Free-agent preview.

ARIZONA CARDINALS

CAP STATUS: The team is about $13 million under the cap and has about $8 million it could spend on free agents. The team has most of its key players signed to long-term deals, so it will spend most of its budget on midrange free agents.

OUT ROUTE: Only one regular starter, CB David Barrett, will become an unrestricted free agent. The club would like to re-sign Barrett but is content to let him explore the market first. In fact, the team is likely to try to find an upgrade. If he returns, Barrett will compete for a starting job with Renaldo Hill, and Duane Starks likely will be the other starter. K Bill Gramatica, a restricted free agent, won't be back. Neil Rackers, signed midway through last season, will take over.

ACTION PLAN: Team officials are wary of pursuing expensive free agents. In past years, the team has been used as a pawn by free agents seeking to set a high market value. Coach Dennis Green would prefer to go after young, midlevel free agents who are just reaching their primes. He wants players who are hungry, not established stars looking for one big payday. The team is more than one player away from being a playoff contender, so it's not going to blow most of its money on one player. It needs help at cornerback and has inquired about the asking price for Washington's Champ Bailey. Baltimore's Chris McAlister also would be tempting to pursue, if he reaches the market. But it's likely team officials will decide that the asking price for those guys is too high. The defensive line remains a concern. The club would like to see DL Wendell Bryant and RE Calvin Pace develop, but it will seek help, too. Dolphins DE Adewale Ogunleye is an intriguing restricted free agent.--Kent Somers

ATLANTA FALCONS

CAP STATUS: The team is about $4 million under the cap and won't be able to spend big in the free-agent market. It needs help at cornerback, defensive tackle, quarterback and offensive line, in that order.

OUT ROUTE: RG Kynan Forney is the restricted free agent most likely to leave because the team would get only a seventh-round pick for him. It will tender a one-year minimum deal to K Joy Feely, who is erratic but has a strong leg but won't overspend to keep him. Letting unrestricted free-agent G/T Travis Claridge go would be a mistake. His chances of coming back improved when coach Jim Mora fired coordinator/line coach Pete Mangurian. Claridge needs to improve his footwork and lose fat but is better at left guard than Roberto Garza, a restricted free agent. The team might re-sign reserves RB Travis Jervey and LB Artie Ulmer but not FS Keion Carpenter, QB Doug Johnson, LB Twan Russell, SS Gerald McBurrows or TE Brian Kozlowski.