A 53-man roster under the salary cap using actual cap numbers with certain parameters, which are below, was assembled at the start of the season. The composition of the roster has changed dramatically in this end of the season version because considerable weight was given to 2022 performance.
Tom Brady is no longer the choice at quarterback. His 2022 season was not comparable to his stellar 2021 season. Edge rusher Von Miller and running back Jonathan Taylor were derailed by injuries. Three-time NFL Defensive Player of Year Aaron Donald was also bitten by the injury bug. He had a career low five sacks because of missing the last six games of the regular season with an ankle injury.
Parameters
1. The salary cap for the roster is $213.489 million although the actual NFL salary cap is $208.2 million for this year. The number being used is the league’s average adjusted salary cap according to NFLPA data. Each NFL team’s working salary cap varies largely because unused cap room can be carried over from one year to the next. For example, the Jaguars have the NFL’s highest adjusted salary cap at $234.92 million largely thanks to carrying over slightly more than $25.75 million of cap room, which is the most in the league. The Super Bowl LVI champion Rams have the lowest at $201.9 million, which is approximately $6.25 million below the league wide number. Situations like this typically occur when incentives earned during the previous season that weren’t counting on the cap get accounted for without sufficient cap room carrying over from the prior year to make up the difference. 2. The NFL draft is an essential element of roster building for NFL teams. It is here also. One player from each round of the 2022 draft must be on the roster. This means both Jets first round picks, cornerback Sauce Gardner (fourth overall pick) and wide receiver Garrett Wilson (10th overall pick) can’t be selected. The…..
