Welcome to the eighth and final installment of the cap casualties series, in which he will be focusing on the NFC West division. The Arizona Cardinals have $71.33 million, the Los Angeles Rams have $38.26 million, the San Francisco 49ers have $48.26 million, and the Seattle Seahawks have ($27.52 million) cap space. Each team, regardless of cap space, has at least one contract they would like to get rid of.
Note: All information regarding contracts and cap space has been derived from Spotrac and Over The Cap. Also, if a player’s name is in italics, the team doesn’t necessarily have a definitive player who is considered a cap casualty. Finally, the focus is more on players who have not lived up to their contracts, battled injuries, and have less of an impact on the team rather than someone who is cut because they have a high cap hit.
Without further ado, here are the cap casualties for the NFC West.
Arizona Cardinals: Michael Carter
- Contract: 2-years, $2,375,000 (2026 Free Agent)
- Cap Hit: $1,270,000
- Cap Savings: $1,220,000 ($50,000 dead cap)
First, Michael Carter only received playing time later in the season, the last three games to be exact, because of injuries to the running back position. Emari Demercado missed the final four, Trey Benson missed the final three, and James Conner missed the last game of the regular season. If their top three running backs were not injured, Carter would not have played in 2024.
Second, with Carter as their RB4 or RB5 on their roster, chances are he will not make the team since James Conner, Trey Benson, Emari Demercado, and potentially DeeJay Dallas will all be back for the 2025 season. The Cardinals can not justify paying a fourth—or fifth-string running back $1.17 million in base salary to receive little to no playing time.
Los Angeles Rams: Cooper Kupp
- Contract: 3-years, $80,100,000 (2027 Free Agent)
- Cap Hit: $29,780,000
- Cap Savings: $7,520,000 ($22,260,000 dead cap)
First, Cooper Kupp has not been able to stay healthy since winning Super Bowl MVP in the 2021-22 season, missing 16 games due to injury over the past three seasons. Kupp missed four games during the 2024 season due to a high ankle sprain. Not being able to play a full season does not justify keeping a player with a $29.78 million cap hit.
Second, the Rams could get a draft pick by trading Kupp. There are plenty of wide-receiver-needy teams who could use a veteran number one or number two receiver. He turns 32 in June but still has some gas left in the tank and a few good years ahead of him. They would be better off trading him and getting draft compensation rather than cutting him outright and not receiving any draft compensation.
San Francisco 49ers: Javon Hargrave
- Contract: 4-years, $84,000,000 (2027 Free Agent)
- Cap Hit: $9,607,353
- Cap Savings Post-June 1st: $2,232,353 ($7,375,000 dead cap for 2025 and $17,485,000 for 2026)
First, Javon Hargrave is coming off a significant triceps injury. Hargrave suffered a season-ending partially torn triceps in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams. Since he’s up there in age, turning 32 in February, it’s too early to tell how his body will respond to suffering a significant injury.
Second, the 49ers restructured Hargrave’s contract in December, paving the way for a post-June 1st cut designation. As salary cap expert Jason Fitzgerald pointed out, they restructured his contract by lowering his base salary from $19.2 million to $2.1 million, and his cap hit from $28.105 million to $9.6 million for 2025. This allowed the team to provide immediate cap relief and spread his $24.86 million dead cap into 2026.
Seattle Seahawks: Dre’Mont Jones
- Contract: 3-years, $51,530,000 (2026 Free Agent)
- Cap Hit: $25,645,418
- Cap Savings: $11,572,500 ($14,072,918 dead cap)
First, Dre’Mont Jones has not lived up to the lucrative contract. Jones switched to outside linebacker last offseason and had mixed results during the 2024 season. He recorded 28 tackles, seven TFLs, 13 QB hits, and four sacks, along with 45 hurries, 31 hurries, a 65.9 pass rush grade, and a 54.3 overall PFF grade. Since he is not producing jaw-dropping numbers with his staggering $16 million base salary and $25,645,418 cap hit, the Seahawks can not justify keeping him on his current contract.
Second, since the Seahawks are $27.52 million over the cap, they would free up $11,572,500 in cap space and be one step closer to salary cap compliance.
Also Read:
- Predicting Each AFC East Team’s Most Likely Cap Casualty for 2025
- Predicting Each AFC North Team’s Most Likely Cap Casualty for 2025
- Predicting Each AFC South Team’s Most Likely Cap Casualty for 2025
- Predicting Each AFC West Team’s Most Likely Cap Casualty for 2025
- Predicting Each NFC East Team’s Most Likely Cap Casualty for 2025
- Predicting Each NFC North Team’s Most Likely Cap Casualty for 2025
- Predicting Each NFC South Team’s Most Likely Cap Casualty for 2025
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