Here is what you need to know on this Monday, January 19, 101 days before the Washington Redskins go on the clock for the first round of the NFL draft.

Question of the day

We’re changing up the format of Need to Know for the offseason. Every day I’ll give an in-depth answer to a question submitted by a fan on my Twitter feed, via the Real Redskins Facebook page, or in the comments section here. On Twitter address the questions to me at @Rich_TandlerCSN with the #NTK hashtag. There will be a comment thread set up on the Facebook page and if you’re asking your question here, put “for NTK” at the start of the comment.

Today's question is from Twitter:

https://twitter.com/_ryanrowe/status/555869334266855424

Actually, cap casualties are often one of the first steps in the offseason. They generally aren’t based on what personnel the team acquires in the draft or in free agency.

The process will start soon at Redskins Park with Scot McCloughan, Jay Gruden, and others evaluating the players currently on the roster. Their grades for the season, along with their potential to either improve or decline, are then compare to their individual cap situations—cap number, savings, dead money, etc. Then right around the start of free agency on March 10, they will make their cap-related cuts.

Now they might hold onto some players until a replacement is found. But usually the decision already has been made and they’re just waiting until the can sign somebody, anybody, to take that player’s place. And they could cut someone after the draft but by then offseason workouts have started. Should a player sustain an injury during on team property during those workouts, the team could be on the hook for his salary for the year.

So, enough of that. Here are the players I think are most likely to become cap casualties:

G Chris Chester—This seems to be a no-brainer. They will go younger, cheaper, and bigger here, saving a net of $4 million while eating $800,000 of dead cap.

DE Stephen Bowen—He was on the PUP list for six games and inactive for two more. Bowen did start three games at the end of the season but it’s hard to justify a cap number of $8.02 million (currently the 4th highest on the team) for that. Releasing him would save $5.5 million in cap space.

DB Tracy Porter—Porter got $3.5 million in salary and bonuses last year and he played 89 snaps due to injuries. I’ll do the math for you; that’s $39, 325 per snap. It’s hard to see them paying him another $2.5 million in salary and bonuses this year. Would save a net of $2.8 million.

Those three are the ones that I would call “most likely” to be cap casualties. Another possibility is Barry Cofield ($4.1 million in savings). Perhaps they will move on from DeAngelo Hall ($2.3 million) if they don’t think that his twice-torn Achilles is going to heal.

Before making any cap moves the Redskins it looks like the Redskins will have between $15 and $20 million in cap space.

Timeline

—It’s been 22 days since the Redskins played a game. It will be about 237 days until they play another one.

—Days until: NFL Combine 31; NFL free agency starts 50; 2015 NFL Draft 101

If you have any questions about what's going on at Redskins Park, hit me up in the comments. And I'm always on Twitter @Rich_TandlerCSN.

Like Real Redskins on Facebook!

Follow Real Redskins on Instagram @RichTandler

In case you missed it