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Chargers’ Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa Discuss Pay Cuts, Hopes For 2024 Season

June 16th, 2024 at 10:50pm CST by Rory Parks

As part of the cap-strapped Chargers’ efforts to bring themselves into cap compliance before the new league year opened in March, the club released wide receiver Mike Williams and traded fellow wideout Keenan Allen. Edge defenders Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack also profiled as trade candidates, though both ultimately remained with Los Angeles on reworked contracts.

Those new deals were originally reported as restructures, which often means that void years are being added and/or that a player’s base salary is being converted into a signing bonus in order to spread out their cap charge and create more cap space in the upcoming year. However, as Daniel Popper of The Athletic notes, Bosa and Mack actually accepted pay cuts, and both players cited the talent of the LA roster as a primary reason for their decision (subscription required).

Mack, who is entering his age-33 season but who has never won a playoff game, stated that the club’s hire of new head coach Jim Harbaugh also factored into his willingness to take a pay cut. Mack said of Harbaugh, “he’s like a simple dude. He’s not going to tell you what you want to hear. He kind of just kept it real and told me, ‘Well, if we’ve got this many guys on each side, we can win.’ And he’s like, ‘We have this number now, and we can work on building some certain guys up or bringing certain guys in.'”

While the Chargers had a disappointing 2023 campaign, Mack himself was terrific, posting a career-high 17 sacks. He is under club control through 2024, and although he will be 34 if/when he hits the open market next offseason, a similar showing this year could allow him to land another lucrative multiyear pact. He also believes that, despite the misfortune that seems to plague the Bolts, and despite the loss of several top offensive performers, the Harbaugh-led outfit is well-equipped to make a postseason run.

“I know these guys, man,” Mack said. “They got what it takes in this locker room, starting with the quarterback. And then you got my guys on defense. It’s just a lot of different intangibles that you look for when you want to have a running mate and teammates. So just understanding these guys and knowing their capabilities.”

Bosa, meanwhile, is about to turn 29 and therefore has more time than Mack to experience playoff success. When discussing his own pay cut, he said simply, “I want to win. I want to be on this team. I want another shot with the guys in this room, especially [Mack]. … Winning football games is more important to me right now than making some extra money.”

While Bosa certainly wants to enjoy a championship season with the team that drafted him and is under club control through 2025, he is not due any more guaranteed money after the 2024 season. Given that, and given that he was nearly on the chopping block this offseason, it is certainly possible that this will be his last year with the Chargers, as ESPN’s Kris Rhim notes.

Like the Watt brothers, Bosa and his little brother, 49ers star Nick Bosa, have discussed the possibility of playing together. If that were to happen at any point in the near future, it would be in San Francisco, as the younger Bosa is under contract with the Niners through 2028. Per Rhim, those conversations have never been serious, but it seems both players are open to the possibility.

“It’d be cool at some point,” Joey Bosa said. “I always thought of myself being somebody that will play [with the Chargers] and retire here, which I think not many people do on one team and I think would be a cool thing to accomplish, but you never know. I’m going to worry about this year first. … I think we have a great opportunity here, and who knows, maybe I’ll have a great year this year and then things can change down the road.”

Five Teams Inquired On Nick Bosa’s Availability

September 12th, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Ben Levine

Nick Bosa was a popular name on the trade market before he inked his record-breaking extension with the 49ers. According to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, five teams reached out to the 49ers about Bosa’s availability.

[RELATED: 49ers, Nick Bosa Agree To Extension]

According to Glazer, these potential suitors were hoping the 49ers wouldn’t agree to a long-term deal with the impending free agent, who was holding out for a new contract. San Francisco naturally shut down all inquiries before signing Bosa to an extension.

Bosa held out throughout the summer as he pushed for a new contract, and the 49ers ultimately handed him a massive five-year, $170MM extension. The contract made Bosa the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, and despite the inquires from other squads, the pass rusher should remain in San Francisco through at least the 2028 season.

