NFL salary cap casualties: AFC players whose jobs are at risk as free agency nears

NFL free agency begins on March 9 . As teams welcome in their new acquisitions, theyll have to clear roomon their roster and in their booksby shipping out players who have overstayed their welcomes Shawn Williams Jersey. So, which players could be released in the coming weeks With help from spotracs salary cap tracker, heres a team-by-team breakdown of the most likely candidates to be cut from each AFC team Buffalo Bills Article continues below ...On the chopping block K Dan Carpenter . Carpenter has accounted for 464 points as Buffalos kicker the past four seasons, but hes coming off a year in which he hit just 76 of his field goal attempts . Add in five missed extra points and those two costly missed FGs in Week 16 against the Dolphins, and the math works against Carpenter. The Bills have some bigger decisions to make in the coming weeks on the likes of DT Kyle Williams, S Corey Graham and possible restructured contracts for Marcell Dareus and Cordy Glenn. If they need a little more spending cash, though, Carpenter could be the first to go.Miami Dolphins On the chopping block LB Koa Misi Logan Wilson Jersey. Misi just wrapped the seventh year of his NFL career, all with Miami. But a neck injury limited him to three games and he turned 30 in January, so the price tag for himeven keeping in mind that he played well back in 2015is steep. Misi also has not played a full 16-game regular season since his rookie campaign. The only thing that may hold Miami back from cutting him loose is its relative lack of depth at the linebacker position.Money on the mind NFL free agents who helped or hurt their value in 2016 seasonNew England Patriots On the chopping block WR Danny Amendola . The Patriots keep kicking the can down the road on Amendola, whos now 31Amendola took pay cuts ahead of both the 2015 and 16 seasons, the latter dropping his contract by upwards of $4 million. Even though New England has a boatload of cap space right now, it has several big-ticket free agents to address https://www.cincinnatiproshop.com/44-Bengals_Deshaun_Davis_Jersey, so Amendolas current status as the fourth highest-paid Patriots player is out of whack. CSNNEs Michael Giardi reported that Amendola is receptive to another reduction to stick with the defending champs. Its that or head elsewhere.New York Jets On the chopping block C Nick Mangold . Whenever a team can cut bait from a player without absorbing any cap penalty, that players future with the franchise is in jeopardy. So it goes for the 33-year-old Mangold, long one of the most reliable centers in football, who missed half of his 11th Jets season with an ankle injury. Given how tight the Jets are up against the cap as free agency approaches, Mangold at minimum will have to restructure and or extend his contract https://www.cincinnatiproshop.com/93-Bengals_Andy_Dalton_Jersey.Baltimore Ravens On the chopping block OLB Elvis Dumervil . The Ravens pass rush was a bit of an Achilles heel last season, so releasing Dumervil may seem counter-productive. Keep in mind, though, that he missed eight games last season with a foot injury and has returned a total of nine sacks for about $14.7 million the past two years. If Baltimore believes Dumervil can return to his 2014 form , it will keep him around. Its more likely that ship has sailed.Cincinnati Bengals On the chopping block LB Rey Maualuga . Its no secret that the Bengals need to get younger and more athletic at their linebacker spots. The 30-year-old Maualuga checks off neither of those boxes. The veteran has been a steady hand for the Bengals since arriving in 2009 as a second-round pick, but he certainly was not a $4 million player last season. Cincinnati likes to stay committed to its in-house veterans until a younger option is available on the roster. Players like Nick Vigil and Paul Dawson could help make Maualuga expendable.Cleveland Browns On the chopping block QB Robert Grifffin III William Jackson Jersey. The Browns have approximately the GDP of a small island nation available to spend this off-season, so theres no need to rush RG3or, really, anyoneout the door. That said, Griffins future with Cleveland likely hinges on what moves the front office has in mind. If the Browns are going to chase a QB like Tyrod Taylor, Kirk Cousins or Jimmy Garoppolo, Griffin would become little more than a very high-priced backup. If the Browns use an early draft pick on a quarterback but dont test the free-agent waters, Griffin could be the bridge option until that newcomer is ready.Pittsburgh Steelers On the chopping block TE Ladarius Green . The idea of Green in Pittsburghs offense, as a seam-attacking tight end for Ben Roethlisberger, made for an intriguing possibility headed into 2016. Unfortunately for Green, he was unable to stay healthy, and now a concussion has his 17 status in doubt. Pittsburgh