25 NFL Veterans Who Will Be Victims of Offseason Salary Dumps

As Kyle Orton found out today, an NFL player's situation can change at the drop of a hat.

The "why" and "when" of Orton's ouster are almost irrelevant because any player knows that they can be in a totally new situation at any time.

There's a reason some people say that NFL stands for "Not For Long." You just don't know.

Even big names and high profile players are at risk. A player like Terrell Owens can be a hot commodity for a while and then suddenly fall so far off the radar, so quickly, that they leave a cloud of dust and nothing more.

Sometimes it's a payroll issue; sometimes it's a performance issue; sometimes it's a little of both; on occasion, it's a lot of both.

Whatever the cause, anyone at any time can be gone in a heartbeat.

While the offseason is still quite a ways away, it's never too early to consider which players might find themselves downsized when the 2011 season is done. The following 25 players aren't locks to be gone.

This is just my impression looking at a number of factors which could send them packing in the offseason.

Or perhaps sooner. That happens sometimes.

Just ask Kyle Orton.

Chad Ochocinco

I'm not sure which of the following two things are more amazing to me.

That Chad Johnson/Ochocinco has completely stopped being even remotely productive, or that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady seems to spend a ton of time propping up his ego.

Seriously, during the Jets game two weeks ago we saw Brady reassure Ocho after a boneheaded play where he stepped out of bounds with nobody around him. That's something I've ever seen Brady do for anyone else.

I'm not sure what the attraction is for Brady, as Ocho has a grand total of 11 catches on 23 targets for a staggering 201 yards. There have been points this season where he didn't know the offense, and it has shown in every game.

Everyone keeps expecting him to get back on track and yet he follows up a promising game against the Jets with a big donut against the Chiefs.

For this you paid him a three-year, $11.5 million contract, which included a $4.75 million signing bonus?

I can't imagine Ochocinco is a Patriot past the last day of the New England season. Even if he has a stunning December, he's just not worth the money thay're shelling out for him.

No matter how much Tom Brady is there to give him a pat on the back.

Kevin Kolb

Maybe it's a bit early to call this a failed experiment, but I'm doing it anyway.

Somewhere on the Internet is proof I said paying Kevin Kolb a six-year, $65 million contract with $21.5 million guaranteed was borderline insane. He hadn't done a thing to prove he was worth it and the Cards had already paid a huge price in acquiring him in the first place.

All Kolb did was go out and throw interceptions to such stalwart secondaries as Minnesota, Seattle and Washington.

He could move the chains but he just wasn't getting the job done. The Cardinals lost every game he quarterbacked, save the very first against the Carolina Panthers, which came on the very last play. I'll tell you, if you were to play that game again right now, Kolb and the Cardinals lose.

Kolb didn't impress me in Philadelphia and he didn't impress me in seven games for Arizona, and he sure as heck hasn't earned his contract. The only thing to save him might be the fact that he was injured before he could "get his feet."

The Cardinals will be in a position to get a top quarterback in the 2012 NFL Draft. Kolb might be in a position to watch it happen as a free agent.

CJ Spiller

I remember sitting in Radio City Music Hall's press row during the 2010 NFL Draft and being puzzled by the selection of CJ Spiller with the ninth overall pick.

After all, the Bills already had Willis McGahee and Fred Jackson on the roster, and Spiller hadn't impressed me all that much on tape. On top of that, the Bills were desperate for a quarterback.

Still, Spiller was the pick—and a much heralded one for the Bills at that.

A season-and-a half-later and what do we have? An undersized running back who can't break tackles, seems to lack break-away speed, and who isn't even good at kick or punt returns.

Meanwhile, Jackson has become a tremendous player for Buffalo and at a bargain price.

If Spiller was drafted in any other round, he'd already be cut or, at the very least, permanently on the bench.

Instead, Spiller continues to dance too much and isn't even effective when he gets the ball in space. In just over a year he has yet to top 100 total yards in a game and has a grand total of two touchdowns.

Two things could save Spiller.

