Written by Zack Kruse at BleacherReport.com
The offseason is here for all 32 NFL teams, which means rosters are about to start changing around the league in preparation for free agency and the NFL draft.
Every team has big decisions to make in terms of managing the salary cap and figuring out the futures of impending free agents.
In the following slides, we will look at the toughest contract decision awaiting every NFL team this offseason.
Arizona Cardinals: S Rashad Johnson
The Cardinals have tough decisions to make in the secondary, where Rashad Johnson, Jerraud Powers and Tony Jefferson are all scheduled to be free agents.
Johnson might be the hardest piece of the puzzle to figure out. He’s been an indispensable player for Arizona’s defense, recording nine interceptions and more than 150 tackles since the start of the 2014 season. But he also turned 30 in January, and back-to-back strong seasons should give him some leverage in contract talks.
One offensive teammate said Johnson should be a priority for the Cardinals, according to Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic.
“He’s such a veteran back there in our secondary,” the player said. “We have a lot of young players. He’s kind of the glue that holds them together back there.”
Can the Cardinals afford to keep him, especially with other big deals—such as Tyrann Mathieu’s extension—looming?
Arizona has possessed one of the NFL’s deepest and most versatile secondaries over the past few seasons. Keeping the whole gang together might be tough with all the mouths to feed.
Atlanta Falcons: WR Roddy White
Roddy White is now 34 and four years removed from his last 1,000-yard receiving season. While he’s still a capable contributor and an obvious leader for the Falcons locker room, Atlanta needs to figure out if the veteran receiver is worth keeping around for 2016.
White will count roughly $6.1 million on the Falcons’ cap next season. Atlanta can gain almost $2.5 million by releasing him.
But maybe money isn’t the most important factor for his future.
“It’s a combination, of course he can still play,” head coach Dan Quinn said, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “It’s a combination of can we feature him in the best way for him and allow other players to come up through the system as well.”
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