The Super Bowl is is done and now the 2019 NFL season is officially over. Now it’s on to the combine and teams getting ready to adjust their rosters to get ready for the new league year of 2020 in March. The Miami Dolphins like a lot of teams are going to be going through their roster and decide what players to keep, possibly restructure or extend contracts, or flat out cut to create more cap flexibility or get under the 2020 salary cap. The Dolphins have one advantage this off season and that is they will have more money than another team in the NFL in salary cap space. The Dolphins will have over 90 million in cap space so the Dolphins can do whatever they want to upgrade the roster. There are also a few players under contract whose futures are cloudy due to their salary and whether they fit in the team’s long-term plans of their rebuilding process. If I were the Dolphins, I would take my time and not rush there is no need too.

Wide Receiver Albert Wilson is one player on the chopping block. If the Dolphins choose to cut or trade him, they will save just over 9 million. Wilson isn’t the biggest receiver, but he is fast and has great acceleration that can turn a quick 5-yard slant pass into a 70-yard touchdown in a flash. Last year he was recovering from a torn labrum in his hip from the previous year. It took time for him to get back on the field and regain his full speed and quickness, but by the last month of the season he started to regain his form. I really believe that with a full off season and fully recovered from his hip injury, Wilson could become the player we started to see in 2018 before his hip injury a dynamic play making receiver. The Dolphins do have a lot of good receivers on the roster, but in my opinion you can never have enough. I believe it would be in the Dolphins best interest to restructure his contract or keep him and let him go to training camp and compete. My fear would be the Dolphins let him go and he can hook on to another team and blossom to only become another player the Dolphins let go to flourish somewhere else.

Center Daniel Kilgore is another player the Dolphins will consider whether to keep or let go. General Manager Chris Grier spoke well of Kilgore a couple of weeks ago at the Senior Bowl, but he did say “we’ll see what happens” so obviously the Dolphins are going to consider letting him go. Kilgore came to the Dolphins in 2018 after the Dolphins ironically decided to cut ties with Pro Bowl Center Mike Pouncey to save money under the cap. Kilgore was a cheaper replacement let’s call it what it was. Pouncey did have a chronic hip injury, but he went on to start every game for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018 and anchored their offensive line into the playoffs while Kilgore played 4 games before having a season ending injury. Kilgore is a fine player, but the Dolphins need to find a long-term answer at the position. Kilgore holds his own at center, but at times gets overpowered. It’s funny how the Dolphins in 2 years ago to replace a high-priced player and now 2 years later they are considering going to a cheaper replacement take about irony. The Dolphins have holes up the wazu on the offensive line and need an influx of talent. I personally would cut my losses with Kilgore because I think the Dolphins could do better, but just like Wilson you could keep him have him come to camp and compete if he doesn’t do well you can still save that 3 million.

The biggest decision is on safety Reshad Jones. Jones has been with the Dolphins his whole career since being drafted in 2010. He’s has been a play maker on the field, but he has missed time in each of the last few years with injuries. In 2016 and 2018, he had a torn labrum in his shoulder and last year had broken ribs. He has played through those injuries as best he can, but he is going to be 32 years old at the end of the month. The Dolphins are in the middle of a rebuilding process and let be honest he is one of the last bloated contracts the Dolphins would like to get out of. The problem with Jones’ contract is they could save 7-8 million, but they would have just as much dead money tied up to the salary cap if he isn’t on the roster. With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement going into its last year, teams don’t have the June 1st roster cut where they could cut a player and spread out the cap hit. My hope is the Dolphins and Jones can come to a compromise on his contract. He has been a good player for many years, and I’d like to see him end his career with the Dolphins, but this is a business and the team has to do what’s best now and in the future.

I hope the Dolphins will take their time with these decisions with the excess cap space they have. I’d hate to see them let go a player again only to see them succeed elsewhere just to save a few million dollars in cap space.

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