John Clayton of ESPN recently wrote about the potential cap breakdown in the NFL for the 2011 season. According to Clayton he believes that once things are all said and done with the new CBA the cap could be as high as $125 million or as low as $117 million.
ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert took Clayton’s numbers and averaged next years cap to be about $120 million dollars. With that number, Seifert looked at how the Lions would fit under that number. Here is what he had to say…
Cap status: About $16.5 million under
Comment: The Lions are positioned to pursue cornerbacks and/or linebackers on the free agent market. But the big question everyone is asking: Can they fit cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha under the cap? The answer, as always in the case of the salary cap, is yes. Any one player can be squeezed in as long as the team is comfortable with the consequences. The Lions would need to make a priority judgment on whether Asomugha is worth the cap percentage he would consume or if they should use it on multiple other players.
The rumors surrounding Asomugha last week were suggesting that when free agency does begin in the NFL, Asomugha could command anywhere from $18 to $19 million dollars a season. Given the fact that the Lions do have other holes on their roster and bonus coming up to Ndamukong Suh, Jahvid Best and Jeff Backus Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press believes that the Lions won’t get into a bidding war for the services of Asomugha. Furthermore, Birkett also says that the Lions would like to get DE Cliff Avril signed long-term.
Seifert from ESPN however goes on to say that a lot could change in terms of Asomugha and the pursuit of him…
Of course, much could change once we get the final details of the new collective bargaining agreement and find out exactly what Asomugha is looking for. Sometimes, suggestions that a player is too expensive can be viewed more as a negotiating tool than a statement of fact. But as we discussed Monday, if a bidding war develops, the Lions would have to sacrifice several other facets of their roster to have a legitimate chance to sign Asomugha.
Bottom line is no one really knows what’s going to happen with Asomugha. I tend to side more on the belief that Asomugha is going to command a ton of money, way too much for the Lions to reasonably hand over to the shut down free agent corner.
Source: ESPN.com, Detroit Free Press
