Redskins Will Look to Recoup Lost Salary Cap Money
It would appear that the Washington Redskins will not go away as it pertains to the salary cap penalties given by the NFL last year that left the team 36 million dollars in the hole. The Redskins have insisted since last year that the process was not over, even after a judge ruled in the NFL’s favor twice.
It would now appear that the Redskins are willing to go to court and try to get an injunction that could delay the beginning of free agency for the league.
“They have a plan,” one person familiar with the team’s thinking said Monday, expressing the opinion that the Redskins “have very good arguments” for restoring their cap space. The person did not say, however, how the team plans to challenge the penalty.
Coach Mike Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen have said publicly since the end of the 2012 season that the team is not done challenging the salary cap reduction. But neither has provided details on how the team might do that.
One person with knowledge of the case said last week that any remaining appeal by the Redskins might be “informal.”
The thought is that the Redskins will threaten to sue the league if some, or all, of the salary cap penalties, are not returned. They feel as if the cap money was taken unjustly as a result of the team not colluding against the players during the non-capped season that was before last years labor strike.
The Redskins are in a bad spot right now with many players waiting on contracts while they are reportedly four million over the cap. Veteran players DeAngelo Hall (due nearly 8 million next year) and Santana Moss (due nearly 6 million next year) have expressed interest in reworking their respective deals hoping to help the team open up more money.
Players eligible for unrestricted free agency in March include tight end Fred Davis, left guard Kory Lichtensteiger, right tackle Tyler Polumbus and linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, a Pro Bowl selection on special teams. The Redskins’ pending restricted free agents include tight end Logan Paulsen, fullback Darrel Young and linebacker Rob Jackson.