First, he's already made the bulk of his money and at this point only costs $405,000 this year and $852,917 next; mind you, his price escalates every year so there is only so much benefit in his being cheap.

Second, and connected to the first point, Fred Jackson is going to cost a lot of money to keep in Buffalo. Sure, they can franchise Jackson or even let him move on. Either way, they might want to keep Spiller around just in case.

Personally I say cut your losses. I don't think Spiller has shown us anything much beyond his ability to cash a check.

Julian Edelman

Julian Edelman is best known to fantasy football players who grabbed him for a quick fix when Wes Welker was sidelined a year or so ago.

Since then, he hasn't done much notable on the field (though normally a guy who costs this little is safe from the axe).

However, Edelman has been arraigned on charges of indecent assault and battery in Boston Municipal Court and a team like the Patriots might decide that enough is enough.

Of all the teams in the NFL, the Patriots are quickest to pull the trigger when someone has outlived their usefulness.

Edelman's issues off the field, coupled with a poor season on-field could make the decision very simple in New England.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

When the Eagles traded Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals, Rodgers-Cromartie appeared to be a key piece of the puzzle.

We knew Philadelphia wanted to improve their secondary and Rodgers-Cromartie was a good candidate for that.

Then several things happened. First, the Eagles signed former Raider Nnamdi Asomugha to a large contract. Then they didn't trade Asante Samuel and Rodgers-Cromartie ended up relegated to nickel back.

From the moment he took the field to the moment he torn ligaments in his ankle, he struggled. Maybe it was terminology and a new scheme; or maybe he just was never as good as he showed his first season.

Whatever the reason, he's in the middle of a six-year contract and gets paid $1,128,750 next season. He does become a free agent in 2012 so they might ride his contract out, but if they don't give him some more time to figure out if they want to pay him again.

In order to do that, Asante Samuel would have to step aside. Speaking of which...

Asante Samuel

It's either Rodgers-Cromartie or Samuel. Really, the two are pretty redundant.

Samuel is the wily veteran and has been in the Eagles' defensive scheme a lot longer, which gives him an edge in terms of his ability to execute. He's also signed until 2014, while Rodgers-Cromartie is free in 2013.

However, Samuel is far more expensive than DRC is now or is likely to be any time soon. Samuel is making $5.9 million this year and will make $8.4 million in 2012 and $10.4 million in 2013.

That's a ton of money for a guy who really hasn't done all that much this season and, to be honest, wasn't terribly impressive last year either.

Samuel appears to have begun to decline while his price tag goes up.

The Eagles will likely have to make a tough choice in the offseason. One of the two players must go and Samuel is an expensive guy to keep around.

DeAngelo Williams

There was a lot of speculation about where DeAngelo Williams would go last offseason.

The thought was that Carolina would never pay him big money coming off a year in which he was injured; and while they had a good running back in Jonathan Stewart and much bigger needs to spend money on.

It just goes to show you that nobody knows what goes on in the brain of Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.

The Panthers signed Williams to a five-year, $43 million contract with $21 million guaranteed and a $16 million signing bonus.

In return, Williams has totaled 471 yards and one touchdown on 93 carries. Even with a good 5.1 yards per carry average you can't say you're getting value with this contract.

There are several factors at work.

First, new head coach Ron Rivera is nowhere near as committed to the run as John Fox was. I mean, nobody is as committed to the run as Fox was, but Rivera dares to be more balanced.

Secondly, Rivera will give Cam Newton the ball to run more than anyone else. And why not—he's damned good at it.

Maybe the Panthers kept Williams around because Stewart is usually banged up; maybe they think Stewart isn't going to be worth the money to retain him when his contract is up in just a bit.

Whatever the reason, Williams is costing a lot of money to do nothing much. It might seem insane to cut someone lose one year after signing them to a big contract, but it's equally insane to pay someone millions of dollars to do nothing.

Shonn Greene

Greene, in the third year of his rookie contract, started out slow this season and for a long time looked pretty bad.

