NFL Players Who Should Have Their Contracts Restructured Before 2023 Free Agency
Flashy free-agent pickups tend to dominate headlines at the start of the league year. That will almost certainly be the case again March 15 when free agency begins, but the work clubs must do to position themselves to make those signings has already begun.
Contract restructures are a key tool in any front office's arsenal, allowing teams to lower a player's cap hit by converting base salary into bonuses that are spread out across the remaining years on a deal. These moves can free eye-popping amounts of cap room quickly, allowing teams that are paying big bucks to their stars to acquire even more talent.
There have already been several restructures following the Super Bowl—the Green Bay Packers agreed to one with Aaron Jones and the New Orleans Saints restructured both Erik McCoy and Marcus Maye's pacts—and plenty more are surely in the pipeline.
With that in mind, here are five players who are strong candidates to get their contracts restructured before free agency begins in a few weeks.
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
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The Buffalo Bills appeared to be a legit title contender last season before they ran out of gas down the stretch and saw their weak points exposed in the divisional round of the playoffs.
While Buffalo could opt for a quiet offseason and remain a strong squad in 2023, opening some cap space and signing some splashy free agents is what this organization needs to get over the hump.
Considering Josh Allen has a $39.7 million cap hit for the upcoming season—more than double his 2022 number—that will take up nearly a fifth of the team's cap allotment, a restructure of the quarterback's deal would be the first step for Buffalo if it intends to reload.
The Bills may be nearly $19 million over the cap, but they can get under it and then some simply by converting most of Allen's $27.5 million base salary to a signing bonus spread out over the remaining years on his deal.
Buffalo has many of the key pieces in place, but 21 of its players are about to hit unrestricted free agency. Retaining the best of their homegrown free agents and surrounding Allen and Co. with a few more proven veterans from outside the organization will help the team avoid another embarrassment in the upcoming postseason.
Allen shouldn't be the only restructure Buffalo's brass makes. The team can execute similar moves with Von Miller, Matt Milano, Tre'Davious White and Stefon Diggs to free over $5 million with each restructure.
It could be a busy offseason for the Bills, but pulling off a series of restructures, starting with Allen, will allow Buffalo to be a force on the open market and come back better than ever in 2023.
David Bakhtiari, OT, Green Bay Packers
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The Green Bay Packers tumbled from the top of the NFC standings last season, missing the playoffs entirely after three consecutive 13-win campaigns. The team could continue its fall if it doesn't stanch the bleeding and retain some key talent this offseason.
While the fate of superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers remains unclear as he mulls his future during a darkness retreat, the ball is in the front office's court regarding the status of left tackle David Bakhtiari.
He is set to tie up nearly $29 million in cap space this season, a massive amount for a player who has missed a significant amount of action in recent years. The 31-year-old has been sidelined for 26 contests since the start of the 2020 season, including six games this past season.
Although Bakhtiari was still playing at a high level upon his return—he didn't allow a single sack across 597 offensive snaps, earning a 79.8 Pro Football Focus grade in 2022—it would be wise for the Packers to consider the availability issues when making a decision on the left tackle.
Green Bay could just release Bakhtiari, but it would require the club to take on an unsightly $23.1 million in dead money. A restructure makes the most sense—a move that could reduce Bakhtiari's cap hit to approximately $21 million.
With this roster needing help at several key spots—most notably tight end, wideout and safety—freeing that kind of cap space could help the Packers acquire some difference-making free agents.
Green Bay accomplished one of its more important to-do items after running back Aaron Jones agreed to a pay cut and restructure last week that reduced his cap hit noticeably. Getting Bakhtiari to do the same will set up the Packers for a strong spring in free agency.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
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Kansas City just won the Super Bowl for the second time in the last four years in part thanks to some creative roster building and cap wizardry. The front office still has plenty more moves it can make this offseason to ensure this roster can remain intact for another run.
While the Chiefs are basically at the cap going into the offseason, they could assemble a juggernaut ready to become the first back-to-back champs in nearly two decades with a few big free-agent pickups in addition to doling out extensions to key players.
They'll find plenty of money to accomplish these goals by restructuring Patrick Mahomes' megadeal, a move that would make nearly $33.5 million available in a single stroke, per Over the Cap.
The team opted not to restructure Mahomes' contract last year—the Tyreek Hill trade and Frank Clark's base-salary cut provided much of the cap space it needed to construct a title-winning roster—but there aren't as many options for Kansas City to free up finances in 2023.
With money needed to retain talent in the offensive trenches, wideout and several defensive positions, the Chiefs won't have the type of cap space they need to pick up high-end pieces off the open market unless they restructure the Mahomes contract.
Although this isn't a move Kansas City must make, it's one it should make after learning firsthand in 2020 just how difficult it can be to defend a title.
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Darius Slay, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
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The Philadelphia Eagles fell short of winning a Super Bowl this year and will be hungry to return after the 2023 season.
The team can make this endeavor easier by keeping the band together and adding a few small pieces on the open market—goals that will be much easier to accomplish with a few restructures.
One of the largest cap-saving moves Philadelphia can execute involves star cornerback Darius Slay and his massive cap hit of over $26 million in 2023.
After restructuring Slay's deal in both 2021 and 2022, the Eagles could again work with the veteran to free some finances for the upcoming campaign.
Because quarterback Jalen Hurts has proved worthy of a blockbuster extension—one that will tie up a good chunk of Philadelphia's cap space—the front office will have to get creative this offseason to keep costs down and the talent level up.
Philadelphia does have the option to designate Slay as a post-June 1 release to save $16.9 million, but that transaction would also incur $9.3 million in dead money and would leave the club without one of its top defenders.
The better choice would be to restructure the 32-year-old's contract yet again, saving $12.3 million and allowing the Eagles to chase a player who can start across from Slay at the second cornerback spot.
James Bradberry is almost certainly on his way out after a sterling one-year showing in the City of Brotherly Love. One of the top challenges for the Eagles this offseason will be to unearth another budget-friendly defensive back, but they may be able to splurge a bit more if they can bring down Slay's cap hit.
Leonard Williams, DL, New York Giants
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This offseason will shape New York Giants' future
They are flush with the cap space to make some splashy signings, but they would be wise to open up even more finances before free agency begins. The Giants can accomplish this by restructuring defensive lineman Leonard Williams' contract.
He is coming off a solid campaign, one in which he notched 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble while earning a 77.9 PFF grade. While that is a respectable grade, it's not one that the team will want to take on a hefty $32.3 million cap hit for.
Big Blue has a few options to alleviate the untenable amount of cap room Williams' deal is set to take up. The team can cut the 28-year-old, but it would take on $20.2 million of dead money by doing so.
Extending Williams is another possibility for savings, but according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, the lineman wants to talk to his agent and the front office before agreeing to any sort of deal that could reduce his pay.
Restructuring Williams' deal may be the easiest option, a move that would save $8.4 million and instantly help the Giants build on their surprisingly strong 2022 campaign and divisional-round appearance.
Although the G-Men have the fourth-most cap space in the league, they have a few key decisions to make, largely surrounding the long-term status of quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley, both unrestricted free agents.
If both players are retained on market-value contracts, that money will quickly dry up without restructuring contracts such as Williams' to add to New York's coffers.
All cap figures and contract data courtesy of Spotrac.
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