It’s not a shock that rivals teams expressed interest in acquiring Bosa. The former second-overall pick has been a force when healthy, especially over the past two seasons. Between 2021 and 2022, Bosa collected 34 sacks, 40 tackles for loss, 80 QB hits, and six forced fumbles. This culminated in him winning Defensive Player of the Year last season.

The 49ers had reportedly been budgeting for a Bosa extension for some time, and the organization never seemed to consider a future without their star pass rusher. Both Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch publicly said that Bosa would not be traded despite the long-running negotiations, and the pass rusher didn’t add any fuel to the fire by keeping mostly quiet throughout the ordeal.

The team had to deal with a public trade request last offseason when Deebo Samuel reportedly asked out of San Francisco. However, the wideout didn’t engage in a hold out, and he ended up inking a three-year extensions with the 49ers.

49ers, Nick Bosa Agree To Extension

September 9th, 2023 at 3:35pm CST by Adam La Rose

SEPTEMBER 9: Details were released today on Bosa’s big money extension. The five-year, $170MM extension reported below includes $88MM in fully guaranteed money (Overthecap.com), beating out the previous high from Watt’s contract of $80MM. Like most massive deals are, the deal is incredibly backloaded.

With cap hits for the next three years of $11.01MM in 2023, $14.67MM in 2024, and $20.52MM in 2025, things get much scarier over the following three years with cap hits of $42.03MM in 2026, $52.03MM in 2027, and $42.85MM in 2028. The team will likely never see those cap numbers as they’ll probably end up doing some restructuring before those dates appear, but with $88MM fully guaranteed, Bosa doesn’t have much to be concerned about.

According to David Lombardi of The Athletic, adjusting Bosa’s cap hit in 2023 sets San Francisco up well for future potential cap issues. With $42MM of cap space in 2023, the 49ers have plenty of space to go out and acquire some top talent by the trade deadline. If not, unused cap will roll over into 2024, a season in which the 49ers are projected to be $40MM over the salary cap. This would mean that San Francisco wouldn’t need to make any moves in order to stay under the cap with their current projected roster, though some adjusted are still expected.

SEPTEMBER 6: One of the NFL’s high-profile holdouts has come to an end. Nick Bosa has agreed to a five-year, $170MM extension with the 49ers, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Schefter adds that the monster pact includes $122.5MM in guaranteed money, which, coupled with the $34MM annual average value, comfortably makes this the largest commitment ever made to a defensive player. Bosa will see more guaranteed money – provided it is paid out in full over the life of the pact – than all but four players in the league, each of whom are quarterbacks. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero adds that Bosa will receive a $50MM signing bonus, which is also unprecedented for defenders.

It has long been assumed that the former No. 2 pick would eclipse the $28MM-per-year mark and in doing so overtake T.J. Watt as the league’s top paid edge rusher. The only question was whether or not Bosa would move past Aaron Donald (whose re-worked Rams deal pays out $31.67MM per year) as the top earning non-quarterback. That question has now been answered rather emphatically, as reporting on this situation suggested would be the case.

Bosa – who has long been on the extension radar – has been holding out through the summer in an attempt to leverage a new deal. He incurred $40K in daily fines starting at the onset of training camp, but the team has long been expected to waive those. NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco confirms that will indeed be the case. The 25-year-old will now travel to Santa Clara in advance of a very brief ramp-up period for his fifth season with the 49ers.

After following in his brother Joey Bosa‘s footsteps at Ohio State, Nick entered the league with massive expectations. He has lived up to them when healthy, earning a Pro Bowl nod each year aside from his injured-shortened 2020 campaign. Bosa took a step forward in 2022 by leading the league in sacks (18.5), helping him win Defensive Player of the Year honors. A continuation of that production will be expected through at least most of the term of this deal, which will cover the remainder of his prime years.

Bosa was due to earn $10.8MM this season on the fifth-year option, but with an extension in place his cap hit for the coming season can now be adjusted. He has a window of only a few practices to prepare for Sunday’s season opener against the Steelers, but head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed during a Wednesday press conference (via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo) that Bosa will indeed suit up for that contest.

