who are the Titans getting rid of

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Titans and the 2004 salary cap

The salary cap next season is expected to be between $78.7 million and $79.2 million per team.

The Titans already have $95,109,075 in salary-cap dollars committed to next season and more than $70 million of that salary-cap space is committed to just 11 players.

Of the 53 players on the current active roster, 35 are under contract for next season. Three players on injured reserve — kicker Joe Nedney, cornerback Andre Woolfolk, safety Thomas Wright — are also under contract for next season.

So the Titans have at least 18 roster spots to fill and are already at least $15.9 million over the projected salary cap.

So what does a player's salary cap figure represent? It's not necessarily his salary. The salary-cap figure is an accounting device that is a combination of his base salary and bonuses.

Bonuses paid immediately to the player are pro-rated over the life of a contract when figured against the salary cap.

For example, if a player signed a four-year contract with base salaries of $500,000 each year and he received a $1 million signing bonus, his salary cap figure each year would be $750,000 (base salary plus one-fourth of the bonus).

Also, the bonus money counts against the salary cap even if the player is released. So, if a player is released with two years remaining on his contract, two years of the bonus portion of the cap figure remain on the books.

That's called ''dead money'' and is the reason it's difficult for teams to release high-priced veterans who have years left on their contract.

The Titans have just over $4.155 million in dead money included in their 2004 total.

Biggest salary cap hits for Titans in 2004:

Player Pos. Cap figure

Kevin Carter DE $11.775 million
Steve McNair QB $10.765 million
Samari Rolle CB $8.813 million
Eddie George RB $7.321 million
Brad Hopkins T $6.616 million
Fred Miller T $6.398 million
Derrick Mason WR $5.802 million
Benji Olson G $4.241 million
Frank Wycheck TE $3.38 million
Lance Schulters S $3.25 million
Keith Bulluck LB $2.554 million

''Dead money'' for 2004 — salary-cap figures for players no longer on the roster:

Player Pos. Cap figure
Randall Godfrey LB $3,080,800
Greg Comella FB $1 million
Neil O'Donnell QB $45,000*
Derrick Tatum CB $4,000
Dwone Hicks RB $3,000
Nick Burley DE $2,500
Jon Clanton DT $2,500
Jake Sprague DT $2,500
Jerome Riley WR $2,000
Mario Branch T $1,650
Steve Marsh CB $1,500
Anthony Dunn DE $1,250
Jake Kuppe T $1,250
Reggie Poole G $1,250
Marico Portis G $1,250
Rober' Freeman CB $1,000
John Garrison C $1,000
Tyler Watts QB $750
Detronn Harris WR $500
Jesse Sowells CB $500
Dustin Barno DT $250
Fred Barr LB $250
John Hampton TE $250
Lee Jackson LB $250
R.J. Luke RB $250