MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins need to do some significant belt-tightening simply to be compliant with NFL rules before the league year begins in eight weeks.
Miami Dolphins Currently Sit $40+ Million Over the 2024 Salary Cap
They are projected to be $42.9 million over the salary cap, giving them the third-worst financial situation in football behind the Buffalo Bills ($43.6 million) and New Orleans Saints ($75.5 million).
The Saints should be a cautionary tale. They’re the poster children for kicking the can down the road. Their record since Drew Brees retired? 25-26.
Translation: The bill can be deferred. But it always comes due. And when it does, mediocrity is the best-case scenario.
The Dolphins are certainly a long way from that. Their window is this year and maybe next to compete with this current core, and they should try to do whatever they can to maximize it. (This should include bringing back free agents Christian Wilkins, Rob Hunt, and Connor Williams.)
That certainly seems to be GM Chris Grier’s plan.
“At the end of the day, we have good players here,” he said Monday. “Everyone will have a market. We’re not really, right now, concerned about where we’ll be in March, salary cap wise. I think Brandon Shore and Max Napolitano, we’ve had a lot of conversations.
“They’ve given us a lot of flexibility with multiple options of ways we can be creative and so hats off to them just through their work and grind on things. Mike [McDaniel], Brandon, and I will have a lot of discussions. We’ll talk with Steve [Ross] as we get through here, and we’ll try and keep as many of the players here that we can.”
How Miami Dolphins Can Be Big Spenders This Offseason
The Dolphins, like all teams, have three main mechanisms at their disposal to generate cap space:
- Contract terminations
- Contract extensions
- Contract reductions/restructures
Expect them to use all three.
Potential Dolphins Contract Terminations
Cuts are coming. The question isn’t if, but who.
Emmanuel Ogbah, who’s owed a non-guaranteed $14.9 million base salary, is probably the first on the chopping block.
And if Jerome Baker ($10.8 million, not guaranteed) doesn’t take a pay cut, he probably is too.
Releasing those two alone would fill more than half the Dolphins’ hole ($23.6 million).
Potential Dolphins Contract Extensions
This is the Winter of Tua.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is currently projected to have the fourth-highest cap charge on the team ($23.2 million). The Dolphins can lower that figure by $10 million or so with an extension.
MORE: Miami Dolphins Reveal Offseason Contract Plans for Tua Tagovailoa (Sort Of)
Of course, that’s easier said than done. Both team and player need to agree on a number.
Jaylen Waddle ($8.6 million 2024 cap charge) could also provide some relief. He’s eligible for an extension for the first time once the league year turns over.
Potential Dolphins Contract Reductions or Restructures
We mentioned Baker already as a possible pay-cut candidate. There are other big-ticket players who could be convinced to take less to stay rather than try their luck on the open market (and in markets that unlike Miami have a state income tax that is an effective pay cut).
The most notable? Xavien Howard, who is owed $15.4 million in base salary but has a staggering $26.8 million cap charge. Miami is in a tough spot with Howard, who suggested Monday he’s not inclined to give money back.
If he doesn’t, the Dolphins could either restructure him — which means turning the vast majority of his base salary into a bonus and spreading out the cap pain over multiple years — or cut him with a post-June 1 designation.
Doing the latter would free up as much as $14 million this year, but also eat into future years’ cap space.
The same game can be played with Tyreek Hill (a restructure would free up as much as $18.4 million), Jalen Ramsey ($13.3 million), Bradley Chubb ($18.5 million), and Terron Armstead ($12 million).
In all, the Dolphins cannot only get their books NFL compliant by the March 12 deadline but could create more than $60 million in spendable space to improve their 2024 roster.
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