Contracts can provide a source of security or risk in dynasty fantasy football leagues. Below are nine wide receivers who could be cut candidates in the next year.
DeAndre Hopkins is scheduled to count 30.75 million dollars against the cap in 2023. Hopkins has a dead cap figure of 22.6 million dollars with 8.1 million dollars of cap savings if he is cut in 2023. He does not have any guaranteed money left on his deal, and the addition of Marquise Brown creates a backstop in the offense if the Cardinals were to move on. Hopkins has plummeted in dynasty cost over the past year, particularly with his suspension to start the 2022 season.
Calvin Ridley will miss the 2023 season after being suspended for a year for gambling on football. Ridley has the remaining money on his fifth-year option, 11.1 million dollars, for a cap hit in 2023. Ridley drew trade interest in advance of the suspension and could use a trade to reset his career. He is a tough hold in shorter dynasty rosters with no injured reserve designation for suspended players.
Robby Anderson
Robby Anderson has a 21.7-million-dollar cap hit in 2023 and the Carolina Panthers can save 12 million dollars in cap space by cutting Anderson. After a disappointing 2021 season, it would be a major upset if Anderson was not cut in 2023.
A year ago, the 10.7-million-dollar cap hit would have been a clear-cut candidate. However, in the post-Christian Kirk 20 million dollars a year contract era, Boyd’s deal looks like a discount. The team could save 8.9 million dollars, but his deal has aged well, especially with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Joe Burrow all on cheap rookie deals.