As we discussed recently, the Indianapolis Colts at $28-plus million in salary cap space probably don’t have enough room to get through the offseason, so additional cap maneuvers may have to be made.
One way to go about doing that is releasing a veteran whose cap hit is larger than his dead cap hit–or the cap impact that remains on the current year’s salary cap even if that player is playing elsewhere.
The 32 beat writers over at The Athletic recently selected one player from each of their respective teams who could potentially be cut in favor of added salary cap space.
For the Colts, James Boyd selected right tackle Braden Smith, who will be entering the final year of his deal in 2025.
According to Over the Cap, Smith has a base salary of $14.75 million this season. His cap hit if on the team is $19.75 million, which is the fourth-largest on the team this season. However, if the Colts were to move on from Smith, they would create an additional $16.75 million in cap space this offseason.
Smith would miss the last five games of the 2024 season due to an undisclosed personal matter. As Boyd writes, we can empathize with whatever kept Smith off the field.
“From a football and financial standpoint, however, the writing has been on the wall for Indy to cut ties with him this offseason, even if he had played in every game in 2024,” added Boyd.
On the field, he has been a steady presence at right tackle for the Colts since 2018. However from that 2018 season through 2023, Smith has played in 16 games only twice.
The Colts also have a viable replacement for Smith already on the roster in Matt Goncalves, who the team drafted in the third-round last April.
Goncalves would fill in at both tackle spots when needed last season, and that includes filling in for Smith down the stretch. Like many young players, the more reps Goncalves got, the better he performed.
Along with Smith, Samson Ebukam and Raekwon Davis could be two other potential cut candidates as well.