{"id":69293,"date":"2019-07-29T19:46:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T23:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=69293"},"modified":"2019-07-29T19:46:57","modified_gmt":"2019-07-29T23:46:57","slug":"marcus-cannon-contract-new-england-patriots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/07\/29\/marcus-cannon-contract-new-england-patriots\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcus Cannon Contract: New England Patriots Create $3 Million in Cap Space"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots are staying busy, both on the field during training camp and at the negotiation table. According to NFL Network’s\u00a0Mike Silver<\/strong><\/a>, New England has restructured\u00a0Marcus Cannon<\/a><\/strong>, giving him an additional $4.5 million in guaranteed money. This move doesn’t add any additional years to Cannon’s contract but it should clear up some cap space.<\/p>\n

New England Patriots Restructure Marcus Cannon<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Silver notes that in addition to the $4.5 million in guarantees, this deal could also raise the overall value of Cannon’s contract to $24 million. Cannon initially signed a five-year, $32.5 million extension with New England following his Second-Team All-Pro 2016 campaign.<\/p>\n

Marcus Cannon initially joined the Patriots as a fifth-round pick in the 2011 draft. Seen by many as a first-round talent, Cannon’s draft stock plummeted when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in the leadup to the 2011 NFL Draft. New England took a risk on Cannon, and the decision paid off. After spending the first few years of his career coming off the bench, Marcus Cannon became a regular starter in the 2016 season. Additionally, he also served as the top tackle off the bench whenever\u00a0Nate Solder<\/a><\/strong> or\u00a0Sebastian Vollmer<\/a><\/strong> got injured.<\/p>\n

The exact details of this contract are not available to the public, so nobody knows exactly how much cap space this frees up. That said, @patscap estimated that the Patriots should get $3 million in spending money for the 2019 campaign. There is a downside, however, as Cannon’s cap number will likely rise in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/patscap\/status\/1155980877752483840?s=20<\/p>\n

Prior to the restructure, the Patriots had just short of $5 million in cap space and had signed all their rookies to their respective contracts. While it’s important to keep some cap space open, New England doesn’t appear to have a pressing need for financial flexibility. The Patriots could be freeing up space for a big-name trade, or they could just be adding space when they inevitably have to sign somebody following an injury.<\/p>\n

Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>