I watched the Jets a lot, both because I like to and because I was recapping the games for Footballguys.com and Greene ran with almost no power. It was like someone running in a swimming pool. every action seemed slow.

For a big back, he didn't even run aggressively.

Somewhere around Week 5 Greene seemed to wake up and start running like he cared. Still, he often gets jammed up at the line and isn't running through tackles the way he should. He also has made some poor decisions on pass plays which cost the team.

The Jets are invested in Greene for sure, but since his initial playoff run his rookie season, Greene has lacked the killer instinct to really excel as a lead back.

Behind him are two guys who could make him very expendable. Joe McKnight has made great strides since he kicked off his Jets career vomiting in practice, and former Louisville running back Bilal Powell has all the tools to be a very good complement to McKnight if he can protect the ball better than he did in Denver last week.

While Greene isn't terribly expensive at $480,000 this year and $565,000 next, he's also not playing the way the Jets have needed him to.

If he can't pick up the pace, he might find himself on the outs in the offseason.

Wayne Hunter

Von Miller abused Jets offensive tackle Wayne Hunter and normally I give a pass to anyone who gets annihilated by a future Pro Bowler and Defensive Rookie of the Year.

However, Hunter has been awful all year. Miller was just the latest—and arguably the best—guy to take advantage of his lack of ability.

The Jets have needed Hunter to step up this year but he hasn't and this right after he signed a four-year, $12.9 million contract.

The Jets offensive line is a pale shadow of what it used to be and if things stay the way they are, it needs to be blown up. Hunter isn't the only one who could be gone—nor is he the only Jets lineman on this list—but he's a big factor in the Jets' O-line struggles.

Either he turns it around or he could get shown the door.

Knowshon Moreno

In all the Tebow drama, one thing has been overlooked in Denver: Knowshon Moreno is the biggest bust of the Josh McDaniels era.

Three years in, Moreno has yet to top 1,000 yards and this year hasn't scored a touchdown. He's also been hurt—a lot.

The media was pretty sure that a high-caliber running back would be brought in to compete for the job, but Denver ended up with Willis McGahee instead.

McGahee went and took the job anyway.

Moreno doesn't seem able to break off long runs, can't stay healthy and is a holdover from the previous regime. On top of  that, he's making $1 million this season, $855,000 in 2012, and a whopping $1.7 million in 2014.

That combination spells trouble and I don't see him collecting on that whole contract.

Matt Cassel

Matt Cassel is another quarterback who got paid big before he reall earned the cash.

Sure, he did a great job filling in for Tom Brady and I applaud him for getting paid while he could. But in the third year of his six-year, $63 million contract, it's looking like poorly spent money.

And sure 2010 was a good year, but we all know that Kansas City benefited from some very soft scheduling.

Now that he's on injured reserve, it might be time to reassess whether he is the future in Kansas City. It might seem like he could be as badly as Tyler Palko played this weekend, but in truth I think Cassel just isn't the guy for the job.

He doesn't get rid of the ball quick enough to counter a shaky offensive line and he doesn't have that extra something that allows him to put a team on his back when the chips are down.

There are lots of possibilities for the Chiefs to start with a fresh quarterback, including drafting one of the top prospects in April or sticking with Kyle Orton.

Whether Cassel is there to see that is questionable at best.

Taylor Mays

I liked Mays coming out of USC, but like everyone else I was concerned he couldn't make the transition to the NFL.

So far looks like the concerns were valid.

Already on his second team in two years, Mays hasn't been productive in either San Francisco or Cincinnati. Mays gets caught out of position and is not great in coverage, but also hasn't been much help in run support either.

He's still running out a four-year, $3.91 million contract, and if he can't become more of a factor for the Bengals, they might move in another direction.

Vladimir Ducasse

I said there was another Jets offensive lineman on this list, but I guess I should have qualified it as a lineman who isn't starting.

The Jets had high hopes for Vladimir Ducasse when they chose him in the late second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, but so far they haven't panned out. They've tried him on both the left and right side as well as at guard and tackle.

