NFL Contracts Teams Would Love to Erase In 2023 Offseason
The start of NFL free agency is mere weeks away, and with it comes a slew of available talent on the open market. Several of these players have the potential to shift the league's power structure by plugging glaring holes for Super Bowl hopefuls.
Unfortunately for several of these potential contenders, some of the top veterans will simply be out of reach because of salary cap constraints. Rather than sign stars, these cash-strapped clubs will have to settle for lesser talent to round out their rosters this spring.
Many of these penny-pinching organizations find themselves in their current situation because of the bad contracts they've doled out. They owe too much money to players who haven't lived up to expectations and didn't leave themselves viable paths to get out from under the deal.
While teams can't simply delete those contracts from the books, we can in this hypothetical exercise. With that in mind, here are five players whose contracts would likely be erased by their current employer if it was possible.
Contract figures courtesy of Spotrac.
J.C. Jackson, CB, Los Angeles Chargers
1 of 5
The Los Angeles Chargers appeared to have secured an elite cornerback when they came to terms with J.C. Jackson last year. Jackson was coming off a strong run with the New England Patriots, evolving from an undrafted free agent in 2018 to a Pro Bowler by 2021.
Jackson's best season as a pro couldn't have come at a better time. His sterling showing during a contract year helped him secure a massive payday from L.A., who signed him to a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the assumption he would serve as the squad's No. 1 corner.
The 27-year-old's tenure with the Bolts got off to a rocky start after he suffered an August ankle injury that not only cost him the entire preseason, but also the 2022 season-opener and Week 3 as well. When Jackson was finally back in the lineup, he seemed a shell of the player who allowed a mere 49.1 percent completion rate and 46.8 quarterback rating in coverage the previous season.
Jackson was a downright liability on many plays and seemed lost in Los Angeles' defensive scheme. He conceded a career-worst 66.7 completion percent and gave up four touchdowns in five games. That was all the action the defensive back managed in 2022. He went down for the year after rupturing his patellar tendon in Week 7, one week after he was temporarily benched by head coach Brandon Staley for consistently poor showings.
The Florida product earned a downright abysmal 28.7 PFF grade last season, a monumental drop-off from the star-level 82.6 mark he earned in 2021.
Despite the regression, the Chargers are basically stuck with Jackson for at least one more year. Cutting him this offseason would incur a massive $32 million dead-cap hit—a number that is reduced by more than half in 2024.
Russell Wilson, QB, Denver Broncos
2 of 5
After purchasing the Denver Broncos last year, the organization's new ownership group went right to work attempting to craft a championship roster. The once-proud team hadn't made the playoffs in over a half-decade, failures that largely rested on an inability to find a franchise quarterback following Peyton Manning's retirement in 2016.
These factors led Denver to shell out a king's ransom for Russell Wilson. The club not only coughed up a load of valuable assets—headlined by two first- and two second-round draft picks—to pry the quarterback away from the Seattle Seahawks, but it also doled out big bucks to lock him up for the foreseeable future before he even played a regular-season game with the Broncos.
Wilson cashed in on his strong body of work with the Seahawks—nine Pro Bowl appearances in 10 seasons—when he signed a five-year extension worth $245 million, with $165 million in guarantees.
Just one season into that deal, it's already becoming clear that signing Wilson through the 2028 campaign may have been a massive mistake.
The 34-year-old just endured the roughest season of his decorated career. He posted his second-worst yards per passing attempt (7.3) and interception (11) numbers while hitting new lows in completion percentage (60.5) and touchdown throws (16).
Wilson's 66.2 PFF grade was the lowest of his career and a far cry from the fantastic 90-plus marks he posted as recently as the 2019 and 2020 campaigns.
Denver won't give up on Wilson yet, however. Since the team would take on an almost comical dead-cap hit of $107 million by moving on from him, it will instead hope Wilson can bounce back under a new coaching staff led by Sean Payton, the proven Super Bowl winner brought on to replace an ineffective Nathaniel Hackett after he was canned before the 2022 season even ended.
If Wilson has another atrocious campaign, the Broncos won't have many options to get out from under his deal.
His dead-cap hit remains exorbitant in 2024, ringing up at $85 million. The earliest the Broncos can cut Wilson and not set the franchise back significantly is 2025, as they'll still incur a $49.6 million dead-cap hit but at least save nearly $6 million by releasing him.