With Bosa’s holdout now in the past, attention will turn increasingly to Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones and Panthers edge rusher Brian Burns. The latter in particular will be affected by today’s news, as he is believed to be seeking a second contract not far off the AAV of what Bosa earned on his extension. Looking ahead, talks between the Cowboys and Micah Parsons on a monster deal next offseason will no doubt be centered in large part on the figures of today’s agreement.

For now, though, San Francisco can enter another season in which expectations are high (particularly on the defensive side of the ball) with the team’s best defender on the books through 2028. A repeat of Bosa’s previous performances could again make the 49ers a force in the NFC come playoff time now and into the future.

NFL Restructures: 49ers, Humphrey, Barrett, Teller

September 6th, 2023 at 9:11pm CST by Ely Allen

The NFL has an offseason rule called the Top 51 rule. The Top 51 rule dictates that, from the start of the new NFL league year until the beginning of the regular season, only the top 51 contracts (in terms of salary cap hit) count against a team’s salary cap. With the 2023 regular season starting tomorrow, the Top 51 rule expired at 4pm today.

This means that each team in the NFL was forced to add two more contracts to their salary cap totals. If a team was flirting with the ceiling of the salary cap, the addition of two more contracts may push them above the limit. While that may not have been the case for all of the following teams, these front offices decided to take advantage of the timing to clear up some cap space, according to ESPN’s Field Yates:

  • The 49ers did double-duty, restructuring the contracts of tight end George Kittle and offensive tackle Trent Williams. For Kittle, the team converted $10.57MM of his 2023 base salary into a signing bonus while adding an additional void year to the end of the deal, clearing up $8.46MM of cap space. For Williams, San Francisco converted $18.24MM of the left tackle’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus, also adding a single void year to the end of the deal. Williams’ adjustment cleared $14.59MM of cap space. The $23.04MM of cap space cleared in the restructures likely had less to do with the Top 51 rule and much more to do with star pass rusher Nick Bosa‘s record-setting extension.
  • The Ravens used the opportunity to adjust star cornerback Marlon Humphrey‘s contract. Baltimore converted $9.42MM of Humphrey’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus and added a single void year to the end of the deal. The adjustment created $7.54MM of cap space for the Ravens.
  • The Seahawks decided to create space by restructuring safety Jamal Adams‘ contract. Seattle converted $9.92MM of Adams’ 2023 base salary into a signing bonus, creating $6.61MM of cap space for the team.
  • The Buccaneers also targeted the contract of a defensive veteran, adjusting the numbers of pass rusher Shaquil Barrett. For Barrett, Tampa Bay converted $13.09MM of his 2023 base salary into a signing bonus while adding an additional void year to the end of the contract. The restructure clears up $10.47MM of cap space for the Buccaneers.
  • The Titans also addressed the contract of a pass rusher, restructuring Harold Landry‘s current deal. Tennessee converted $11MM of Landry’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus, clearing up $8.25MM of cap space for the team.
  • The Broncos continue to miss the contributions of wide receiver Tim Patrick, who will once again miss the entire season, but Denver still found some value for him in a contract restructure. The team converted $6MM of Patrick’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus to clear up $3MM of cap space.
  • The Browns created some cap space by restructuring the deal of veteran offensive guard Wyatt Teller. Cleveland converted $11.42MM of Teller’s 2023 base salary into a signing bonus while adding an additional void year to the end his deal in order to create $9.14MM of cap space for the team.

Latest On 49ers, DE Nick Bosa

September 6th, 2023 at 8:43am CST by Sam Robinson

Chris Jones and Zack Martin‘s holdouts qualified as more contentious than Nick Bosa‘s, but like the Chiefs interior defensive line standout, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is close to missing regular-season time.

Bosa still has a few more days to sign an extension and end his holdout, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes the 49ers have moved past one hurdle as they attempt to finalize this deal. As expected, Bosa will soon become the NFL’s highest-paid edge defender. The 49ers have offered Bosa at least $30MM per year, as we heard late last week. T.J. Watt‘s $28MM-AAV deal has paced the edge rusher market since September 2021.

