Seahawks get salary-cap help on top of pass-rush aid from the Carlos Dunlap trade
The Seahawks are getting more than just pass-rush help in trading for Carlos Dunlap.
The two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher agreed upon his trade last week from Cincinnati to Seattle to move about $3 million from his contract in 2020 to 2021, in the form of a roster bonus he could be paid next spring. That’s according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
Dunlap had been scheduled to receive $4,588,235 in the final 10 weeks of this season, the prorated amount remaining on his $7.8 million base salary for 2020.
Now he will count $2 million against Seattle’s salary cap for 2020. His restructure means he reportedly gets a $3 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2021 league year, which begins in March.
So the Seahawks, hard against the NFL 2020 salary cap before they traded for Dunlap, save approximately $2.6 million in space this year.
The key to the deal for them for the future is Dunlap’s 2021 salary and contract are not guaranteed. Seattle can release him after this season without a cap impact next year, if it chooses. Or his new team can keep him by renegotiating his deal for 2021 that’s now scheduled to carry a cap charge of $14.1 million next year. He turns 32 in February.
Dunlap has finished his six-day COVID-19 testing protocol to enter the Seahawks facility in Renton for the first time. He was expected to be on the field Wednesday to practice with his new team for the first time.
Coach Pete Carroll said this week Dunlap is on track to make his debut for Seattle (6-1) on Sunday when it plays at Buffalo (6-2) in a match-up of division leaders.
“Really, he will have taken a week off. So it’s like he had his personal bye week,” Carroll said. “And he’s ready to play again. He’s fit, and all that.
“We are looking forward to him jumping right in and he should be able to assimilate easily.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 10:21 AM.