Chandler Jones, Edge, Las Vegas Raiders
3 of 5
The Las Vegas Raiders went into the 2022 free-agency signing period with the goal of beefing up their pass-rush to combat the slew of star quarterbacks in their division. They appeared to have succeeded in that quest after coming to terms with Chandler Jones, who was considered to be one of the top edge-rushers on the open market last year.
That signing didn't move the needle the way the Raiders had hoped, though. Jones regressed significantly during his first season with the Raiders, and the chances for significant improvements going forward are low.
Although he appeared in 15 games for the second successive year, Jones' sack numbers plummeted from 10.5 to 4.5. The 33-year-old didn't look like the playmaker he was during his final year with the Arizona Cardinals, contributing just one forced fumble last season after forcing six in 2021.
Jones' drop-off occurred despite playing with one of the best edge-rushing partners he's ever worked with in two-time Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby. It's a concerning sign for a player who is well on the wrong side of 30 but still has two years left on the three-year, $51 million deal he signed last March.
While the Raiders would likely prefer a mulligan and a chance to re-allocate that money to more productive players, they are stuck with Jones for 2023. Releasing him would incur a dead-cap hit of over $25 million.
If Jones doesn't have a resurgent season, at least the Raiders can move on from him at this time next year. They'll be able to save over $12 million by cutting the edge-rusher in the final season of his deal.
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Jonnu Smith, TE, New England Patriots
4 of 5
Following several seasons with one of the most underwhelming tight end rooms in the league, the New England Patriots made some splashy moves during the 2021 offseason to patch up the position. The club splurged on a pair of proven veterans in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, acquisitions that seemed to give the Pats their best one-two punch at tight end in a decade.
That potential was never realized, however, as the past two seasons have been filled with uninspiring tight end play in Foxborough.
Smith has been a particularly poor signing. Prior to cashing in on a four-year, $50 million deal with the Patriots, the FIU product had been a key part of the Tennessee Titans offense. He had a career year in 2020, when he caught 41 passes for 448 yards and eight touchdowns, but Smith hasn't come close to matching those numbers during his stint in New England.
The 27-year-old has struggled to establish chemistry with quarterback Mac Jones. He caught his lone touchdown in a Patriots uniform in 2021 and saw his already disappointing production dip further this past season.
Seeing the field for less than half of New England's offensive snaps, Jones managed to catch just 27 of his 38 targets for 245 yards last year.
Smith would be a prime cut candidate if not for the way his deal was structured. His cap hit is over $17 million, but the team would incur a dead-cap hit of more than $19 million by releasing him.
While the Patriots could get rid of their ineffective tight end by making him a post-June 1 release, the team can only designate two players to cut after that date and would only save a shade over $3.6 million by choosing Smith as one of them.
Trading Smith would be a more palatable option—doing so on June 2 or later would save more than $10 million—but it's hard to imagine much of a market materializing for the six-year veteran after his lackluster performances.
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
5 of 5
After Aaron Rodgers flirted with an exit following his second successive MVP season, the Green Bay Packers were downright desperate to keep their franchise quarterback happy.
The team convinced Rodgers to stick around for at least the 2022 season by agreeing to a record-setting three-year extension worth nearly $151 million with over $100 million fully guaranteed.
That move now looks like a mistake for multiple reasons.
Rodgers' stupefying salary ended up hamstringing Green Bay's ability to improve other areas of the roster. The team was forced to deal away top wideout Davante Adams and went into last season with a mix of rookies and over-the-hill veterans as Rodgers' top targets.
Despite being paid like a quarterback who could carry a team to a championship, Rodgers wasn't even able to guide the Packers into the playoffs. Green Bay finished the year with an 8-9 record, a stark fall-off from the three consecutive 13-win campaigns the club had enjoyed prior to 2022.
Following that disappointing season, Rodgers is once again mulling his future. The quarterback had previously been disgruntled with the Packers because of their decision to expend a first-round pick on quarterback Jordan Love in 2020. The drama spilled over into the 2021 offseason when Rodgers feuded with general manager Brian Gutenkunst before agreeing to return.
The drama is continuing this offseason as well. Rodgers recently went on a much-publicized "darkness retreat" to consider his future, which could lead to him retiring or playing for another club in 2023.
At this point, it's starting to become clear the Packers would have benefitted more from moving on from their longtime signal-caller after 2021.
The 39-year-old's fading talents—he scored a 77.5 PFF grade last year after earning an 89.6 the prior season and a 94.5 in 2020—coupled with the constant headaches he has caused the club aren't congruent with what the league's highest-paid player should be providing his franchise.
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