The 2023 edition of NFL free agency is shaping up to be a great one. The running-back pool alone could see four Pro Bowlers in the market, star quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Tom Brady are scheduled to be available, and there should be no shortage of high-end defensive talent.

When the market opens on March 15, money will flow. Naturally, some franchises are better equipped to get in on the action than others. At the time of writing, only 10 teams are projected to have more than $15 million in cap space, while 15 are slated to be over the cap.

This will change in the coming weeks. General managers and other team decisions-makers will find creative ways to clear cap space. Some players will be dumped as cap casualties, while others will inevitably agree to restructured long-term deals—agreements that transform base salary or roster bonuses into a signing bonus that can be spread over as many as five years.

Here, we'll examine situations where cap space can be created via contract extensions.

Specifically, we'll examine players entering the final years of their current deals who have enough team and positional value to justify a longer contract. We'll dive into why their respective teams need additional cap space and how moving non-guaranteed 2023 money to future years can provide cap relief.

Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers are set to be $19.6 million over the cap this offseason. For a team that desperately needs to improve a run defense that ranked last in yards per carry allowed (5.4) this season, that's a problem.

Extending star running back Austin Ekeler wouldn't erase all of L.A.'s cap deficit, but it would provide a nice head start. Ekeler, who racked up 915 rushing yards, 722 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 2022, is only 27 years old and should remain a long-term building block for the Chargers.

The final year of Ekeler's contract is set to carry a 2023 cap hit of $7.8 million with only $1.5 million in dead money. On a new deal, though, Ekeler's $6.3 million base salary could be reduced to the league minimum of $1 million.

With dead money and a minimum salary considered, Los Angeles could lower Ekeler's 2023 cap hit by $4.3 million—give or take, depending on how any bonuses are structured. A singing bonus could be prorated over the life of the contract, and general manager Tom Telesco could offer guaranteed future salaries or roster bonuses.

This would effectively give Ekeler more guaranteed money upfront while providing Los Angeles with a little more cap flexibility and ensuring that one of its biggest stars is around for the foreseeable future.

Derrick Henry, Taylor Lewan and Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are projected to be $23.5 million over the cap, and they need to address a pass defense that allowed more yards than any other team in 2022.

Tennessee also needs to decide the futures of quarterback Ryan Tannehill and offensive tackle Taylor Lewan. Lewan is a three-time Pro Bowler but missed the bulk of the 2022 season with a knee injury.

Tannehill has mostly been a solid starter for the Titans, but at 34 years old, he may have taken the team as far as he's going to take it. The possibility of upgrading the quarterback position and/or planning for Tannehill's exit hangs over Tennessee's offseason.

"Ryan has been great here. He's won a lot of football games. I look forward to us winning football games. But I still need more time to evaluate and make those decisions," new general manager Ron Carthon said, per ESPN's Turron Davenport.

If the Titans choose to keep Tannehill, they could clear considerable cap space with an extension. He's set to carry a $36.6 million cap hit with $18.8 million in dead money and a $27 million base salary. His league-minimum salary would be roughly $1.2 million.

Lewan is set to carry a $14.8 million cap hit with no dead money remaining. His base salary could be lowered to a league-minimum $1.2 million on an extension if the Titans believe he can bounce back. If they don't, he could be released outright.

Star running back Derrick Henry, on the other hand, is more likely to be in the team's future plans. He's set to carry a $16.4 million cap hit with $9 million in dead money. An extension would be the logical next step after Henry agreed to restructure his deal at the beginning of the 2022 season.

Releasing Henry would save $7.4 million off the 2023 cap. Extending him with a $1.1 million base salary would save nearly as much—again, give or take bonuses—without giving up the lifeblood of Tennessee's offense.

Myles Jack, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

This past offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed linebacker Myles Jack to a two-year, $16 million contract. The return on investment was solid, if not spectacular.

Jack finished his first Pittsburgh campaign with 104 tackles, 61 solo stops and three passes defended. While he was limited by a groin injury over the final few weeks and made relatively few highlight-reel plays, bringing him back for 2023 would be logical.

Fellow linebackers Devin Bush and Robert Spillane are scheduled to reach free agency in a few weeks.

Releasing Jack would save $8 million off the 2023 cap but would also potentially leave Pittsburgh looking to fill multiple holes at the second level. Extending Jack could reduce his base salary from $8 million to a league-minimum $1.2 million, leaving the linebacker in place and still saving Pittsburgh $5.8 million in cap space.

This could be big, as the Steelers are projected to be $3.4 million over the cap.

