Seven Players Who Could Be Traded Post-June 1

June 1 is an important date on the NFL calendar. To explain why requires a bit of a detour into the weeds of how the NFL salary cap works, but the short summary is that the rules on moving a player become a lot less restrictive after this date. 

(The longer explanation is that before June 1, any time a player is cut or traded the remaining dead money on the contract all has to be accounted for that year. After June 1, only the dead money in the current year is counted, with the remaining amount deferred to the following season. Teams can designate two players a year as “June 1 cuts” to release them before that date with the same benefits, and you’ll often see teams hold off on processing retirements until June to spread out the cap hit.)

Still here? The point of this article is that while it’s easier for teams to cut players after June 1, it’s also far, far easier to trade them. The June 1 rule is what even makes it possible to have a midseason trade deadline, as otherwise the cost for teams to move on from players would often be too punitive given teams have to remain compliant with the cap at all times. 

June is typically a quiet month on the calendar with no injuries or games to drive urgency for trades. However, from time to time we see some action. The best example is a few years ago when the Falcons were ready to move on from WR Julio Jones and auctioned him off at the first available opportunity, which was June, to start the process of cleaning up their cap. 

This year, Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey seems poised to provide the star power as a big name likely to be on the move now that June 1 has passed. He and the team are both talking about each other in the past tense, and the cap implications are likely one of the biggest reasons he hasn’t already been dealt. He’s not the only player who will be traded, as the Eagles and 49ers agreed to terms on a deal for DE Bryce Huff that will be processed today. 

Here’s a look at seven trade candidates, including both Ramsey and Huff, and the implications for a deal now that June 1 is in the books: 

Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey

If the Dolphins had traded Ramsey before June 1, they would have been responsible for $25.2 million in dead money. That’s $8.5 million higher than his current cap hit for this season, meaning it would have cost the Dolphins $8.5 million of their current $13.5 million in cap space to trade Ramsey. 

By postponing any deal until now, the Dolphins lower the dead money to just $6.745 million. That’s especially important because it’s possible Miami will be forced to eat some of Ramsey’s remaining $21 million in guaranteed compensation in order to facilitate a trade. Obviously the hope is to find a buyer for all of it, but this gives the Dolphins more flexibility. 

Eagles DE Bryce Huff

The 49ers and Eagles should process the Huff deal on Monday even though the news broke earlier this weekend. Waiting until June was important for Philadelphia, which needed to cut its losses with Huff after he was the jewel of their free agent class just last year. Huff clearly wasn’t a fit for the scheme and was a $17 million anchor going into next year. 

Before June 1, a trade for the Eagles would have incurred over $12 million in dead money — a net loss of around $5 million on the salary cap for 2025 — and that’s not even including any money in 2025 the team needed to eat to make a Huff trade palatable for another team. That turned out to be around $9 million. With the trade being processed after June 1, the Eagles will instead have Huff on the books for $4.9 million in 2025 and $16.6 million in 2026, a net of around $3 million in cap savings this year and $5.4 million next year. 

In the end, the Eagles will have paid $26 million or so for 2.5 sacks this past year, which is not good at all. But they cut their losses and saved about $8 million in cash and cap space over the next two years and added a pick for a player who was likely not going to be a factor. It’s good GMing by Howie Roseman. Mistakes will happen but minimizing the impact they have separates good GMs from bad ones. 

Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson

The stalemate between the Bengals and Hendrickson continues as he seeks an updated contract to reflect the 35 sacks he’s had over the past two years. It does not seem destined to end any time soon and Hendrickson will likely have to put his money where his mouth is and forfeit some fines for missing minicamp, training camp and possibly more. Cincinnati has been reluctant to trade Hendrickson so far, but if he forces the issue, it’s possible they could change their mind. 

This is actually a situation where it doesn’t matter if Hendrickson is traded before or after June 1 in terms of impacting the cap. The Bengals’ philosophy with the salary cap is to pay as you go. They don’t use void years and they avoid guaranteeing money past the first year of a contract in all but extremely rare circumstances. That means they rarely are on the hook for a ton of dead money, and the deal with Hendrickson is no different. Just $2.6 million of his $18.6 million cap hit is prorated dead money. Since he’s in the last year of his contract, that is the same no matter when he’s traded. 

Falcons QB Kirk Cousins

There are a lot of factors making a trade involving Cousins unlikely. The Falcons have been driving a hard bargain on how to split his guaranteed $27.5 million 2025 salary. Cousins had a no-trade clause and was slow-playing the market, and there aren’t really any clear starting spots available for him. But there is at least one fewer obstacle to a trade now that June 1 has passed and that is the dead money associated with Cousins’ contract. 

