the 85% mark late last week, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter). The Jaguars and Panthers saw a spike in vaccines after the NFL announced this year’s virus protocols, which provide considerably more freedom for vaccinated players.
A few hours remain for players to notify teams they will skip this season, but opt-outs — decisions that cannot be changed after this afternoon’s deadline — do not look like a major issue for NFL franchises in 2021.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/1/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: K Sam Sloman
- Waived: DE Demarcus Christmas
Sloman was selected by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2020 draft, and he saw time in seven games for Los Angeles before they let him go. The 23-year-old ended up catching on with the Titans, where he ultimately made a single appearance. In total, Sloman converted 10 of his 13 field goal attempts and 23 of his 26 extra point tries.
Sloman will likely provide the Steelers with an extra leg as they look to keep starter Chris Boswell fresh. However, barring an injury or a drastic drop in performance from the veteran, Sloman likely won’t crack the Week 1 roster.
Steelers To Sign K Sam Sloman
After spending time with the Rams and Titans as a rookie, Sam Sloman will have another chance going into his second season. The Steelers plan to sign him, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
A seventh-round Rams draftee out of Miami University (Ohio) last year, Sloman became Greg Zuerlein‘s immediate successor after winning a training camp competition. The Rams used Sloman as their kicker in seven games to start the season, but his run came to an end after the team added Kai Forbath midway through the year.
Sloman missed three field goals and three extra points with the Rams and did not catch on elsewhere until landing on the Titans’ practice squad in late November. He kicked in one game with Tennessee late last season. Sloman kicked a game-winning 37-yard field goal in overtime to give the Titans an AFC South-clinching win in Week 17. Sloman did not kick in Tennessee’s playoff game.
The Steelers have used Chris Boswell as their kicker for the past six seasons. After a down 2018, the veteran has bounced back over the past two years. Boswell made at least 93% of his field goal tries in 2019 and 2020. His 95% make rate ranked fourth in the NFL last year.
Two years remain on Boswell’s four-year, $16.8MM contract. Sloman, 23, would represent a cheaper alternative, though it would be surprising to see the Steelers make a change given Boswell’s recent performance.
David DeCastro Months Away From Decision On Continuing Career
While David DeCastro is now one of the top free agents available, the All-Pro guard has a major issue to navigate before he considers signing with another team. He will undergo a third ankle surgery soon.
Although the Steelers released the nine-year veteran with a non-football injury designation, DeCastro confirmed this issue was indeed a problem during the 2020 season. He still made the Pro Bowl — in a year without alternates expanding the invite list, no less — but it certainly sounds like the former first-round pick’s career is in jeopardy.
“I’ve thought about it all offseason,” DeCastro said of retirement, via Jim Colony of 93.7 The Fan. “I knew something was wrong. I wanted to give it that 18-month window (which) is usually when you can tell with surgery, so I gave it time to rest then started working out, running and moving around. But I knew something wasn’t right.”
No Steelers injury report mentioned DeCastro’s ankle problem last season, according to The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly (on Twitter). DeCastro appeared on Pittsburgh’s injury report with knee, hand and abdomen issues. DeCastro missed three games in 2020, with the knee and abdomen problems shelving him.
“I had surgery on this ankle last year and it didn’t heal right,” DeCastro said. “Last year, it bothered me. Not only is it painful, but it’s hard to play on when you feel like you’re playing half-legged.”
This could open up the Steelers to an NFL inquiry regarding their injury reporting, and DeCastro will need additional time before determining if his career can continue. The 31-year-old lineman said it will be at least two months before he will know if playing this season is realistic, per Colony. A situation in which DeCastro takes the 2021 season off and returns in 2022 could arise, or a team could make a rare impactful in-season free agency addition. But for now, it appears unlikely DeCastro will be connected to any teams as a free agent.
DeCastro entered the offseason as the last link to Pittsburgh’s “Killer B’s” offensive lines. The Steelers lost a combined 17 Pro Bowls on their O-line this offseason, with Maurkice Pouncey (nine) retiring and Alejandro Villanueva (two) signing with the Ravens. Trai Turner is on board to replace DeCastro, but he is coming off a poor season with the Chargers. The Steelers will enter training camp with significant questions regarding Ben Roethlisberger‘s blockers.
Steelers’ Trai Turner To Earn $3MM
On Thursday, the Steelers parted ways with David DeCastro and moved quickly to find his successor. Now, we have the terms of Trai Turner‘s deal – the veteran guard will earn just $3MM on his one-year deal (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
That’s a solid value considering that Turner is a five-time Pro Bowler. While the Chargers cut bait with Turner after just one year, he offers the toughness, experience, and upside they lost by cutting DeCastro.
Turner found a tepid market for his services since knee and groin problems limited him to just nine games in 2020. Pro Football Focus slotted Turner as the league’s second-worst guard in 2020, but he could easily return to his old form if he’s healthy.
The 28-year-old comes to Pittsburgh with 89 career starts, making him the most senior member of the offensive line. In the hours betwee DeCastro’s release and Turner’s agreement, left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor held that mantle with just 19 career starts.
Former Steelers G David DeCastro To Retire?
Former Steelers guard David DeCastro is now free to sign with any team in the NFL. However, the multiple-time Pro Bowler says that he might call it a career instead. 
“Gotta see how the surgery goes,” DeCastro said (via Joe Starkey of the Post Gazette). “But I’d have no problem calling it a day and moving on with my life.”
DeCastro is set for a third surgery on his ankle to fix a recurring issue with bone spurs. The Steelers released him earlier this week with a non-football injury designation, a sign that they’re not so sure about his ability to bounce back. By releasing him, they saved ~$8MM, though it remains to be seen how they’ll replace him on the interior.
A starter since his 2012 rookie season, DeCastro has made the past six Pro Bowls and has secured two first-team All-Pro nods. Now, on the verge of what would be his his age-31 season, he’s giving serious thought to life after football.
The Steelers and the former first-round pick agreed to a five-year, $50MM extension back in September 2016. That deal worked out well for Pittsburgh — DeCastro carved out holes for Le’Veon Bell during his All-Pro campaigns, teaming with Maurkice Pouncey and Ramon Foster to form one of the league’s best interior lines.