The Steelers, who finished 9-8 but missed the playoffs, need cap flexibility to re-sign players like Bush and Spillane and to bolster a pass defense that ranked 25th in yards per attempt allowed (6.5).

Extending Jack could help provide it.

Donovan Smith, OT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have no choice but to clear cap space in the coming weeks. Tampa is slated to be $55.5 million over the cap, and that will likely lead to some tough decisions.

Players like Leonard Fournette and Shaq Mason are obvious cut candidates if the Bucs choose to blow everything up and start over. That's a very real possibility with Tom Brady appearing unlikely to return, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.

Left tackle Donovan Smith could be a cap casualty if the Bucs choose to start from scratch. He's been a solid starter but never a Pro Bowler, and he's set to carry a $17.9 million cap hit with $8 million in dead money remaining.

If Tampa prefers to hang onto Smith, though, it could do so while lowering his cap hit with an extension. Smith is scheduled to carry a $15.3 million base salary which could be reduced to the league minimum of $1.2 million.

If Smith is compensated with future guarantees instead of a new signing bonus, Tampa could save upward of $8.8 million off the 2023 cap with an extension. The Buccaneers would still have to clear cap space elsewhere, but it would make for a good start without leaving the Bucs with a glaring hole at left tackle.

Shaq Thompson, LB, Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers have found their new head coach in Frank Reich. The next step for Carolina will be finding a true franchise quarterback. If the Panthers look to add a veteran to the quarterback room this offseason, it's going to require some cap savings.

Carolina is slated to be $5.3 million over the cap.

Releasing linebacker Shaq Thompson could save $13.2 million in cap space. The final year of his deal is set to carry a $24.5 million cap hit with $11.3 in dead money. However, releasing the 28-year-old outright wouldn't be logical.

Thompson was a key defensive contributor this season, finishing with 135 tackles, a half-sack and a fumble recovery. He also allowed a respectable opposing passer rating of 90.1 in coverage.

Extending Thompson would make a lot more sense for a Panthers team that is close to being the best in its division. A new deal could drop his base salary from $12.4 million to a league-minimum $1.2 million.

Even if general manager Scott Fitterer offers a healthy signing bonus—Thompson received a $16 million bonus on his last deal, spread to $4 million per season—Carolina could easily save over $7 million in 2023 dollars by extending Thompson.

Connor Williams, G, Miami Dolphins

Guard Connor Williams was one of the Miami Dolphins' marquee offseason signings in 2022. The former Dallas Cowboys staple had a strong season too, starting all 17 games for Miami and allowing just three sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

Extending Williams just one year into his two-year, $14 million deal would make sense.

Williams is set to carry a cap hit of $8.3 million next season with $3.3 million in dead money remaining. With an extension, Miami could reduce Williams' base salary to the league minimum of $1.1 million and save roughly $3.9 million off of the 2023 cap.

That's not a huge chunk of savings, but it would cut into the $12.6 million deficit the Dolphins face.

And Miami needs to find ways to create cap savings. In addition to simply getting under the salary cap, the Dolphins need to improve a pass defense that ranked 27th in yards allowed this season.

Miami can clear $13.6 million by releasing cornerback Byron Jones—who didn't play in 2022 following Achilles surgery—with a post-June 1 designation. That would get the Dolphins under the cap. Extending Williams would provide a little more flexibility while keeping a quality contributor in place for the next few seasons.

Leonard Williams, DL, New York Giants

The New York Giants are set to have $44.6 million in cap space this offseason. However, that number will quickly shrink if New York retains quarterback Daniel Jones and/or running back Saquon Barkley.

Additionally, the Giants could be eyeing an extension for Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. Teammate Leonard Williams "would probably consider" taking a pay cut to keep Lawrence in the fold long-term, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. However, that probably wouldn't be a quick decision.

"Probably something I would have to talk to my agent [about] and probably something I would have to see how [the Giants front office] is feeling," Williams said per Dunleavy.

While Williams had just 2.5 sacks this season, he had a solid 17 quarterback pressures to go with 45 tackles and a forced fumble.

Extending Williams could help solve a lot of financial issues for all parties. The 28-year-old is slated to carry a massive $32.3 million cap hit. While New York could save $12 million by cutting the final year of Williams' deal, it would also eat $20.2 million in dead money.

By extending Williams and lowering his base salary to a league-minimum $1.2 million, the Giants could save more than $10 million off the cap and not pay $20 million for Williams to play elsewhere. While Williams might not enjoy taking an immediate pay cut, he could exchange 2023 earnings for additional future guarantees.

That $10 million in savings, meanwhile, could help the Giants extend Lawrence and bring back Jones and Barkley.

*Cap and contract information via Spotrac. Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.