NFL free agency 2017: Potential cap casualties for every NFC team

This year’s list of NFL free agents is already a long one, and it’s about to get even longer as teams start making roster cuts. Expensive veterans will wind up on the chopping block as franchises compare cost to output and make some tough decisions to shape their depth charts.

Here’s each NFC team’s biggest name who could be cut to clear cap space as this offseason’s signing frenzy looms.

There aren’t many high-profile cut candidates in the desert, leaving Stanton as the biggest name who could be headed to the scrap heap. With the sand running out on Carson Palmer’s playing career, the Cardinals need to develop a young passer behind him to take the reins. That’s not Stanton, who will be 33 years old in 2017, has only 12 starts in his career, and a $4 million cap hit. His release would save the Cardinals $2 million this year.

Arizona could cut Stanton and look for his replacement in the draft — a selection at No. 13 should put the franchise in line to draft one of the Mitch Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, DeShone Kizer trio at the top of the quarterback rankings. If the Cardinals are confident in that plan, it could spell the end of Stanton’s tenure in Glendale.

The key to Atlanta’s resurgence has been smart spending. As such, the team’s highest-paid players are all key pieces of the team’s recent Super Bowl run — Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Alex Mack, Desmond Trufant, etc.

Levitre, who will be 31 next season, redeemed himself after being left for dead by the Titans and traded for a sixth-round pick. However, with few other cut candidates, he jumps to the top of the list.

The Falcons probably won’t cut Levitre, but with the rest of their big cap money tied up on essential players, the guard could be released to create nearly $2 million in salary cap breathing room.

The veteran tailback’s tenure in Charlotte appears to be over, as the team can save nearly $5 million by cutting the nine-year veteran. Stewart was a Pro Bowler in 2015 and rushed for 824 yards last season. However, his yards per carry dipped to 3.8 and he caught fewer than 39 percent of the passes he was thrown. While he still has gas in the tank, he’s not the $8 million man his cap hit makes him out to be.

Releasing the team’s longtime starter will only cost Chicago $2 million in dead cap space, signaling the end of Cutler’s career with the Bears. He appeared in just five games last season and was outplayed by Brian Hoyer.

Cutting the Vanderbilt product would create $14 million in salary cap savings, but it could also leave the team without a quarterback; both Hoyer and Matt Barkley, who each started games in 2016, are set to be free agents.

Either way, the Bears are already making an active effort to purge the contract and get some compensation.

Cutler never reached his full potential after being traded to Chicago, and his legacy in the Windy City is one of disappointment. There’s a chance the Bears give their veteran passer one last bite at the apple, but it appears the two sides are headed toward divorce.

No quarterback in the league will carry a higher cap hit into 2017 than Romo, who is currently Dallas’s second-string passer. The veteran will eat up nearly 15 percent of the team’s salary cap space, something entirely unpalatable for the Cowboys who traditionally like to make a splash in free agency. No matter how much Jerry Jones loves Romo, he’s too expensive to keep around for 2017 — at least, for a conventional team.

Here’s more reading on Romo’s potential next destinations.

Ngata produced the fewest tackles of his career in 2016, but is set to count more than $7.7 million against Detroit’s cap next fall. While his veteran leadership and bulk up front may be difficult to replace, his impact with the Lions has been consistently hampered by injury. The team understands how to play without him.

There aren’t many other obvious candidates for release after the team jettisoned cornerback Sam Shields and running back James Starks earlier in February. Those moves free up about $12 million.

Matthews is no longer playing at an All-Pro level, but he’s still an important part of the Packers’ defense. Is he important enough to justify the near $11 million he’d save the team in cap space if he were released? Maybe. Green Bay rarely spends big in free agency, and Matthews’ leadership is an incalculable asset for the franchise.

So Matthews probably won’t get cut, but if the Packers decide to make a splash in free agency, the eight-digit savings they’d glean by releasing their veteran linebacker could come into play.

Guion is still a productive part of the defense. He turns 30 over the summer, and could be easily replaced via the draft.