The issue of Bosa passing Aaron Donald‘s defender-record deal, which averages $31.7MM per year, still looms. More specifically, the topic of the $5MM roster bonus the Rams gave Donald as part of his guarantee package is part of the Bosa-49ers equation, Rapoport adds. This would seem a small barrier to negotiate, but the parties are running short on time to have Bosa in uniform for the San Francisco-Pittsburgh opener.

If Bosa is not uniform for the 49ers against the Steelers, they are prepared to start free agency pickup Clelin Ferrell and 2022 second-rounder Drake Jackson, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows tweets. This would mark a dramatic change for Ferrell, a bust with the Raiders after being the No. 4 overall pick in 2019. The 49ers have done well to coax quality play from discarded veteran D-linemen in recent years, and it will be interesting to see what D-line coach Kris Kocurek generates from Ferrell, a healthy scratch at points last year in Las Vegas. Ferrell signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal in March.

Bosa’s presence has helped the revolving cast of veteran defensive ends operate, however, and the 49ers have let this matter run up against the regular season. They are still expected to waive Bosa fines for skipping training camp, which the CBA permits for holdouts on rookie contracts, separating this from the Chiefs-Jones impasse. The 49ers have budgeted for a Bosa extension for years, but this journey’s completion is proving difficult.

The guarantees on Bosa’s contract will most likely dwarf Donald’s, as those were part of a three-year deal. The Steelers gave Watt a defender-most $80MM guaranteed at signing; Joey Bosa received $78MM locked in from the Chargers back in 2020. It will be interesting to see if Nick Bosa ends up on a lengthy contract like Trent Williams, who signed a six-year deal in 2021, or a medium-term pact like Deebo Samuel (three years).

Donald staged a holdout ahead of his fourth season and missed the first two games of the Rams’ 2017 season. The circumstances behind that differed, though the Rams did waive Donald’s fines and paid him for Week 1. That holdout came in Sean McVay‘s first season, when little was expected of a retooling Rams team. The 49ers are again a Super Bowl contender, a status Bosa helped restore after he missed most of a down 2020 season with an ACL tear. Not having the 25-year-old standout in a road game against the Steelers may well impact the NFC’s home-field advantage chase four months from now.

Shanahan: 49ers Not Trading Nick Bosa

September 1st, 2023 at 6:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

6:15pm: Adding further to the belief that Bosa is attempting to eclipse Donald as the league’s highest-earning defensive player, Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda reports that the 49ers are offering a deal in the range of $30MM to $31MM per season. However, he also quotes a source stating that San Francisco “won’t break the bank” on the former No. 2 pick. With time running out before the start of the season, it will be interesting to see how much farther the team is willing to go to get these negotiations over the finish line.

10:06am: Nick Bosa‘s holdout dragging into September has the 49ers in the same boat with the Chiefs, whose top defensive player (Chris Jones) is also in pursuit of a monster extension. While the current CBA largely curbed holdouts over its first three seasons, Bosa, Jones and Zack Martin have tested their respective teams this summer.

The Cowboys reached a resolution with Martin, giving the All-Pro guard a raise and fully guaranteeing his money through the end of his through-2024 contract. Martin still incurred nonwaivable fines, with Jones barreling toward $2MM in such penalties. But the CBA allows the 49ers to waive Bosa fines — due to the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year being tied to a rookie contract. That component makes this a less contentious negotiation.

But the 49ers are less than 10 days from potentially opening the season without Bosa. Kyle Shanahan expected a contract agreement to be reached around this time, and when asked if the absence of an extension opens the door to Bosa being traded, the seventh-year HC responded in the negative. John Lynch was more direct, flatly indicating (via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner) Bosa would not be moved amid these long-running negotiations.

“I thought it would come probably at this time, just looking at the history of those things,” Shanahan said of a Bosa deal. “And I’m really hoping it gets done. I know they’re working tirelessly at it … but hopefully we can get him in here sooner than later.”