When Atlanta signed the veteran last year, it forked over a gargantuan $50 million signing bonus. Three-quarters of that, or $37.5 million, remains in the form of dead money on the contract. Cousins’ cap hit for 2025 is currently $40 million, so a trade before June 1 would have lessened his cap hit by $2.5 million. However, that’s assuming another team took on Cousins’ entire $27.5 million salary, which there was no chance of. To make a trade work, the Falcons would have needed to eat at least half and probably more of that number, pushing the cap hit into the negative by $10 million or more. 

Now that June 1 has arrived, trading Cousins would leave just $12.5 million in dead money in 2025 and $25 million in dead money in 2026 — before any reworking of the deal to facilitate a trade. That opens up the possibility for significantly more cap savings and for this to be a net positive move financially. 

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill

While things between Hill and the Dolphins ended in a state of agitation at the close of last season, the two sides patched things up behind the scenes and trade speculation died down as Miami cut off any oxygen to the subject. But with a player as volatile as Hill, nothing can ever be ruled out. Miami also seems to be willing to entertain the idea of trading nearly every other player outside of Hill, so perhaps eventually the Dolphins will pivot — especially because there’s a strong football argument to be made for the idea of trading Hill now. 

Had the Dolphins looked to trade Hill earlier this offseason, the net impact on their salary cap would have been about even, slightly negative. Hill counts $27.7 million against the cap and has $28.2 million in dead money on his contract as things stand today. If the Dolphins trade Hill now that June 1 has passed, it would result in just a $12.7 million 2025 cap hit and $15.5 million in dead money in 2025. 

Trading Hill now would also free Miami from the responsibility of over $27 million in cash, all of which is guaranteed, $10 million of which is base salary and $15.85 million of which is an option bonus that’s not due until August 31. Once the option is due, that increases Miami’s future dead cap obligations. That cash also would be a significant obstacle to getting a deal done, like with Ramsey, but there should be more of a demand for Hill’s services than Ramsey’s and more of a market, lessening the amount Miami has to pay down to facilitate a deal. 

Ultimately the cash owed Hill could be too much to overcome for a trade, but crazier things have happened. At the very least, the Dolphins have been mindful of their cap space for this upcoming season, and a post-June 1 trade is much easier to manage in that regard. 

Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith

The other Dolphins to pop up in trade rumors recently, Smith is entering the final year of his contract and is looking for a raise after a breakout 2024 season. In his eighth year, he set career highs virtually across the board with 88 catches, 884 yards and eight touchdowns. He deserves much more than the $4 million he’s set to make, but the cash-strapped Dolphins have evidently been hesitant to make that happen via an extension, leading to some trade talks with the Steelers. 

On a deal as small as Smith’s, the impact of a trade before or after June 1 is muted. Trading him before would have resulted in about $2 million in savings, $2 million in dead money. Post-June 1, it’s just $500,000 in dead money and $4 million in savings. Not much, but for a Dolphins team counting dollars, it could matter. More importantly, it makes Smith easy to acquire which should help him have a stronger market in some ways than players like Ramsey and Hill. 

Browns TE David Njoku

Njoku stands out to me as an under-the-radar trade candidate to monitor going into this upcoming season. While the Browns say they’re intent on contending and not rebuilding, their roster and quarterback situation is what it is. Last year, the team recognized early that it was going to be a rough year and traded WR Amari Cooper before the deadline, even though they reworked his deal during camp. Njoku is also in the final year of his contract and will turn 29 in July. Cleveland used a third-round pick on TE Harold Fannin this year and if he proves to be ready as an early contributor, that could make it easier to move on from Njoku. 

The veteran tight end’s contract also lends itself to a move after June 1. Because the Browns have leaned on restructures and option bonuses, Njoku’s deal contains $20.8 million in dead money. Compared to his current cap hit of $11.4 million, and a trade before now would have dropped Cleveland’s cap space by $9 million. 

If the Browns trade Njoku now, the dead money would be just $6.9 million this year and $13.1 million next year for a net cap savings of $4.5 million in 2025. The Browns would shed responsibility for Njoku’s $13 million option bonus if they did a deal before September 1, which is another reason a deal could make sense if Fannin is ready to hit the ground running. But if the Browns decide to see how the first couple of months of the season play out, picking up the option won’t hurt their ability to trade Njoku.