If the extension to the CBA can't get done, then what?

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

I took a long and hard look at the salary cap (the cap figures and the release fees) and have realized that if a CBA doesn't get done, we are totally toast. I have no clue where the money is going to come from. We better hope that Shawn Springs can also play wide receiver, Santana Moss can also play corner, and Clinton Portis can play defensive end, because we're going to be strapped.

I am wrong about a lot of things, but I was dead on in saying for years now that our cap problems were going to come back to haunt us. If the CBA gets renewed, then I will be wrong. But, right now it's unfortunately looking like I am going to be right. 2006 might be the most painful year in our franchise's history (as it will be effectively demolished).

We can cut out roughly $13 million of cap space by cutting guys like Bowen, Wynn, Harris, Ramsey, etc. But, my problem is finding a way to cut out the additional $7-10 million that we will need in order to get under the cap and save room to sign rookies. We can either start axing key guys like Jansen (in his case it would save roughly 500K) or we can reduce our roster to about 40 players. In either case, we are going to have a tough time fielding a good starting lineup, let alone a complete roster with adequate depth.

People might be interested to note that if 2007 is in fact an uncapped year, the free agent pool will be far more limited than in years past. Under the current deal, players are eligible for unrestricted free agency after four years. In 2007, players will be unrestricted for free agency only if they have played six seasons. Thus, the players who will hit the market in 2007 will likely be older and fewer in number.

Plus, when you factor in (1) that the NFLPA is threatening to strike in 2008 in no CBA extension is reached and (2) that our team would likely lose key guys this offseason, it is unclear how anyone would think that our franchise would benefit from the lack of an extension.