The Miami Dolphins will enter the 2021 offseason with one of the NFL’s 10 most flexible salary cap situations. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has taken an economic toll on the NFL — and this upcoming season’s salary cap will face a reduction as a result. But the timing works out for Miami to continue their roster build business as usual — especially when you consider the salary cap situations of some of the other teams across the league, such as the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints. Those teams are currently $50M+ in the red for 2021, which makes Miami’s approximate forecast of $30M in cap space a lot more friendly to consider.
But that doesn’t mean Miami can’t investigate avenues to further improve their cap situation and further bolster their flexibility for spending. And, as the team looks to level up the roster, it may make sense for the Dolphins to pivot away from players already on the roster to create a better talent situation and also a better cap situation.
One such move that Miami could and should consider depending on how aggressive they want to be with spending power this offseason involves one of their big-money additions from the 2020 offseason: offensive lineman Ereck Flowers.
Flowers, to his credit, was one of Miami’s leaders in the trenches this season and showed admirable toughness in returning to action after being carter off against the Cincinnati Bengals late in the year. And Flowers, a South Florida native and University of Miami alumni, undoubtedly has enjoyed his turn playing at home here with the Dolphins. But Flowers’ play is one of the obvious positions along the Dolphins’ offensive line that could warrant exploring for upgrade — especially when you consider Flowers’ cap situation. He’s due $19M in cash between 2021 and 2022 — a figure that is more so a product of Miami doing business in free agency last offseason as compared to Flowers’ caliber of play. Flowers was credited with 3 penalties, 5 sacks allowed and a total of 20 pressures allowed in 2020 according to Pro Football Focus — but his frame struggled at times with leverage and quicker defensive tackles were able to successfully beat him across face in the run game.
Miami signed Flowers to a 3-year, $30M contract last March, but this is why how Miami structured his contract is more important to note that what the surface numbers suggest.
Miami, should they decide the freed up cap space and a possible upgrade at left guard (via either Solomon Kindley or someone else) is a worthwhile proposition, can very easily move Flowers off the books and save somewhere between $8 and $9M in cap space. If the Dolphins were to find a trade partner to take on Flowers’ remaining deal at the start of the league year, the Dolphins would be on the hook for just $2M in dead cap and save a full $8M in cap space. If a trade were to come after June 1st, Miami would save an additional million against their 2021 cap and see half of their dead cap ($1M) rolled over into the 2022 commitments.
Flowers wouldn’t command a great deal on the trade market with these financials. But for a team that appears positioned to make another leap in talent, the cash availability would be plenty valuable as Miami looks to retool their skill players up front. And such a move would free up another position for versatility along Miami’s line to find the best combination of five starters — a proposition that isn’t overly realistic with Flowers locked into the picture as a high-priced veteran leader on the unit.