March 11 is the starting gun for the NFL’s 2024 free agent period. But before teams can claim their spot in the race, they’ve got to do their prep work first.
All 32 franchises will be taking inventory and adjusting their payroll in order to maximize spending against the league’s salary cap. For some teams, it means restructuring contracts and waiting for the legal tampering date to begin reporting their big signings. For others, it means discarding veteran starters in order to sneak under the spending limit or create the space for new megadeals.
Those moves have trickled in as offseason preparation ramps up. Some of the names being hastily added to free agent lists are recognizable. Others less so. But all created vital savings by cleaning out their lockers and leaving quietly.
Let’s take a look at who has been released as free agent signings loom.
