Tennessee Titans Salary Cap 2013 Update

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens cornerback Cary Williams (29) hangs on to San Francisco 49ers tight end Delanie Walker (46) for a tackle in the second quarter in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s your Titans Salary Cap 2013 Update

A few weeks ago we took a stab at how things would go down with the Tennessee Titans and the $19.4M they had to spend in free agency.  Since then, the landscape has changed and many of you are wondering what the Titans have left to spend.  Let’s take a look at the moves that have been made and see what we’re left with.  (I used round numbers to keep things simple.  Obviously assumptions are made on the new contracts, as the breakdowns aren’t available yet.)

Simple Math

We started with $19.4M

• Escalator clauses kicked in on Alterraun Verner and Damien Williams adding up to about $1.3M

New number = $18.1M

• Titans sign ex-Buffalo Bills S George Wilson to a 2 year $4M contract.  There’s an additional $1M in incentives, but the cap hit for 2013 is suppossed to be about $1.7M.

Down to $16.4M

• Titans resign Keyunta Dawson, probably a league minimum deal, about $400k.

$16M left.

• Rob Bironas is resigned to a 2 year $6.75M contract and a 2013 cap hit of $2.8M

$13.2M

• On the first day of free agency Steve Hutchinson retires saving the Titans $2.75M, but still carrying a $3M cap hit in dead money.
• Jordan Babineaux has also been released as expected after the Wilson signing, freeing up another $1.6M.

Back up to $17.5M!

• The Titans start free agency off with a bang and sign highly coveted guard Andy Levitre to a 6 yr./$46.8M averaging $7.8M per year.
• Next came the Delanie Walker deal for $17.5M over 4 years, and $8.6M guaranteed.  That’s another $4.4M a year for our calcs.

Sitting at $5.3M left.

Now keep in mind that the Titans are going to need roughly this $5M in order to sign their upcoming rookie class.  So the bulk of their moves may be over. There are, however, a couple things they can still, and probably will, do in order to free up some more cash.

Moving Parts

• Matt Hasselbeck has already said he would be open to renegotiating his contract.  I assume the Titans are waiting until they know exactly how much they need to squeeze out of the veteran QB before they sit down at the table.  As of now, he will count $7.5M towards the cap with $2M in dead money.  Let’s say Matt works for $2M next year and counts $4M towards the cap.  A savings of $3.5M
• Eugene Amano has A LOT of dead money on his contract that the Titans are on the hook for regardless (about $4M).  But they could still free up another $2M if they cut him outright.  I expect this to happen when they bring in more depth and/or draft a high round rookie.
• They still have to pay Velascoe who was tendered at a 2nd rounder as a RFA.  If no one ups the ante, they’ll be on the hook for the $2M. Cancelling out the Amano savings.
• The Titans are bringing in DT Sammie Hill from the Lions, and according to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean, he’s expected to sign when visiting tomorrow.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess at a 4 yr./$11M with about $6M guaranteed.  That’s another $2.7M against the cap.
  (Thanks Hasselbeck)

So basically if the Titans need $5M to sign the rookies, Amano and Velascoe cancel out, and Hasselbeck’s new deal cancels out the signing of Hill, then the Titans are done!

Obviously they won’t be finished here and there are a lot more creative things they can do cap wise.  But hopefully they don’t mortgage the entire future of the franchise on this one haul of free agents.  As you can see with Amano and Hutchinson’s dead money, it’s just not worth it.

***UPDATE***

The cap numbers for 2013 for Levitre and Walker have been released.  $4.25M for Levitre and $2.95 for Walker.  That gives the Titans another $6M left for the Titans to spend this year if need be, which would explain some of the reports concerning their continued shopping. (Bad news is they’ve pushed that money into future years.)

The Elephant in the Room

I hate to even write this, but as you can see, the Titans are out of money.  The news today of the Titans looking at Amendola made me take another look at the numbers the receivers were due.  Why get Amendola when you have Britt, Wright and fan favorite, leading receiver Washington.  Well, the answer is Washington is due $4.2M this year.  That’s a lot of money to free up for a couple more players and another slot receiver.  Personally, I think Washington brings the hard work, dedication, and veteran leadership that this receiver group needs.

Overall, I would say not so bad:

• They nailed their #1 target of Levitre for less than I personally thought it would take.
• They replaced their loss in Jared Cook for about $2M less. (we’ll see how that pans out for both parties)
• They upgraded the worst position on the roster with George Wilson before FA even hit.
• Assuming they sign Sammie Hill, there is, at a minimum, a lateral move at DT to replace Marks.

Now let’s draft!!!!!