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The start of free agency is just about a month away and that’s when teams will have to be under the $120 million salary cap.

With that in mind, let’s take one of our periodic looks at where each NFC South team stands in terms of what it has committed to the 2012 salary cap since there's been a little change in some of the numbers recently. We’ll use figures for the top 51 cap numbers for each team because that’s what will be used from the start of the league year until just before the regular season starts and all cap numbers start to count.

The Carolina Panthers remain above the cap and obviously have some work to do. After signing long-snapper J.J. Jansen to a four-year contract last week, the Panthers are sitting at $128.1 million.

The New Orleans Saints, who are trying to get a deal done with quarterback Drew Brees and hope to follow that up with new contracts for guard Carl Nicks and receiver Marques Colston, are at $102.2 million and likely will have to release some veterans or restructure some contracts to make everything fit under the cap.

The Atlanta Falcons are at $100.4 million. They have a few free agents they want to keep, starting with linebacker Curtis Lofton and cornerback Brent Grimes. But the Falcons have enough room that they should be able to make some moves in free agency.

This may come as a shock to fans, who like to rip on Tampa Bay for being frugal. But the Bucs only have a slight bit more cap room than the Saints and Falcons. The Bucs are at $98.6 million and should be over $100 million by the start of the league year because they’re likely to re-sign a few of their own free agents. Still, the Bucs have room to make a little noise in free agency.

I got hold of the contract details for the four-year extension Carolina long-snapper J.J. Jansen signed Wednesday.

The deal averages $901,250 per year and included a $500,000 signing bonus.

Jansen will make $615,000 in base salary and carry a $765,000 salary-cap figure in 2012. In 2013, his base salary jumps to $715,000 and his cap figure rises to $865,000.

Jansen’s 2014 base salary will be $830,000 and his cap figure will be $980,000. In 2015, his base salary will be $845,000 and his cap figure will be $995,000.

Jansen also can earn a $25,000 bonus each offseason by taking part in an unspecified number of workouts.

Time for a look at the top morning headlines from around the NFC South.

• Reserve offensive lineman Andrew Jackson said new offensive line coach Pat Hill will bring passion to the Falcons. Jackson should know. He played for Hill at Fresno State.

• The Panthers signed long-snapper J.J. Jansen to a four-year contract extension. They also re-signed linebacker Jason Phillips to a one-year deal.

• Former Carolina Panthers defensive line coach Sal Sunseri talks about what he hopes to accomplish as defensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee. Sunseri had been the linebackers coach at the University of Alabama since leaving the Panthers.

• Atlanta kicker Matt Bryant lobbied Georgia legislators to educate young athletes, parents and coaches about the dangers of concussions.

• Here’s a look ahead at New Orleans’ situation at wide receiver in 2012. Interestingly, the speculation is that the Saints will keep their receiving corps pretty much intact. That might be a bit difficult from an economic standpoint since Marques Colston and Robert Meachem both are free agents.

• Roy Cummings addresses Tampa Bay’s perceived struggles in finding assistant coaches and says we don’t know that’s really the case. Good point. Yes, the Bucs have been blocked from interviewing some candidates from other teams. But we won’t know for sure about the quality of Tampa Bay’s new assistant coaches until the team announces its full list of new assistants.

A lot can change between now and the start of free agency and I sure don’t see any way the New Orleans Saints let quarterback/King Drew Brees walk away. I also think there’s a pretty good chance tight end Tony Gonzalez can return to the Atlanta Falcons if he chooses. Same for cornerback Ronde Barber with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and maybe even Jeremy Shockey with the Carolina Panthers.

But all we know about those guys at the moment is they’re not under contract for 2012. We’ll do much more on free agency as it gets closer but I’ve got the complete list of every NFC South player presently not under contract for 2012.

I’ll list them by team here and we’ll only go with the guys who have at least four years of service and can become unrestricted free agents. We’ll deal with restricted and exclusive-rights free agents at another time.

Atlanta Falcons: Tony Gonzalez, tight end; Reggie Kelly, tight end; Todd McClure, center; Mike Peterson, linebacker; John Abraham, defensive end; Joe Zelenka, long-snapper; Chris Redman, quarterback; Kirk Chambers, offensive line; Kelvin Hayden, cornerback; Brett Romberg, offensive line; James Sanders, safety; Jason Snelling, running back; Kroy Biermann, defensive end; Thomas DeCoud, safety; Harry Douglas, receiver; Brent Grimes, cornerback; Curtis Lofton, linebacker; Eric Weems, receiver.

