Which NFL Players & Teams Will an Uncapped Year Affect the Most in 2010?

The 2010 NFL season marks the first season without a salary cap since 1993. This has very interesting ramifications for almost every player and team in the NFL. Let's take a look at 4 players and 4 teams who will be impacted the most by this year's uncapped season. To start off, let's look at the players and teams that could greatly benefit from a lack of a salary cap. (All stats are by courtesy of ESPN's NFL stat pages that are located at www.espn.com.

Here are two teams that will see the uncapped year as a very good thing indeed:

The Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys somehow made it to the NFC Divisional Playoffs with a bad defense that included a paltry 11 interceptions. This year, they can change all that by going after as many defensive backs and safeties as they can. Even though they are only able to sign one free agent for $5.5 million or more, the Cowboys can still go after as many defensive players as they wish who are willing to take $3.5 million or less from the Cowboys.. This is the case because there are many good defensive players that can still be signed for $3.5 million including CB Walt Harris and S Darren Sharper.

The reason why that they can do this is because the Cowboys can afford to spend extra money this year on defensive players thanks to nifty planning by owner Jerry Jones. As a result of this nifty planning, even if the salary were to come back in the next 2-3 years, Jones has enough financial wiggle room to effectively sign as many defensive players as he wants without having to worry about a future salary cap to hinder his ability to find good players right now.

The Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals made the playoffs last year despite scoring only 19.1 points per game. As a result, the Bengals could use this uncapped year to make big improvements on offense by adding a couple of receivers a couple of offensive linemen. They can do this because last year they were significantly under the salary cap for 2009. (Last year, the Bengals spent "only" $109,727,880 on salaries and bonuses). As a result, the Bengals can afford to spend more money on the free agent market without having to worry about a future salary cap.

Here are two players that could greatly benefit from this year's uncapped season:

DE Julius Peppers:
Julius Peppers is an unrestricted free agent who has registered at least 10 sacks in six of his first eight NFL seasons. He should be able to command a huge amount of money from teams such as Cleveland, Detroit, Washington, Chicago and perhaps even Denver that need a commanding presence on their defensive line.

What makes this uncapped year special for Peppers is that now more teams have a legitimate opportunity to land this guy. Because there is no cap on salaries, there are many more teams who have a chance to nab him. As a result, whatever happens to Julius Peppers will be a litmus test for other free agents this year.

RB Thomas Jones:
Even though he rushed for a career-high 1,402 yards and 14 TDs, the New York Jets let go Thomas Jones as a cost-cutting measure. This seems like a bad idea because Jones is still physically healthy, and he has the ability to become an ace running back for a team that needs a ground game. He is also a consistent back who has rushed for 1,000 yards on five occasions.

As a result, Thomas Jones could benefit greatly from this uncapped season because almost every team in this league could use an ace running back. That's why I think there will be a bidding war for Thomas that could make him one of the league highest paid running backs.

The reason why I think this will happen is because Jones has enough in him physically to warrant the risk of a 2-3 year deal that could be impacted by a future salary cap. He may be 31 years old, but Jones still has an amazing work ethic and a dedication to his craft that has allowed him to stay in great shape. As a result, he is worth the risk of a big deal that could be impacted by a future salary cap.

On the other hand, there are also some teams and players who could loose a lot as a result of this uncapped season. Let's first look at the two teams who seem to stand to loose the most from this uncapped year:

The Oakland Raiders:
Al Davis's Raiders have looked so bad lately that they look almost unwatchable. They were also $4 million under the 2009 salary cap limit of $127 million. These two things will pose a problem for Oakland in 2010 because they are in a catch-22 position.

On one hand, they run the risk of underspending on quality players because Al Davis has not committed himself to putting a quality product on the field lately. For example, many people wonder why QB Jamarcus Russell is still with the team.

On the other hand, the Raiders need so many skilled players on both sides of the ball that if a salary cap were to return, Davis could end up having to conduct a major fire sale a la the 1997 Florida Marlins if they overspend on players. This is a GM's worst nightmare, and that's why I think you'll see the Raiders have trouble this year signing free agents and their major draft picks.

The New England Patriots:
New England has played the Salary Cap Game beautifully this past decade. They have been able to trade or cut players at seemingly the right time. (A good example of this is Ty Law.) And they also seem to be able to find good draft picks to replace players at the right time.

The problem with this strategy is that it can backfire during an uncapped year. It can backfire because there is a good chance that there won't be enough good players available on the free agent market to make up for players that were lost due to trades or roster cuts. This happens because more teams become players in the free agent market for the better players that are available . As a result, teams like the Patriots must either spend more money (or draft picks) to get better players or be forced not to be players in the free agency game.

New England faces these possibilities this year because there aren't that many good running backs, defensive players or wide receivers in this year's free agency class. New England really needs help in these areas, and they could end up paying much more than they'd like for free agents this year if they even bother to sign anyone at all. As a result, New England could be this off-season's biggest looser in the free agency game.

Here are two players that could stand to loose the most this uncapped year:

RB LaDainianTomlinson
LT's stock is already low because he has withstood many years of wear and tear playing in the NFL for nine years. The problem is this unrestricted free agent will have a harder time finding a team now because there will be a premium placed on running backs who are healthy and productive. This is true because more teams can afford to spend more on running backs. As a result, most teams will become more picky about who they will pick up in the free agent market. This is bad news for LT because most teams who have a chance to win a Super bowl will not take a chance on a guy who's pushing 30 and who's had a long string of injuries during his career.
As a result, look for LT to sign for much less money to play for Cleveland, Tampa Bay or Detroit.

The number one draft pick in this year's draft
The #1 player taken this year will have trouble getting a good long-term deal because Kansas City can afford to be "cheap" with their draft picks. This is true because now that there's no minimum salary requirement, the Chiefs can get away with signing their draft picks for lower priced long-term deals that would make a sham out of recent deals that have paid an average of $5 to $6 million dollars per year.

This could have devastating consequences for the #1 player taken this year because it significantly reduces the player's ability to leverage for more money and a better long term deal. As a result, the Chiefs could sign whoever is #1 to a deal that is 20-25% less than what other #1 players have been given. Therefore, the number one draft pick in this year's draft stands to potentially loose the most during this year's uncapped season.

Additional Online Sources:
Archer, Todd. "2010 Dallas Cowboys Free Agent Prospects." Originally published online 02/02/10 at
http://www.dallasnews.com. Retrieved online 03/04/10 from www.google.com.

Harry,Chris. "Who Are the Best Available NFL Free Agents in 2010?"Originally published online 03/04/10 at http://nfl.fanhouse.com. Retrieved online 03/04/10 from www.google.com.