Ducasse has the athletic ability but something hasn't clicked. As I said when discussing Wayne Hunter, the Jets may need to clear out some dead weight on the offensive line. If they can't get Ducasse to start contributing, he might be one of the guys to dump.

At some point you have to start earning your keep and Ducasse has yet to reach that point. The Jets need to do something about the line, and getting rid of Ducasse could very well be part of that something.

Joey Porter

Joey Porter has had a rough season, one marred by injury. Just over one year into a three-year deal, Porter has played alright, but not worth the $17.5 million contract.

He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee and while he was out, it seems that the defense plays just as well—maybe better—without him.

This is a defense that needs to build towards the future and Porter is past his prime—too much so to help out all that much.

Maybe he will get some slack for the injury, but I don't see him getting his job back. And as that's the case, I cannot imagine him remaining in Arizona.

Anthony Dixon

Just a year ago, there was talk about how Anthony Dixon was poised to take some of veteran back Frank Gore's carries, ostensibly to ease the impact on Gore.

That never happened and this year it's even worse for Dixon; he's dropped down the depth chart and is now behind rookie Kendall Hunter.

Dixon never really seemed to grasp the offense in the way Hunter has appeared to in his rookie year and Dixon has barely seen any work.

On the one hand, you can never have too many running backs. However, the 49ers have carried just two in the past and it's just as likely that head coach Jim Harbaugh would go find someone who better fits his scheme.

Ryan Fitzpatrick

This one is probably a long shot, but Ryan Fitzpatrick signed a huge contract only to implode in the middle of the best season the Bills have had since Jim Kelly wore the Buffalo.

After a torrid pace to start the season, Fitzpatrick has come crashing back down to earth, struggling quite a bit.

That seven-year, $62.195 million contract seems a bit ridiculous now, though after all the guaranteed money paid out, Fitzpatrick is only making $2.8 million. He makes the same in 2012, but is also due to receive a roster bonus of $5 million in March.

Perhaps the Bills will merely buckle down for the long haul—after all, they liked him enough to pay him a tremendous amount of money.

Still, if he cannot right the ship, perhaps serious thought should be taken about why he has struggled and if anything can be done about it.

Matt Forte

OK, so bear with me while I tinfoil hat this one up.

Forte is due to be a free agent in 2012; he's making peanuts and very unhappy about it; he feels he is being run into the ground yet not being paid fairly for the workload; and we know the Bears are sometimes hesitant to pay their backs.

He'll only get more targets and carries now that Jay Cutler has been shelved and Caleb Hanie is in charge.

Could the Bears be content to run Forte until he collapses and then move on? Stranger things have happened. Certainly the team could hit him with the franchise tag, but if they've busted his axle, why bother?

If I were the Bears I would pay the centerpiece of my offense (Forte, not Cutler), but the Bears might view differently and let Forte move on come season's end.

Peyton Hillis

The contract squabble between the Cleveland Browns and Peyton Hillis has had some odd twists and turns.

Hillis backed out of a game citing strep throat and then recanted saying he was advised by his representation to not play. Then Hillis got hurt and has been deactivated multiple weeks, sometimes as early as Monday.

There are even rumors that the locker room is fed up by him and that the team may just cut bait and let Hillis walk.

All signs point to a new spot for Hillis in 2012. The biggest concern any other club will have is attitude, because it's his attitude which is partially responsible for the position he is in in the first place.

DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson has been very vocal about his contract and, like Peyton Hillis, it has not been well received by management or teammates.

Jackson was benched just two games ago and if Jeremy Maclin hadn't been hurt and missed the Giants game, I wouldn't have been shocked to see him benched for that matchup as well.

I think if Jackson could keep his attitude off the field, it might get overlooked, but he cost his team some yards last Sunday night and if that keeps up nobody will be sorry to see him go.

We've seen the hard line that this franchise has taken when it comes to attitude-laden wide receivers complaining about money before; I don't imagine it will go better for Jackson than it did for Terrell Owens.