Quinn is one of the game’s most effective pass rushers when healthy. Unfortunately, he’s only made 15 starts the past two seasons. While the Rams are unlikely to part ways with the 26-year-old playmaker, Los Angeles has a deep enough defensive line to fill the void he would leave behind. With nearly $9 million in cap space savings on the table, a move is possible, though unlikely.

The Rams don’t have any reliable pass catchers under contract, including Kendricks. He’s never been more than a mediocre tight end, despite flashes to suggest he could be more. No play better exemplifies the “7-9 bullshit” the Rams exuded under Jeff Fisher than Kendricks’ dropped touchdown pass against the Panthers. Cutting him would free up $4.25 million in cap space and leave no dead money.

Peterson’s tremendous past has him due superstar money next fall, $18 million. That’s a huge investment for any non-quarterback, let alone a player who averaged just 1.9 yards per carry in 2016. An injured knee marred the veteran tailback’s year in Minnesota, but there’s hope he can come back strong like he did after rushing for nearly 2,100 yards one year after tearing his ACL.

However, that was all the way back in 2012, and Peterson will be 32 years old when the next season starts. While his superhuman healing abilities have made prognosticators look foolish in the past, the odds of him returning to the form that made him an $18 million man are low. The Vikings can’t afford to spend insane money on a back who may just be average next fall — though they’ll try to work out a restructured contract with a pay cut before releasing the face of the franchise.

What’s next for Peterson?

The Saints’ top players are all either vitally important or have enough dead money that releasing them would make no sense. For example, cutting Jairus Byrd would save the team $3.7 million, but they’d still be carrying $8 million of his contract on the books. Plus, he’s still a starting safety with an All-Pro past.

That leads us to Morstead, the second-highest paid punter in the game. Cutting him and bringing in a rookie replacement would save the team about $3 million, but may not be worth shocking New Orleans’ special teams systems.

The Giants already released fan favorite Victor Cruz, leaving few high-profile, low-production veterans on the roster at a high salary. Vereen isn’t much of a name, but he’s set to count nearly $5 million against the cap in 2017. That’s a lot of money for a member of the league’s least-productive running back platoon. The former Patriot can be replaced through the draft, and looks like a solid candidate to hit the free market this spring.

The Eagles have reportedly asked Peters to take a pay cut, but the veteran lineman could force the franchise’s hand by refusing. He’ll have the team’s largest cap hit for 2017, and Philadelphia struggled to keep rookie quarterback Carson Wentz upright last season.

Would the team swallow Peters’ $11.2 million salary in hopes of keeping pass rushers from annihilating its prized young passer? Or will they cut bait and hope to replace their left tackle in free agency or the draft?

Kaepernick might make this decision easy for the 49ers — he told reporters he would be opting out of his deal back in December. If he reverses course and decides to stay, the franchise will have to make a decision whether or not to devote nearly $14.5 million in extra cap space to keep a quarterback they cared so little for that they benched him in favor of Blaine Gabbert. A weak crop of quarterbacks and the team’s pressing needs at just about every position but punter may make keeping Kaepernick, who was not bad in 2016 but certainly not playing at his peak, a priority.

While Kyle Shanahan may be looking for a fresh start in his first season on the west coast, he might just be stuck with the last regime’s quarterback.

The Seahawks can clear $10 million from their cap by discarding Graham, though that seems unlikely. The athletic tight end bounced back from a 2015 injury and returned to Pro Bowl form last season, averaging a career-high 14.2 yards per catch. While Seattle’s offensive struggles kept him from the end zone — he had just six touchdown receptions — he may have been the team’s most valuable receiver after Doug Baldwin. It would be a surprise if the Seahawks jettisoned their playmaking tight end, but the financial benefit is clear.

Goodbye, Muscle Hamster. Martin set career-lows in both yardage (421) and yards-per-carry (2.9) and earned a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy in the process. While the team doesn’t have a good contingency plan in place for his absence, a draft filled with talented running backs could make the $5.7 million the team could save by cutting him too tempting to pass up.

Hall has played safety in Washington for the past two seasons. The former cornerback has been a solid stopgap solution, but he doesn’t have much of a future at the position. He’s also 33, declining as a defensive back, and set to cost his team more than $5 million in cap space this season. Hall’s eight-year run with the franchise is most likely over in 2017.