10:24am: Ganguli has issued a correction to her initial report, tweeting that Manning hasn’t actually agreed to a pay cut yet. The Texans are working on a new agreement, says Ganguli.
9:46am: Heading into the final year of his contract, Danieal Manning won’t be a cap casualty, according to Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com (via Twitter), who says that the Texans defensive back has agreed to restructure his deal. Unless the new agreement tacks extra years onto the contract, Manning figures to take a pay cut to reduce his cap number.
Manning, 31, suffered a fractured fibula in October 2013, forcing him to miss 10 games. As such, the Texans could create some cap relief by reworking his deal to include playing-time incentives. Because the ex-Bear only appeared in six contests, incentives based on appearing in more games this season would be considered “unlikely to be earned,” meaning they wouldn’t initially be included on Houston’s cap. That scenario would give Manning a chance to earn back a chunk of his original salary if he’s healthy.
Prior to agreeing to restructure his deal, Manning was set to earn a $4.5MM base salary. Combined with a $1.5MM hit for a prorated bonus, his cap number had been $6MM.
According to Ganguli (via Twitter), armed with the extra cap room afforded by Manning’s pay cut, the Texans may pursue free agent safety Chris Clemons, who was drafted by Houston director of pro personnel Brian Gaine in Miami.