It was reported on Friday afternoon that the NFL salary cap for 2026 is projected to be north of $300M for the first time ever. To say this is significant is putting it mildly. As it has often been said for the last few years, the salary cap is rising at an exponential rate. This year's cap is projected to be ~$20M more than last year's, all of that television money has to go somewhere.
Let's be honest, Watt isn't just another good pass rusher. He's a Defensive Player of the Year, sack leader, and turnover creator. Watt is the type of defender offenses have to scheme around every single game, and yes, he is the same player the Cowboys passed on for Taco Charlton. We know how that turned out and the miss still stings.
Allegretti has been seldom seen in the starting lineup since getting benched after just two games. Most fans thought the free-agent signing in 2024 would be a prime salary-cap candidate during the offseason. That might still be the case, but he did his chances of seeing out the deal a tremendous amount of good versus the Cowboys on Christmas Day.
The projected NFL salary cap for 2026 is $295,500,000. T he Cowboys currently sit at $34,906,087over the cap, with $330,406,087 in cap commitments already on the books. This means flexibility is not something Dallas will have, it's something they will need to create. The franchise tag becomes a timing mechanism. A tool that prevents emerging talent from touching the open-market while Dallas works backwards through extensions, restructures, and cuts.
As we head toward the playoffs, three NFL teams are carrying more than $100MM in dead money. That represents more than a third of the salary cap. The 49ers are also on track to make the playoffs with more than $100MM allocated to players no longer on their 53-man roster. Here is where the 32 teams stand for dead money (via OverTheCap) with three weeks left in the regular season:
There were impressive high points, such as leading the league in interceptions during the 2021 season with 11 picks, as well as some low points, most of which came over the last three seasons. With Diggs back at practice this week, there was some hope that he could ultimately be activated from the IR and rejoin the team for Week 15's matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. Saturday afternoon, we learned that is not happening, as ESPN's Todd Archer reported the veteran cornerback would not be activated for this weekend's game.
After some new intel from a respected team insider, it's not hard to see why. McLaurin hasn't been on the practice field since voluntary workouts. He wants an extension before the final year of his deal, and has done everything possible in an attempt to force the issue. General manager Adam Peters hasn't budged, unwilling to meet the wide receiver's demands in pursuit of an agreement that doesn't jeopardize the team's long-term planning.
