You can always work around the cap, but it does affect the roster. That's why we had to let a #2 CB, WR and 2 of the top of our 3 DTs walk along with a lot of our depth.
True. But, the Saints signed Junior Galette and Jimmy Graham to new contracts and still got rid of them, so it's not unprecedented once you get on the wrong side of Payton (See what happened to Ingram when you don't return phone calls). But, who knows if it's come to that.