Bosa’s importance to the 49ers ahead of his age-26 season made the subject of a trade almost immaterial, at least compared to the Chiefs’ Jones impasse. The 49ers have budgeted a Bosa extension for a while, with Lynch indicating last year 2023 would be the window when the star defensive end would cash in. Although the 49ers extended Deebo Samuel and George Kittle late in the summer, Bosa’s talks are pushing up against the regular season. Samuel agreed to his extension on July 31 of last year; Kittle locked in on August 13, 2020.

Lynch expressed disappointment this situation produced a lengthy holdout but said Bosa will land a “special contract.” Bosa’s camp is almost definitely gunning to top Aaron Donald‘s defender-record number ($31.7MM per year). With T.J. Watt setting the edge defender market in September 2021, the 49ers should be expected to top the Rams’ Donald payment. Bosa does not turn 26 until October and established himself as a franchise-changing presence immediately. The salary cap being back on the rise also boosts Bosa’s cause. Bosa is tied to a $17.86MM fifth-year option number; the 49ers stand to gain cap room with this extension.

In what should probably go without saying, new 49ers DC Steve Wilks doubts Bosa will be limited when he returns to work, per the San Jose Mercury News’ Cam Inman. Watt agreed to his $28MM-AAV extension (with a defender-record $80MM fully guaranteed) three days before the Steelers’ 2021 opener, though the Steelers star had staged a hold-in effort while tied to a fifth-year option salary. The 49ers open the regular season on Sept. 10 in Pittsburgh.

49ers Place Nick Bosa On Reserve/Did Not Report List, Pare Roster To 53

August 29th, 2023 at 9:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers joined the Chiefs in placing their best defensive player on the reserve/did not report list due to a holdout and joined the other 30 teams in finalizing their 53-man roster. Some changes are expected, with veterans pledged to stay. But here is how the 49ers reached 53:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/did not report list:

Placed on IR:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

The 49ers are planning to re-sign Hyder and Bryant once they make other roster moves, Matt Barrows of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Both are vested veterans who are not subject to waivers. With Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu gone, Hyder figures to be a key piece as a rotational defensive end. He is with the 49ers for the third time in four seasons. After an 8.5-sack slate in 2020, Hyder signed with the Seahawks. But Seattle released him in 2021, leading the veteran back to the Bay Area.

San Francisco’s 53-man roster will include Bosa soon, and this holdout does not appear as contentious as the Chris Jones-Chiefs standoff. John Lynch has indicated the 49ers will waive Bosa’s fines for missing training camp — an option the 49ers have due to Bosa being tied to a rookie contract. While the 49ers changed defensive coordinators, bringing in Steve Wilks to replace DeMeco Ryans, D-line coach Kris Kocurek remains in place. Bosa should be able to hit the ground running once he returns, though the 49ers are running short on time here.

Gonzalez suffered a calf injury Kyle Shanahan said would keep him out a few weeks. With the veteran landing on IR, an injury settlement is likely. The 49ers used a third-round pick on Michigan kicker Jake Moody, but Barrows notes the strained quadriceps injury he suffered may keep him out of Week 1. On that note, the 49ers worked out Tristan Vizcaino and Taylor Russolino, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Robbie Gould, the 49ers’ kicker for the past six seasons, remains unsigned.

No Deal Imminent Between 49ers, Nick Bosa?

August 25th, 2023 at 11:15am CST by Adam La Rose

The 49ers have a signficant decision to make on the offensive side of the ball with respect to retaining or moving on from quarterback Trey Lance. The franchise’s other recent top-three pick is firmly in their long-term plans, but plenty of work remains to ensure that he will be in the fold for years to come.

Nick Bosa remains absent from training camp as negotiations on an extension are ongoing. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is under contract for 2023 via the fifth-year option, but a multi-year deal keeping him on the books well beyond that point – and at a much higher price tag than the $17.9MM he will earn this year – has long been considered an inevitability given his importance to the team.

The former No. 2 selection has earned a Pro Bowl in each of his three healthy seasons, rebounding effectively from an injury-shortened 2020 campaign over the past two years. Bosa has racked up 34 sacks and 40 tackles for loss during that span, and he was named a first-team All-Pro in 2022. That success has, as general manager John Lynch acknowledged in July, complicated contract talks. Urgency seems to be picking up on the team’s side to hammer out an agreement.

