LB, Karlos Dansby--who was mentioned by some Giants fans as a potential post-draft FA vet acquisition--signed a 1-year deal with the Cardinals today

Dansby signed a 1-year deal with the Cardinals today, as per Ian Rapoport as well as other sources:

https://twitter.com/RapSheet

"Karlos Dansby, Cardinals agree to terms on one-year deal" By Ryan Wilson | CBSSports.com May 10, 2013 11:45 am ET








The Cardinals are officially $8,574,061 under the salary cap as of now.


Source: https://nflplayers.com/reports/RunPublicReport.aspx?report=top51


Dansby has 9 accrued years under his belt (2004 to 2012), so if he signed for the league minimum he'd get $840,000 in salary. The Cardinals, his team for the first six years of his career, probably gave him a $65,000 signing bonus, which is the maximum that a player can get, and still be eligible for the Minimum Salary Benefit of ($555,000 + bonus money, if applicable). Add the $65,000 bonus to that $555,000 figure, and his cap number would be $620,000.

His salary however, would be $905,000. If I were a betting man--which I'm not--I would bet money that this is the deal that he got, even if the Cardinals have all that money to spare--which they really don't. They--and all the other 31 clubs in the NFL--will have to set aside some money for their rookie draft class, and when the Top 51 rule is kaput in less than 4 months, when the regular season begins, for the following:

• They'll need money for the 52nd and 53rd men on their roster (about $1 million cap dollars).
• They'll also need money for their 8 man practice squad (about $1 million cap dollars).
• Cap space will also need to be set aside for injuries during training camp: players who go on IR and who receive injury settlements (about $1 million cap dollars).
• They'll need money too in case they need to sign players to an emergency contract during the regular season (about $1 to $2 million cap dollars).
 

Fortunately for the the Cardinals, they have the necessary space to meet these future cap demands of an estimated 4 to 5 million dollars at this time already (not including the 1 to 2 million cap dollars they need to sign their rookie class of draft picks). They're in good cap heath now. The Giants, on the other hand, still need to continue to make room in anticipation of those future moves that listed above in bullet point style. I'll map that situation out for the Giants in an upcoming post.