“I knew it was going to be difficult, it always is,” Jones said. “The nature of the cap has to be looked at over several years. We have players that we're going to pay in the future, so we can manage that well. What we do with cap management is borrow your money. We'll raise money from available dollars in the future and use it this year. ”
“Most clubs, including us, already have a lot of money to spend on players, but we will have to calculate below that cap for the next few years. There must be a very bright line. ”
Jones said the process started years ago, and the money started being pushed out when he knew today was going to become a reality.
“The quantities of them, but also the timing of them, are all part of the strategy we had in mind two years ago,” he said. “In fact, this involves players who were here two years ago. It's not surprising because it's competitive here.”
Despite the cap restrictions, Jones expects the team's young core — Jalen Tolbert, Sam Williams, DeMarvion Overshawn and Maji Smith — to step up to replace the departed, more expensive veterans. expressed confidence.
“I'm encouraged by the team we've got and I'm encouraged by the fact that we've got young players that have to step up,” he said. “They're going to step up. Some guys are not going to be as good as we wanted them to be, some guys are going to be better than we wanted them to be. All of that makes me feel good. I've been in the offseason for as long as I can remember.” I feel as good as I did.”
“It's entirely possible that a player who didn't play much last year could sign a contract and step up. With the moves we're making right now, that's not a negative in my mind. That's just it.''Just because we don't have players doesn't mean we can't win games. ”
