Franchises have already got rid of the “ballast”. Who was unlucky in the 2020 season?

The deadline for reducing the roster from 80 to 53 people took place on September 5th. The franchises have already got rid of the “ballast”, not forgetting about the practice squad, where 16 football players could be sent in the 2020 season. Not necessarily their own. Today we will tell you about the most interesting players who were gotten rid of.

Most expected dismissal

The Jaguars kicked out running back Leonard Fournette. The release of the 25-year-old runner, who is at the last year of his rookie – contract, allowed expanding the cap-space of Jacksonville by $ 4.1M, freezing $ 4.5M in dead-money (overall, the franchise received less than $ 80 million in releases and trades during this offseason). Well, the Jaguars didn’t give a fat contract, because the team also refused the option of the 5th year.

Doug Marrone commented: “We tried, but could not get anything for him. The fifth, sixth round – nothing.” The office has been looking for applicants all spring and summer, but have done so in vain.

As you can see, rumors about the possible exchange of Fournette were not in vain. Yes, they could not find a trading partner, but it turned out that the Jaguars were eager to get rid of Leonard. Leonard Fournette was cleansed with a waiver. But Furnette did not stay out of work for a long time, as the Buccaneers signed a 1-year contract with the running back.

Dismissal due to age

Washington kicked out 35-year-old running back Adrian Peterson, betting on young, up-and-coming runners. Last year, Bryce Love was taken (4 rounds, 112 overall), and the current Antonio Gibson (3 rounds, 66 overall). Peterson’s release allowed the team to expand the cap space by $ 2.5M, freezing $ 750,000 in dead-money.

Dismissal due to serious injuries

The Broncos kicked out starter linebacker Todd Davis, who has missed more than half of camp with a calf injury. He has constantly had serious injuries over the past two years. Davis was in the final year of his contract. In the 2019 season, this 28-year-old linebacker played in 14 games, making 134 tackles. The release expanded the Denver cap space by $ 4.5M, freezing $ 1.5M in dead-money.

Positive moment

For those players who were kicked out of the team for various reasons, the situation turned out to be negative, for the rest of the players it was a positive moment. Since several teams managed not only to cut off extra players from the final roster but also to re-sign contracts with veterans, freeing up money and expanding the cap space.
To do this, part of the base non-guaranteed salary for the 2020 season is transferred to a fully guaranteed signing bonus. Of course, the remaining players said “hurray” – the salary still needs to be earned, and the signing bonus is already in their bank account.

Do you agree with these kickings?

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