Tag: Dolphins salary cap

Dolphins on the path to 2024 salary cap compliance

A path for Miami to get cap compliant by the start of the league year.

The Miami Dolphins are officially in salary cap-cutting mode heading into next week’s free agency and trading opening around the league.

Miami has made several business decisions this week, most notably deciding not to franchise tag defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, which will allow him to hit the open market in free agency

In addition to passing on putting the tag on the league’s leading tackler among all defensive tackles since 2019, general manager Chris Grier and the Dolphins have parted with linebacker Jerome Baker.

There were reported attempts to renegotiate his contract, but Baker was ultimately released. While there could be a window in a few months to bring him back on a discounted deal, this move was inevitable for the Dolphins to get cap-compliant next week.

Baker’s release frees up roughly $9.8 million in salary cap 2024 for the Dolphins and comes with a dead cap of $4.9 million. The team also saved $2.9 million for 2024 by releasing defensive back and special teamer Keion Crossen.

Miami enters Wednesday, March 6, over the 2024 salary cap by $18.83 million. In exactly a week, at 4:00 p.m. ET, teams must be under the cap, and while that negative $18.8 million may seem daunting, there are several paths to getting into the black here.

Remember, this number doesn’t include the roughly $18 million that Miami will recoup post-June 1 from the Xavien Howard release. Of course, that money will be aimed at paying the rookie draft class, the second wave of free agency, any potential holdovers of potential re-signings of unrestricted free agents, or even a person like Baker.

Getting cap compliant can come from several combinations, and while restructuring contracts does kick the can down the road a bit, strategic reworkings of contracts for specific players could give Grier the keys to unlock what would be needed to retain and even bring in the proper talent.

With unrestricted free agents like Andrew Van Ginkel, Robert Hunt and Connor Williams joining Wilkins in this class, the Dolphins will have plenty of work to do in the next few days, even to give themselves the chips to sit in the middle of the table and offer some or even one of these players.

The easiest path to freeing money is via cuts, and there are about a half-dozen candidates for non-core players like a depth running back and backup linebacker, which can add several million back into Miami’s 2024 cap.

Restructuring veterans’ deals would be a more hazardous road with more work. Here are the players whose contracts could be restructured to help the Dolphins with their 2024 cap and upcoming free-agency efforts.

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill is contracted through 2026, and restructuring his contract would save approximately $12.54 million in the 2024 cap, per Over the Cap. This would kick that money down the line over those next two years of the contract by around $7 million each on those salary caps in 2025 and 2026.

Cornerback Jalen Ramsey has the easiest path to a near-instant compliance scenario. He’s set to have a potential 2024 restructure savings of $18.67 million, and according to Over the Cap, about $5-6 million in each of 2025 and 2026 would be added to those cap figures.

With these two contracts being the most fiscally beneficial for the Dolphins, another tricky option could be with linebacker Bradley Chubb. Regardless of saving around $14 million in potential 2024 savings on a restructure, moving money down the line on an injured player whose contract has an out next season may not be the most prudent move for Miami financially.

Another name to watch for potential easy restructuring is Zach Sieler, which could add around $5.5 million for 2024 while just placing about $3 million in 2025 and 2026.

Alec Ingold can work a quick restructure and save $1.7 million for 2024 without making a significant dent in the following years.

Lastly, the two longest-tenured Dolphins in Durham Smythe and Jason Sanders can restructure their contracts to free up $1.2 million and $1.9 million, respectively.

Miami has several paths to salary cap freedom and flexibility to do business when the free agency and trade markets open in a week. The question is, just how much business can they get away with, and how significant will that potential business be?

The action should continue this week. On March 11, teams can negotiate with their own unrestricted free agents, and just two days later, it’s open season for NFL moves around the league’s landscape.

Looking at each Dolphins player’s salary cap hit in 2024

A look at the 2024 cap hit for every player on the Miami Dolphins’ roster.

The Miami Dolphins are preparing for the upcoming start to the league year and the beginning of free agency, which will kick off in less than a month.

General manager Chris Grier still has a lot of work to do before we even get there with his team currently being $29.07 million over the cap. The Dolphins, like the other 31 teams, must be cap-compliant by the start of the new league year.

But, before we get to the start of free agency, let’s take a look at each player’s cap hit for the 2024 season (via. Over the Cap):

8 moves Dolphins can make to free up $55 million in cap space

They’ll need to be under before the start of the league year.

The 2023 league year begins March 15 at 4:00 p.m. ET, meaning all 32 teams will need to be under the salary cap by that time.

At this moment, the Miami Dolphins are roughly $16.56 million over the $225.71 million salary cap that they have to work with after their rollovers from 2022.

General manager Chris Grier and senior vice president of football and business administration Brandon Shore will be busy over the next week to make sure that the Dolphins comply with the salary regulations.

These are a few moves that Miami could make if they wanted to create roughly $55 million in cap space ($39 million under the cap):

PFF: Dolphins’ three-year salary cap forecast ranks among NFL’s best

Miami has plenty they can do in the coming years.

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier went on a spending spree this offseason, signing guys like Terron Armstead and Tyreek Hill to rather large contracts with the hopes of building a contender in the near future.

A number of the signings the Dolphins made will have larger cap hits down the road which would lead many to believe that Miami doesn’t have the best salary cap situation going forward. However, according to Pro Football Focus, the team from South Florida has the seventh-best salary cap forecast for the next three seasons.

To determine this, PFF uses active draft capital, effective cap space, total prorated money, top 51 veteran valuation and 2023 unrestricted free agent valuation.

Here’s what PFF’s Brad Spielberger said about Miami and their cap:

“Miami, much like the Raiders, took a gamble with a major spending spree this offseason that still finds them on the outside of the playoff picture looking in… However, they were extremely crafty with two moves they made in particular.

First, in acquiring wide receiver Tyreek Hill from the Chiefs to perhaps create the fastest wide receiver duo in NFL history, they retained both of their first-round picks in 2023. If they don’t love what they see from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in his third season, they have the ammo to potentially trade up to draft another top prospect

Second, they waited out the market on left tackle Terron Armstead before agreeing to terms on a five-year, $75 million deal. Armstead has dealt with injuries in the past, including 2021, but there’s a solid argument this was the entire offseason’s best value deal.”

Obviously, the team is built to win in the next few years, so the Dolphins will have to capitalize on this opportunity and show that they’ve made smart moves by winning a Super Bowl.

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Dolphins expect to carry over roughly $2.2 million in cap space into 2022

The Dolphins should have a ton to spend in the offseason.

The Miami Dolphins are expected to carry over a portion of the 2021 salary cap space that they had remaining into the 2022 NFL season.

According to the Over the Cap, the Dolphins had $11.1 million in cap space remaining this season. That number may not be exactly accurate because not all contract details are made public, but it should be pretty close. ESPN’s Field Yates is reporting that the Dolphins have elected to carry over $2.2 million of that to next year.

That number will likely be adjusted with incentives and bonuses yet to be completely determined, but that’s a nice little bump to a team that was already expected to have over $70 million in salary cap space to work with.

Miami has 28 players who are set to become free agents this offseason, including key contributors like defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and tight end Mike Gesicki, so any extra cap space they can get will be useful.

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