The Miami Dolphins’ plan of attack in free agency this offseason was to expand aggressively — with nearly $100M in salary cap spending power at the team’s disposal, the Dolphins found little issue with carving out chunks of money to secure needed talents to rally to South Florida in 2020. And, for what we’re able to tell at this point in time, the strategy worked. Miami’s roster is much more talented here and now than it was just 12 months ago; a testament to the Dolphins’ methodical and systemic approach.
But the Dolphins path to getting here still brought in a fair share of skepticism. For jaded Dolphins fans, the high priced contracts doled out game off a collective groan as fans fell into a “here we go again!” state of mind.
This isn’t the first time the Dolphins have spent big and “won” free agency — although this time around felt like more of a surprised because of the team’s efforts to collect NFL Draft assets and presumably build through the draft.
Is that the new normal for the Dolphins? Or will the 2021 offseason bring another drought of spending?
The Dolphins have positioned themselves well as it pertains to the salary cap. General manager Chris Grier spent a lot but he also spent wisely — bringing front-loaded contracts to the table to ensure the Dolphins have long-term flexibility to take changes in stride. And the Dolphins are, according to Over The Cap, projected to own $55M in salary cap next offseason as a result. If the team wants to spend, they’ll be able to do so. But Miami will likely be more selective next year without the pressing need of having to turn over half of their 53-man roster for the 3rd consecutive offseason.
So with money to spend but less urgency to spend it, we should probably be expecting the Dolphins’ 2021 free agency approach to look like a hybrid of their previous two years, which brought nothing at all and then hordes of new players.