Maybe because I'm new or still just not understanding correctly but I am seeing room under cap at a negative 17.5 Million? with still 2 more picks in this season's draft so I guess it will get worse.
How does one reverse the cap troubles?, Since I am a new owner I cannot even do any trades for another week.

I was quite willing to take over a team for the long term but I am kinda scratching my head here?
Any suggestions are welcome

You definitely have some cap trouble, but you should me able to get a hold of it, with a little work.

First off, I would suggest a harsh evaluation of your newly drafted rookies. Keep the ones that you think will be valuable right away, but with cap issues, it hurts you to hold on to "projects" with high rookie salaries. You can cancel their contracts with no penalties. They will be upset with you, so don't think that you can sign them right back.

Next, I would look for backup players who make too much for what they contribute, with zero bonus money on their contracts. Cutting players with bonuses in their salary penalizes your cap in future years, and maybe even the current year if the bonus is high enough. You can get effective backups (with a little searching) for $200k/yr. Your goal is not to make the playoffs in a rebuild year... it's to field a team and get your cost down for future seasons. Cut those expensive backups.

The next and final step should be done any way. I'm going to cut-paste a message I sent to someone else, on my way of finding the lowest cap hit for any player.

"This only works for players already on your team.

First, before resigning them, check their progress to make sure you're going to want them for 6 years. If they're declining, you may want to let their contract run out. All bonus money counts against your cap, even when you cut them. The season you cut them, you have to pay their bonus. The following season, you must pay ALL REMAINING bonuses... so if you owe him $3M per year in bonuses, and he still had 5 years on the contract, you will have a cap hit of $15M.

Once you're sure you want to keep them, click "contract" to bring up the renegotiation page.

Move "years" up to 6, and "bonus" down to 0%, and submit. Of course they won't sign without a bonus, but you will get a message showing the minimum bonus he will be willing to sign for. Write that number down.

Close that message, and move "bonus" up to 75%. Then, slowly move the "First Year Base + Bonus" slider to the left, until the "total bonus" box is just a little more than the minimum he's willing to take.

The closer you can get it, without being under, the better. (You can move it back to the right if you go under). Then, enter the minimum bonus (that you wrote down) into the box. The higher percentage of the contract given as bonus, the less it hits your cap.

Congrats, you just offered the lowest amount he MAY be willing to take. If he refuses, just set it up the same way, but offer a bit more salary. "

One more thing I just thought of.
For those newly drafted rookies, if you're going to cut them, you need to do it before the Late Free Agent rounds if they have a bonus in their contract, otherwise you're stuck with paying the bonus. This applies more to the earlier round picks.
They later picks don't have a bonus, so you can hold on until after training camp to see if they bloom. Again, just don't overpay a backup in a rebuilding year without good reason.

Well said billstein. I would personally cut these guys:

William McDonald - 2.5m
Paul Fournier - 3.6m
Bobby Gregory - 1.6m
James Galdamez - 1.1m
Mark Smoak - 2.0m
Shane Turner - 0.2m
Brice Obrien - 2.2m
Charles Smith - 2.6m
Adam Marshall - 3.1m
Edward Davis - 2.3m

That should remove 21m from the books. The guys I chose were pretty much a combination of unathletic and/or unskilled players that I think you can replace through free agency.

I would suggest releasing:

Tim Scalf - You can release him with 0 penalty
Bobby Gregory - You can release with 0 penalty
Brent Gonzalez - You can release with 0 penalty
Michael Gonzelez - You can release with 0 penalty
Darin Malone - You can release with 0 penalty

And also void the rookie contracts of anyone not in your plans, probably anyone 4th round and later.

Those are the easiest cuts, they will provide instant cap relief without penalty. Then look at the list above and pick who else you think you can cut.

Thanks for the assistance. I was concerned the AI would just start making cuts and decimate team even worse

Team has a lot of old players on long contracts so ill want to work through it carefully. Do just to confirm i have until late FA to get the cap in line?

The CPU will make cuts for you if you aren’t under the cap by the first preseason game.

Note: I know you are trying to trade him... but cutting Dantley would also have no cap penalties.

Thanks, that is great advice

tbh I threw him on the block as soon as I drafted a replacement, thinking maybe someone might need a good BU by time reg season starts as he does have some skills. My 30 days should be up by then so I may be able to make some trades abeit making trades from a position of weakness.

Thanks for all the suggestions, that's what I was hoping to learn
At least I have time to now make a plan and exceute by preseason

Oh one other thing when evaluating players, if they were going to retire which part of the season would they do that?, I would think after reg season but I don't want to assume

During the "End of Season" sim... between the Championship game and Free Agency wk1.