Again, this could be a franchise tag waiting to happen, but if the team tagged him it strikes me that Jackson is the type of guy to make everyone regret it.

I think if he can't get it together, the Eagles could let him walk. There are only so many headaches a franchise is willing to deal with.

Donald Brown

Three years in and we still haven't seen all that much from Donald Brown to justify his first round draft slot (though he could get a stay of execution due to the collapse the entire team is suffering from minus-Manning).

However, we've had two other seasons to watch Brown and have yet to see anything dynamic or special about him. Sure, rookie Delone Carter hasn't been much better and while Joseph Addai has played well, he's been saddled with injury.

You can excuse Carter for the lack of an offseason program and the usual rookie stumbles, while Addai isn't intended to be the lead back and knows the offense better than any of the other backs.

Brown isn't a rookie anymore and should be able to function as a complement to Addai—but cannot.

At this point, Brown isn't terribly expensive (just $865,000 next year), but he's also eating up roster space that could be filled with a better back.

This team might be facing a rebuilding project very soon. Brown could very well go out with old to make room for the new.

Shawne Merriman

Merriman was brought on with a two-year, $10.5 million contract and what that got the Bills was a player who underperformed and then got hurt.

Merriman hasn't ever been the same since his suspension for testing positive for a performance enhancing substance and this season seemed to be shaping up the same way.

His contract is short, but he's set to earn $4 million in 2012 with both a roster bonus of $1 million due in March and a $250,000 workout bonus.

On top of that, he will be coming off surgery for his Achilles' tendon.

That seems like an awful lot of money for someone who isn't going to dominate, or produce, anytime soon.

Donald Lee

When you have a tight end like Jermaine Gresham, other tight ends tend to be blockers or flat out expendable.

Lee came over from the Packers, because when you have Jermichael Finley you don't need another mediocre tight end.

His numbers have been up the last few weeks, but that's mostly due to AJ Green's injury and not a sudden interest in utilizing Lee more.

While I think Lee is a decent enough athlete, he doesn't bring much to the table, and even though he isn't being paid a ton, the Bengals have several receivers coming up as free agents and would probably need to reserve the money for those players.

Jason Campbell

It'd be cruel to cut Campbell coming off a significant injury, but as we mentioned up top—that's the NFL.

Campbell has already said he wants to come back to the Raiders after his collarbone heals, but his willingness to come back might not factor into this that much.

What really matters is whether Carson Palmer can play. Is Palmer a long-term solution for the Raiders?

The same question can be asked of Campbell, the difference being that at one time Palmer was an exceptional quarterback.

Campbell has only ever been average-at-best QB and even with the weapons he had in Oakland, he was just alright.

If Carson Palmer sticks in Oakland, it's probably lights out for Campbell.

Leon Washington

Leon Washington just signed a four-year, $12.5 million contract and is having one of the less significant seasons of his career.

The rock bottom moment might have been this last game when he carried the ball six times for minus-three yards against the Rams, who hold the worst run defense in the NFL.

Washington has just not looked right this year, and while part of that is on the offensive line, a lot of it is on Washington as well.

It looks like he's going to spend more time on special teams than running plays and his contract is a little much for a special teams player.

I wouldn't be shocked if Washington was in search of a new home and the Seahawks brought in someone young, cheaper and with more ability than Washington.

Chris Cooley

Chris Cooley has been with the Redskins for as long as I can remember, but it looks as though that's about to change.

Cooley, who was placed on injured reserve for issues stemming from a knee injury, faces a tough career moment.

He's going to be coming off an injury which only gives him a 50-50 chance to play again and is earning a ton of cash (his cap hit in 2012 is $6.23 million), while his younger counterpart Fred Davis is about to become a free agent.

The Redskins could use the cap space they gain from cutting Cooley to lock Davis down, and that's just what I expect them to do.

Davis is just a better player right now and the future of the Redskins' tight end position, while Cooley is facing a huge uphill climb to just get back to where he was.

It's hard to imagine the Redskins and Cooley being together come 2012.