“I don’t like the situation,” Lynch said during an appearance on KNBR when asked about where things stand on the Bosa front (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). “Since our tenure here, we haven’t had a holdout to anywhere towards this magnitude. So it’s not something I’m comfortable with. We’re working really hard to try to change that. We’re in good communication with his reps. He’s a special player. He’s going to get a special contract, I can tell you that.”

Lynch has expressed optimism regarding the chances of getting a monster pact signed this summer, something which the team has long planned to work out in the 2023 offseason. As one of the NFL’s top young defenders, the possibility has frequently been floated of Bosa, 25, eclipsing Aaron Donald as the highest-paid player on that side of the ball. Donald’s re-worked Rams accord carries an annual average value of $31.67MM. Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt, meanwhile, holds the title of the NFL’s best-compensated edge rusher at a rate of $28MM per year.

By holding out of training camp, Bosa has incurred daily fines of $40K. Those penalties are mandatory for veteran players per the CBA, but CBS Sports’ Joel Corry notes that they can be waived for players still on their rookie deals (Twitter link). Bosa’s absence during each of the 49ers’ preseason games opens to door to over $992K in fines (the equivalent of a regular season game check) per contest, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. As he notes, however, it is likely San Francisco will waive those penalties once a deal is agreed to, something Lynch remains hopeful will happen soon despite the ground which still needs to be made up.

“We’re getting closer and eager to bring this thing to a close,” he added. “Just know that we’re working diligently to try to bring it to a close.”

Nick Bosa Not In Attendance At 49ers’ Training Camp

July 26th, 2023 at 5:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

JULY 26: Bosa is indeed holding out, and on Wednesday the 49ers placed him on the reserve/did not report list, per the transactions wire. As fines begin to accumulate, it will be interesting to monitor how willing each side is to accelerate talks on what will be an enormous extension.

JULY 25: When training camp opens tomorrow for the 49ers, Nick Bosa is not expected to be a participant in team drills. Many expected that to come about as a result of a hold-in, but a full absence appears to be the likelier scenario.

When speaking to the media on Tuesday, GM John Lynch acknowledged that he does not expect Bosa to be in attendance (Twitter link via David Lombardi of The Athletic). That would represent an even bolder negotiating step than the hold-in (during which players arrive at camp but decline to take part in practices) the reigning Defensive Player of the Year was thought to be contemplating.

Bosa is under contract this season on the fifth-year option. That will see him earn $17.9MM, but an extension would be worth considerably more given his track record. The former No. 2 pick led the league with 18.5 sacks last season, earning him a third Pro Bowl invitation and an All-Pro nod. That performance brought his career sack total to 43 in 51 games.

“I have not seen Nick,” Lynch said, adding that Bosa extension talks could be “a little more complex” than with other star players. “I would expect he’s not here to start off. We’re working. We’re having really good communication… We’re working diligently to try to come to an agreement. I think the challenge is you’re talking about a real special player. You’re talking about one of the better players in the league. You could argue that could simplify things, but I think at times it’s just finding that sweet spot.”

Lynch has previously stated his confidence in a deal getting worked out with Bosa, 25. A mega-contract has long been on the team’s radar, and for much of the offseason the top question has seemed simply to whether or not Bosa will eclipse T.J. Watt ($28MM per season) as the league’s highest-paid edge rusher and, perhaps, Aaron Donald ($31.67MM) as the league’s top-earning defender.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan added that, regardless of whether Bosa attends camp or not, he is unlikely to take the field before his contract is worked out. Bosa would be subject to $40K in daily fines if he remains absent, so movement in this situation could be coming soon.

