Five players Washington Football Team could cut to open up cap space

3. LB Jon Bostic

As they’re currently constituted, Washington probably wouldn’t move on from Jon Bostic. He is a solid role player and while he may be overmatched as a three-down starter (specifically in coverage), he’s on the books for just under $3 million. That’s not too bad.

And Washington doesn’t have a lot at the linebacker spot. They have Cole Holcomb, a good athlete with upside, but outside of him, they don’t have much.

Kevin Pierre-Louis is a free agent. Thomas Davis served only as a locker room leader last year and seems poised to retire. Shaun Dion Hamilton was released. Khaleke Hudson is a great special teamer, but it’s unclear whether or not he can be a long-term starter.

With all that said, why would Washington consider moving on from Bostic? It’s simple. The team could easily focus on upgrading the linebacker spot in free agency and the draft. There are several quality players available on the free-agent market that would be upgrades over Bostic, like Jayon Brown and Lavonte David.

So, if the team adds one of those players, re-signs Pierre-Louis, and drafts a player at the position, Bostic could become expendable.

And that exact scenario isn’t something that’s out of the question. Ron Rivera’s best Panthers defense has elite linebacker play with Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, and Shaq Thompson all working together. He could opt to invest in the linebacker spot this offseason to glue together Washington’s strong defense.

If that happens, Bostic could be cut. His release would free up about $2 million in cap space while creating less than $1 million in dead cap. That may be worth it if Washington needs just a little bit of extra flexibility to make some key signings.

Bostic probably won’t be an outright cap casualty. He did enough to be kept around whether it’s as a part-time starter or top backup. But we could see him released later in the offseason if Washington needs a bit of cap space.