A new wrinkle has emerged in the Case of the Missing Cap Room (with Daniel Snyder and Jerry Jones playing the roles of the Hardy Boys). The NFL is reportedly insisting that the penalized teams must absorb at least half of the de jure cap hit this coming season.
A league source tells PFT that the teams will be required to absorb at least half of the cap consequences in 2012. For the Cowboys, it means $5 million in lost cap room. For the Redskins, $18 million disappears.
They can each choose to absorb more of the cap penalty in 2012, or they can push all of the other half to 2013.
You will recall this report from yesterday:
Cowboys lose $10 million in cap space, Redskins lose $36 million in space. Can split it over 2012 and 2013 any way they want. More at ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2012
But of course, that report came out before the Redskins and Cowboys essentially flipped the NFL double middle fingers by claiming compliance in a pair of statements released Monday night. Would you really be surprised if the NFL switched up the punishment on both teams after those statements last night?
Anyway, Rich Campbell has the latest real-time math on the Redskins cap.
A source confirms the @ESPNRadio980 report that the #Redskins had $12.5 million in cap space before they released Atogwe and Sellers.
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 13, 2012
Those entirely expected cuts have bumped up the Redskins cap space to roughly $17 million, which certainly isn't bad, but certainly isn't as good as it could have been.
Stay tuned to SB Nation DC for more information on the 2012 NFL Free Agency period. For all your Redskins news and notes, be sure to follow SB Nation’s Redskins blog Hogs Haven. And all nuggets from around the league, be sure to visit SB Nation’s NFL hub.