Dolphins could create $28 million in cap space, hit offseason with around $57 million in space
Look at the list of NFL teams with the most salary cap this offseason and it is impressive. And maybe depressing.
Despite a cap that might sink from $198.2 million to around $180 millon to $181 million, some teams have obviously been saving their pennies to be able to spend this offseason if they wish.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are expected to have $77 million in cap space, per overthecap.com.
The Indianapolis Colts could be at around $69 million.
The New York Jets could be at around $68.7 million.
The New England Patriots could be at around $62.7 million.
All of those are AFC teams. All of them will be competing directly and indirectly with the Miami Dolphins — for talent, for wins, perhaps even for a playoff spot in 2021.
And here’s the depressing part: The Dolphins are scheduled have an estimated $28 million to $29 million in salary cap space.
That’s a huge disparity for the Dolphins compared with their AFC competitors. And it’s the reason narratives are making the rounds.
(Big reveal: The narratives are wrong).
Let’s address those:
Narrative No. 1: The Dolphins definitely won’t be shopping for high-priced free agents because they cannot. They don’t have enough cap space.
Untrue.
The Dolphins might not shop at the top end of free agency because with rare exceptions such as Byron Jones and Kyle Van Noy last year, general manager Chris Grier has spoken about preferring two or three good players rather than one high-priced “star” who sets the market for salary at his position.
The Dolphins also might not shop at the top end of free agency because they simply want to address internal signings to keep the current roster intact.
That would involve addressing the looming renegotiation with cornerback Xavien Howard, who wants a big raise despite having four years remaining on his contract, and players such as linebacker Jerome Baker, tight ends Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe and defensive end Emmaunel Ogbah.
All those players will be in the final year of their contracts this year and will be free agents in 2022. And, yes, the Dolphins can wait on making a decision on some or all of those players. But waiting often means the price goes up if the players perform at the same or higher level as they have in the past.
The Dolphins on Tuesday signed kicker Jason Sanders to a five-year, $22 million extension with $10 million in guarantees despite the fact he wasn’t scheduled to become a free agent until 2022. Sanders is now under contract through 2026.
So, obviously, the club is open to doing business with players it has in its long-range plans.
But, again, all of this is a choice. The Dolphins can afford it all.
Narrative No. 2: Because the Dolphins have such comparatively limited cap space, they cannot seek a trade for Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson (if he’s made available) because a trade would require the use of many draft picks.
And if the Dolphins use their draft picks on Watson and have little cap space to add talent, they will have an outstanding quarterback but not enough talent around him.
They will be the 2020 Houston Texans.
Both of these are false narratives.
Because despite what seems like limited salary cap space, the Dolphins could actually compete for any talent they wish this offseason.
All they have to do is make a handful of salary cap moves and this team could potentially add $28.3 million in salary cap space.
That would give Miami upwards of $57 million in salary cap space this offseason.
So how could that happen?
Amazingly, the Dolphins could do this without really stripping the team of significant talent that decides the direction of the franchise.
The Dolphins could restructure the contracts of Jones, Van Noy, guard Ereck Flowers and safety Bobby McCain and add $24 million in cap space.
Restructuring those deals involves converting a player’s base salary to the veteran minimum and adding the remaining money to signing bonus that prorates through the remaining years of the player’s contract.
For Jones, that would save the Dolphins $9.7 million in salary cap space in 2021.
For Van Noy, that would save the Dolphins $7.6 million in cap space.
For Ereck Flowers, that would save the Dolphins $4 million in cap space.
For Bobby McCain, that would save the Dolphins $2.7 million in cap space.
Do the math. That’s approximately $24 million in new cap space this offseason.
Of course, the prorated signing bonus would raise the cap charges for each player in future years. And it does make cutting those players financially more painful in those later years. There is no free lunch.
But in those future years, the NFL cap is likely to rise. And if the Dolphins got their evaluation on those players right, there would be no reason to cut those players anyway.
The Dolphins can add more space by cutting a couple of players. They would save $2.85 million by cutting receiver Albert Wilson and $1.4 million by cutting special teams player Clayton Fejedelem.
No, the Dolphins are not certain to part ways with either at this point. But adding another $4.2 million in cap space atop the $24 million from the restructure exercise would give Miami $28 million in additional cap space.
And would potentially make the Dolphins quite formidable in free agency.
This story was originally published February 16, 2021 at 12:35 PM.