still would be on the hook for more than half of that $6.2 million cap hit this season, via dead money, but it also does not have a lot of cuttable contracts that could bring back significant savings. If the Steelers cannot count on Green for next season, they may take their $2.6 million and move on.Who should host Hard Knocks Next summers most enticing candidatesHouston Texans On the chopping block OT Chris Clark . The Texans can clear $9.65 million off their 2017 cap by releasing tackle Duane Brown; they can take home another $3.2 million by bidding farewell to fellow OT Derek Newton, who suffered horrible simultaneous injuries to both knees last season. Then there is Clark, who was disappointing as a fill-in 12-game starter. The problem with all this Someone has to play tackle for the Texans next season. Brown is too good to let go, and the Texans may plant Newton on IR until they see what hes capable of post-recovery. Clark stands to be the odd man out, off his lackluster 2016.Indianapolis Colts On the chopping block DT Arthur Jones . About as obvious a move as there is on this list. Jones is only 40 of the way through the five-year, $33 million contract he signed a couple off-seasons ago, but he has missed a combined 15 games sincefour this past year on suspension. The Colts have been shoddy against the run, which is the main argument remaining for hanging onto Jones. They shouldnt do so unless he agrees to a reduced rate.Jacksonville Jaguars On the chopping block CB Davon House . The Jaguars on Monday cleared another $8.5 million off their 2017 cap by releasing defensive lineman Jared Odrick. Now closing in on $80 million available, the front office doesnt need to be in a hurry to trim any additional fat. Thats not to say House should feel comfortable. In year two of his four-year contract, House barely saw the field after an early-October benching. The impending free agency of fellow corner Prince Amukamara might buy House another shot, but the Jaguars can cut bait at any time.Draft This Dude Why Paul Magloire Jr. deserved an NFL combine trip Tennessee Titans On the chopping block CB Jason McCourty . Again, a veteran carrying a $0 dead-money penalty often will find himself looking for work in short order. The rub for Tennessee is that its already going to spend this off-season scrambling for secondary help, and cutting McCourty would remove the best CB on the roster. That doesnt necessarily mean McCourty, 30 in August, is worth the $7 million hitonly Brian Orakpo, Jurrell Casey and Derrick Morgan currently carry more expensive price tags for the 2017 Titans.Denver Broncos On the chopping block OT Donald Stephenson . A wild card in the Broncos off-season setup is OT Russell Okung. If Denver picks up his $1 million roster bonus next month, it triggers four years and $20 million-plus in guarantees. Either way, Stephensons future with Denver looks to be near its endhe isnt going to step in at left tackle, and spending $5 million on an underwhelming swing tackle doesnt make a lot of sense.Kansas City Chiefs On the chopping block RB Jamaal Charles . Charles is among the leagues more electrifying backs when hes healthy. The issue, of course, is that he has been unable to stay on the fieldhe rushed for 40 yards on 12 carries this season and missed 11 games in 15. Charles also is 30 years old, which in general is the push-em-off-the-cliff age for running backs in the eyes of NFL teams. The Chiefs cap situation will improve if and when they decline Nick Foless $6.4 million option. They still have to tiptoe around the cap, though, which will make it nearly impossible to retain Charles if hes not 100 .Los Angeles Chargers On the chopping block WR Stevie Johnson . Johnson, who turns 31 in July, missed the entire 2016 season with a meniscus injury. He is now four seasons removed from his last 1,000-yard campaign 2012, with the Bills. The Chargers may look for WR help, but theyre already rolling at least four deep . Combined, Allen and Benjamin are set to count $15.1 million against the Chargers cap. Los Angeles is not adding on to that with Johnson, at least not at his current price. The veteran receiver is a candidate for a one-year, prove-it deal somewhere.Oakland Raiders On the chopping block CB Sean Smith . Smiths hefty contract may have made his 2016 performance seem worse than it actually was. Still, the veteran cornerback hardly performed like the shutdown defender he was expected to be when Oakland handed him a $38 million contract. The Raiders should have the luxury of seeing what Smith can do as a bounce-back candidate, following off-season shoulder surgery. GM Reggie McKenzie has cap space with which to work, and very few holes on the roster to fill, meaning he can carry Smiths contract for now. Should the Raiders come up against the cap in the coming months, though, that $0 in dead money will be appealing as a source of relief.