The NFL has a thousand cuts and more when the rosters must be trimmed, and I believe that you could easily make multiple teams out of these cuts. They could be a playoff teams simply because the cap makes it hard for teams to keep all the players they want. You can pay anyone you want in baseball, and you can exceed the cap in basketball. In football, you have to let guys go even if you love them.
You cannot pay everyone
Guys want to make as much money as possible, and they know that it is much harder to pay players when they start handing out big contracts.
The only real way to pay everyone is to cut guys that you are not inclined to pay. You can let someone else give him all that money, and you should ensure that you kept the right guys. TJ Ward just went to the Bucs because the Broncos did not want to pay him. I hope they do not regret that.
You have to watch the cap
The cap is so complicated that I cannot explain it to you, and the people who make millions to work for ESPN and the like have to have experts explain it to them. NFL teams have to be very careful that they are spending their money wisely, and they have to save money where they can. I know that sounds silly, but it is true because these teams cannot go over the cap. That is a reality that hems you in because the NFL is watching their every step.
You have to manage positions
Every team has to choose how many people to carry at each position. You cannot have three quarterbacks in some cases because you need an extra guy for special teams. You might carry extra safeties because you need help in the defensive backfield, but you might be in a place where you just cannot pay that guy you have.
You cut him, and you carry someone else doing something different. You have to be sure that you have enough people at each position, and teams often get stuck when guys get hurt because they do not have enough players at the right positions.
This is a constant concern
A team that trades for someone has to have the money to pay him under the cap.
They have to be sure that they have the money to pay him in their budget, and they have to be sure that they have enough things removed from the cap to make room. They might cut someone else, sign a player to the practice squad, and they will sign someone else for less. This is why cap space is so important in the NFL.
The NFL keeps teams on their toes, and they need to be careful when spending their money. The cap looms, and they cut enough guys to win a Super Bowl.