Falcons have over $10.7 million tied up in cut players

The NFL's cap space continues to skyrocket, and is a pretty impressive $143.28 million. The Atlanta Falcons have had some turnover this offseason under new head coach Dan Quinn, and according to Over The Cap, have $10.713 million dedicated to players that will not play for the team (except for Ricardo Allen).

Does that sound like a lot of money? The biggest problems are along Atlanta's offensive line, a statement that has been said so many times in the last few years that the phrase has lost all meaning. Cutting beloved Justin Blalock accounts for $4.12 million of that. Jiminy-jilkers! Sam Baker will have a bigger hit next year, but is the second biggest culprit after taking up $2.8 million in 2015 cap space.

The rest of the big names rounding out the list are Harry Douglas, Steven Jackson, Prince Shembo, and Ricardo Allen.

How does this number stack up around the league?

The Falcons easily have the best cap situation in the NFC South. You will NOT be shocked to learn that the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 31st and 32nd, both dedicating over $21 million to players too scrubby to play on their scrubby teams. The Panthers have about $1.5 million more dead money than Atlanta.

Which puts Atlanta at just below average. The Falcons have the 18th best (or 14th worst) dead money situations in the league, which is pretty impressive with a new coach who has made a few big name cuts. Without freeing themselves from Baker, and getting rid of Blalock for scheme purposes, Atlanta would be right around top five with the lowest dead money in the league.

Some appreciation should go to Dimitroff, who has kept the team out of cap trouble during his tenure. Additionally, the team has plenty of cap space they can carry over, or even use to extend a few players to give the team additional room down the line.