Carolina Panthers: Jeremy Shockey, tight end; Reggie Wells, offensive line; Derek Anderson, quarterback; Geoff Hangartner, center/guard; Omar Gaither, linebacker; Cletis Gordon, cornerback; Legedu Naanee, receiver; Antwan Applewhite, linebacker; Mackenzy Beranadeau, offensive line; Dan Connor, linebacker; J.J. Jansen, long-snapper; Jerome Felton, fullback; Jordan Senn, linebacker.

New Orleans Saints: John Kasay, kicker; Drew Brees, quarterback; Shaun Rogers, defensive tackle; John Gilmore, tight end; Aubrayo Franklin, defensive tackle; Marques Colston, receiver; Pat McQuistan, offensive line; Courtney Roby, receiver; Leigh Torrence, cornerback; Jeff Charleston, defensive end; Turk McBride, defensive end; Robert Meachem, receiver; Jo-Lonn Dunbar, linebacker; Carl Nicks, guard; Tracy Porter, cornerback.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ronde Barber, cornerback; Earnest Graham, running back; Sean Jones, safety; Connor Barth, kicker; Geno Hayes, linebacker; Josh Johnson, quarterback; James Lee, offensive line; Corey Lynch, safety; Elbert Mack, cornerback; Frank Okam, defensive tackle; Micheal Spurlock, receiver; Jeremy Zuttah, offensive line.

We’ve talked about potential unrestricted free agents at length and you can see the official list of all of them by clicking here.

But we haven’t done much on restricted free agents. So let’s run through the list of NFC South restricted free agents now. Restricted free agents are players with fewer than four years of service who received qualifying offers before the lockout. Teams have the right of first refusal if a restricted free agent receives an offer from another team. Depending on the tender, they also can receive compensation if a player leaves as a restricted free agent.

Atlanta has two -- cornerback Brent Grimes and receiver Eric Weems. If Grimes leaves, the Falcons get a first-round draft pick. If Weems leaves, they get a second-round choice.

Carolina’s restricted free agents are receiver David Clowney, long-snapper J.J. Jansen and linebacker Jordan Senn. If Clowney leaves, the Panthers would get a fifth-round draft pick. There would be no compensation for Jansen or Senn.

New Orleans has only one restricted free agent. That’s guard Carl Nicks and he would bring a first-round pick as compensation.

Tampa Bay has six restricted free agents. Kicker Connor Barth and tackle James Lee would bring second-round draft picks if they leave. Defensive tackle Frank Okam would bring a fifth-round pick and safety Corey Lynch would bring a sixth-round pick. Cornerback Elbert Mack and receiver Micheal Spurlock come only with the right of first refusal.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas

NEW ORLEANS -- I’ve arrived at the Superdome, where it’s very quiet right now.

The only people on the field are the SaintSations (cheerleaders) warming up and four members of the Panthers. They’re not in uniform yet, but I can pick out reserve quarterback Matt Moore playing catch, and long-snapper J.J. Jansen also is out there.

I’ve got the Atlanta-Washington game on the television by my spot in the press box and will keep a close eye on that one. I’ll also try to check out Tampa Bay’s game.

I’ll be back with a lot more on the Saints and Panthers as we get closer to game time. I’ve got some radio duties and a few housekeeping things to take care of in the next little bit. But I’ll also be jumping in on NFL Nation Live from time to time.

Posted by ESPN.com staff

Atlanta Falcons

• Are the Falcons destined for the NFC title game this season?
• Does former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick deserve a second chance at playing in the NFL?
  

Carolina Panthers

• A lot has been said/written about the offseason acquisitions made by the Falcons. But the Panthers filled some holes, too.
• Long-snapper J.J. Jansen talks about his opportunity to land a roster spot.

New Orleans Saints

• Former Saints kicker Martin Gramatica is working at bringing affordable housing to the 9th and 7th wards and Gert Town.
• Saints fans are beaming with excitement, and dreaming of a playoff run in 2009.
  

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• The team's official Web site talks numbers, rankings and Ronde Barber.
• Receiver Michael Clayton shared what it was like to train in the offseason with some of the best in the game, including Jerry Rice.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

The Carolina Panthers might have found their new long-snapper. They've traded an undisclosed draft pick to Green Bay pick for J.J. Jansen.

That could mean the end of Jason Kyle, who had been the team's long-snapper since 2001. Kyle has been one of the league's steadiest snappers, but he's 36 and the cap-strapped Panthers would have trouble paying him even the veteran minimum.

Jansen, who also plays tight end, played collegiate at Notre Dame. The exact nature of the draft pick the Panthers are giving up isn't known, but it's likely to be a conditional late-round choice for 2010. Conditional choices for 2009 already have been determined.