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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 02: Jeffery Simmons #99 of the Chicago Bears celebrates a stop against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter of the game at Lumen Field on November 02, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesFor teams that were active at the NFL trade deadline, the hope is that the price paid for additions turns into Super Bowl contention. The Jacksonville Jaguars certainly do, after dealing significant draft capital for defensive upgrades this week.
But what happens beyond this year? Even for teams with room under the NFL’s salary cap (set at $301.2 million this season), numerous players were acquired with multiple years left on their contracts. And just because the cap math works right now, it doesn’t mean it will in 2027.
The following is a quick look at where some of the teams that made trades stand – and how it impacts the cap situation going forward, too.
Simmons has already made a major impact for Chicago, tallying 10 tackles with two sacks, a run stuff and two passes defended. And the team will now owe him about $25 million per year if he does not opt out in 2030.
On the other hand, dealing two first round picks (2027, 2028) saves the Bears about $4-5 million in salary next season and $10 million in the three seasons after, when both players would theoretically be on the books.
As things currently look, the team is due to be $20.8 million over the salary cap in 2027, which can be wiggled out of via restructuring. But both Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze will both be due new contracts in 2028, just as Simmons becomes the team’s highest-paid player at a $30.9 million cap hit. Williams and Odunze alone could push the salary up another $80-90 million before accounting for anything else.
The Jags’ additions make little impact on the cap this season, and both Bates and Godchaux are expiring deals. Davis is the lone player with salary due beyond 2026, when he’s scheduled to be paid $78 million total from 2027 through 2029.
His number next year will already help push Jacksonville past the salary cap limit, though the team could find some relief without Brian Thomas Jr. (assuming he is dealt should his role in the passing game continue to be diminished). The Jaguars would potentially want to retain both Bates and Godchaux (the latter at a relatively low figure), especially since Trevor Lawrence remains on a manageable deal (five years, $278 million) through 2031.
Not only do the 49ers have the NFL’s top record, but they also have a ton of cap space ($31 million, which ranks fifth in the league, according to Spotrac). And better still for San Francisco, both are expiring deals and don’t necessarily need to be brought back if they opt not to.
The team is due to be slightly over the cap in 2027 ($4 million), but could easily work around that if there was a desire to bring Buckner back.
Acquiring Hooker (and a 2027 fifth-round pick), would have technically put the Bills beyond the salary cap for this season, but the team has already confirmed it restructured Dion Dawkins’s deal to make everything fit.
That said, Hooker – the NFL’s interception leader – still has another two years in Buffalo under his current deal, and would make $10.8 million in 2027 and $13.5 million in 2028 – and the Bills are already projected to be over the salary cap for both seasons. That could mean a restructure is needed for Hooker or other players as Buffalo is set to be one of the league’s most cap-strapped teams in the coming years.
Given the strength of this year’s defense, the Vikings opted to address its quarterback room and reunite with Cousins, who was having a strong year with the Las Vegas Raiders. And beyond the third-round pick traded away, they’re only obligated to pay him $650K for 2026 and then a $10 million roster bonus in March.
There’s the potential issue of $80 million owed to Cousins across 2027 and 2028 if Minnesota opts to keep him (would add some cap constraints that don’t currently apply). But that would likely be declined instead, forcing the Vikings to either try and bring him back on a cheaper deal or make some bigger moves to bring in a long-term QB solution finally.
Seattle has cap space this year and next, and brought in Nelson on an expiring deal. If the team chooses to bring him back next year, they can fit him in under the current cap number. But if they don’t, it leaves upwards of $30 million to play with to handle the rest of its business right now.
The Colts didn’t trade bigger names like Jonathan Taylor or Daniel Jones, but did move four players in exchange for a net of five picks over the course of the 2027 and 2028 drafts. None of those are firsts, which makes it harder to acquire the elite talent needed to reset the roster. But also easier to address numerous areas of need with smaller salaries.
Indianapolis will have a staggering $77 million in cap space next year, so could also use that room to make significant upgrades via free agency.
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