The Miami Dolphins had a busy day on Friday — one of their last “business days” before the start of 2021 training camp. The Dolphins signed two free agents, adding LB Shaquem Griffin and CB CreVon LeBlanc. Those roster additions were met with additional cuts — Miami parted ways with LS Rex Sunahara and DL Nick Coe. And on top of that, Miami finalized one of their lingering rookie contracts; inking 2nd-round safety Jevon Holland to his rookie deal to ensure he was good to go for training camp.
But some Dolphins fans noticed on Friday night that there was an extra move made by Miami — one that flew nearly completely under the radar. It wasn’t on the league’s transactions summary. It wasn’t formerly reported anywhere of significance initially, either. But when you visit the Dolphins’ team site and review their team transactions, sure enough, the move is listed.
“LB Benardrick McKinney restructured his contract.”
Those sneaky Dolphins. The team buried it in their transactions log, almost as if it were a video game easter egg — only for the most thorough to stumble upon.
McKinney, of course, was added to the Dolphins’ roster this offseason as a part of a swap for DE Shaq Lawson. He came to Miami in the middle of a 5-year, $50M contract extension with the Texans; a deal that has three years remaining and next to zero contract guarantees for Miami to absorb over those years. And with a scheduled base salary of $7M this season (plus a small roster bonus), McKinney’s roster restructure almost assuredly transitions some of his base salary into a signing bonus.
Miami can take on the prorated guarantees of such a move because McKinney is new to the system, previously had none and appears to be a part of the team’s plan for the next several seasons without being a risk of adding “dead cap” to Miami’s books. But the details will be telling.
If Miami converted the maximum amount of 2021 base salary (right around $6M of his scheduled $7M in pay), the team could spread that $6M out over the next three seasons and potentially save around $4M in salary cap for the 2021 season. That amount of cap can go a long way, whether it be for appeasing a disgruntled star cornerback, adding another key player at a position of need or any other number of moves.
Time will tell what details come from McKinney’s restructure. But what we currently know is Miami has more wiggle room against the cap now than it did before.