Free agency period is starting with the NFL where the teams have a hard salary cap they need to meet.  Every year at this time we see teams needing to make decisions. There’s been a lot of talk about Peyton Manning and if he’ll be with the Colts, but there are other guys that may not be there like Dallas Clark, Reggie Wayne, and Gary Brackett to name a few. We saw it today with the Steelers and Hines Ward being cut.

These are tough, tough decisions and when I was a coach these were not times I wanted to face. You have players who wanted to stay but financially it may not work, or they could get a better deal somewhere else.  As an owner, GM, and head coach, you have to make decisions for the long term and the future.

You have to take your heart out of it a little bit. But it’s not easy. You have guys who have played for you, done a great job, you’ve developed a relationship with them, and you hate to see them go. This next week will be a tough time for coaches and GMs in the NFL and you will see some of your favorite players retire and go to another team because there just isn’t enough room under the salary cap to pay them on that team.