Largest 2023 Cap Hits: Defense

July 12th, 2023 at 9:52am CST by Sam Robinson

While the NFL’s top 2023 cap hits go to players on offense, a number of pass rushers are tied to lofty figures as well. None check in higher than Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Williams and Chiefs D-tackle Chris Jones carry high contract-year cap hits, while the Steelers’ two front-seven cornerstones each are set to go into training camp with cap figures north of $20MM. As the salary cap climbed to $224.8MM this year, here are the top defensive cap figures as camps near:

  1. Leonard Williams, DL (Giants): $32.26MM
  2. T.J. Watt, OLB (Steelers): $29.37MM
  3. Myles Garrett, DE (Browns): $29.18MM
  4. Chris Jones, DT (Chiefs): $28.29MM
  5. Aaron Donald, DL (Rams): $26MM
  6. Arik Armstead, DT (49ers): $23.95MM
  7. Cameron Heyward, DL (Steelers): $22.26MM
  8. C.J. Mosley, LB (Jets): $21.48MM
  9. Jonathan Allen, DT (Commanders): $21.44MM
  10. Shaquil Barrett, OLB (Buccaneers): $21.25MM
  11. Grady Jarrett, DT (Falcons): $20.63MM
  12. Marlon Humphrey, CB (Ravens): $19.99MM
  13. Shaquille Leonard, LB (Colts): $19.79MM
  14. Kevin Byard, S (Titans): $19.62MM
  15. Adoree’ Jackson, CB (Giants): $19.08MM
  16. Harold Landry, OLB (Titans): $18.8MM
  17. Justin Simmons, S (Broncos): $18.15MM
  18. Jamal Adams, S (Seahawks): $18.11MM
  19. Matt Judon, DE (Patriots): $18.107MM
  20. Quandre Diggs, S (Seahawks): $18.1MM
  21. Nick Bosa, DE (49ers): $17.9MM
  22. DeForest Buckner, DT (Colts): $17.25MM
  23. Emmanuel Ogbah, DE (Dolphins): $17.19MM
  24. DeMarcus Lawrence, DE (Cowboys): $17.11MM
  25. Eddie Jackson, S (Bears): $17.1MM

The Chiefs are working toward a second extension agreement with Jones, who is in the final season of a four-year, $80MM contract. A new deal with the star inside pass rusher would free up cap space, and DeAndre Hopkins is believed to be monitoring this situation.

As for Williams, the Giants had wanted to adjust his deal to reduce his eye-opening cap number. As of mid-June, however, no extension appeared to be on the team’s radar. The previous Giants regime signed off on the 2021 Williams extension (three years, $63MM). The Giants are also uninterested — for the time being, at least — in extending Jackson, who was also a Dave Gettleman-era defensive addition.

Donald is in the second season of a three-year, $95MM deal. The Rams gave Donald a landmark raise last year, convincing the all-everything D-tackle to squash retirement talk. A no-trade clause exists in Donald’s contract, which pays out its guarantees this year. Mosley remains tied to the $17MM-per-year deal the Mike Maccagnan regime authorized with the Jets. That contract, which reset the off-ball linebacker market in 2019, still has two seasons remaining on it due to the deal tolling after Mosley’s 2020 COVID-19 opt-out call. The Jets restructured the deal last year.

Washington now has two D-tackles tied to deals of at least $18MM per year. While Daron Payne‘s pact is worth more ($22.5MM AAV), higher cap hits on that deal will come down the road. Three years remain on Allen’s 2021 agreement. At safety, no team is spending like the Seahawks. In addition to the big-ticket deals authorized for Adams and Diggs, Seattle gave ex-Giants starter Julian Love a two-year, $6MM accord in March.

New Titans GM Ran Carthon attempted to give Byard a pay cut. That request did not go over well, but the standout safety remains with the team and has not requested a trade. Tennessee re-signed Landry on a five-year, $87.5MM deal in 2022; the veteran edge rusher has yet to play on that deal due to the ACL tear he sustained just before last season.

The 49ers can bring Bosa’s number down via an extension, which has long been on the team’s docket. As San Francisco extended Deebo Samuel just after training camp began last year, Bosa received back-burner treatment due to the fifth-year option. The star defensive end’s price undoubtedly went up during the waiting period, with the former No. 2 overall pick earning Defensive Player of the Year acclaim in the fourth year of his rookie contract.

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