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Filtering Free Agency Thus Far Through Lens Of Salary Cap

Sweat, Tomlinson eat up relatively little cap space

The salary cap is a moving target this time of year, so there is always a certain grain of salt that must be absorbed when talking about this stuff.

But according to overthecap.com, the Cardinals -- without yet accounting for Zay Jones' new deal, and without Kelvin Beachum, who has agreed to terms but has yet to sign -- still have in the ballpark of $45 million on cap space. And yes, at some point, I'd expect Trey McBride's new deal to factor in.

The contract breakdowns of linebacker Josh Sweat and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (again according to OTC) are interesting. Sweat's cap number is a mere $7.3M this season. It jumps to $16.4M next year, and the final two years it's at $23.6M. There is also a void year for 2029 to spread out the cap hits.

Tomlinson's cap hit this season is only 7.6M, and it jumps to $16.2M next season. He has three years of voids on the back end. They have only the 10th and 11th largest cap hits on the roster this season, and in both cases, the Cardinals have flexibility on the back end to make moves if they so chose.

What the space -- and contracts -- underscore is Monti Ossenfort's ability to add what was needed (including a splashy pickup) and still do a deal that while it pays the new guys, also remains something Ossenfort is both comfortable with and seems to vibe with his previously set mentality. It also keeps in mind the ability (and need) to extend some younger players sooner rather than later over the next couple of years. That's what the Eagles have done, and it's a key to maintaining a good yet stable roster.

Monti Combine 2025
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