It is one week before free agency starts in the NFL, and the Miami Dolphins, just like all teams, will be making moves to get under the cap or create more cap space. The Dolphins are $16 million over the salary, so chances are they won’t be as active this year, but they have to make some moves to get under the cap. Teams sometimes have surprise moves of cutting players or reaching trade agreements, especially since free agency starts after the NFL draft combine, where teams have chatter and open dialogue on certain players. 

Right now, the biggest unkept secret is the Dolphins are going to unload cornerback Byron Jones. This move is inevitable and has been brewing for months. The problem is the Dolphins won’t get immediate relief as they would have to designate him as a June 1st cap casualty, where the team doesn’t have to take on as much dead money, and it can spread out. That’s $13 million the Dolphins would save, but it won’t be available until June, which isn’t the worst thing in the world because the Dolphins are up against the cap and won’t make many moves in free agency.  

The Dolphins could look to unload wide receiver Cedrick Wilson, but if they do, a trade will help them greatly because it would save $6 million dollars and minimal dead money. If they released him, the Dolphins would get a dead cap hit of $6 million and no relief. Wilson was a disappointment this past year and didn’t produce the way the team hoped. Maybe he wasn’t a good fit in this offense, or he wasn’t as good as people thought. The only play he made this year was the 50-yard punt return against the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, and that’s it. That is not exactly a good return on a player that signed a 3-year contract worth $22 million. I would be surprised if he comes back, but the Dolphins should look to trade him even if it’s for a late round pick or a pick in 2024. With the Dolphins only having five picks going into the draft, they should try to explore a way to get more picks with their cap situation this year. 


One player the Dolphins could look to trade is Emmanuel Ogbah. I know they just gave him a new contract, but he’s coming off a down year even before the injury, and will he fit in new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense? If the Dolphins traded him, they would save $11 million this year and more in the next couple of years. Plus, they could get a decent pick in return. The Dolphins also have Bradley Chubb locked in, and Jalen Phillips took a step-up last year and is the future. It is a bold move, but sometimes you have to make a bold move to go forward. 

The Dolphins should also sign defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to a new contract extension. He is now on the 5-year option at $10 million, and signing him to a new extension would lower his cap number for this year. Wilkins is a cornerstone on the defense and has gotten better every year. One of the reasons the defense got better against the run was because of the play of Wilkins. He was unblockable at times and pushing the guard and center into the backfield. Some want him to improve as a pass rusher. Me, I don’t care Tim Bowens wasn’t a great pass rusher, but he was a cog in the defensive line for years and opened things up for other players to make plays. Wilkins has earned a new deal. He’s playing better than Ed Oliver, picked ahead of him by the Bills in 2019. You think the Bills want a do over. They also have Zach Sieler, who is so underrated in our defense. He and Wilkins both wreak havoc on opposing offensive linemen. The Dolphins should make both of their priorities. 

The other way the Dolphins can create room is to restructure some contracts. I’m not a huge fan of this because it pushes money into future years, and if you want to get rid of that player, you have to eat some dead money against the cap. That’s what’s happening with Jones because the Dolphins restructured his contract last year. If they didn’t do that, the Dolphins could release him before June 1st and clear more money with little dead money against the cap now rather than spread out. One name I’ve heard is Terron Armstead. I don’t think that’s a good idea because of his injury history, and when he misses games, the franchise will get tired of it and have to look to unload him and will have a Jones situation. A player like Tyreek Hill is another story because he’s our best playmaker on offense and isn’t going anywhere. He could save tens of millions of dollars this year if they restructure his deal, but as I said, it’s something the Dolphins should do with multiple players and push money back. Look at the New Orleans Saints, they are in cap trouble year in and year out because of bad cap management. The Dolphins went down this road with Ryan Tannehill and Ndamukong Suh. 

These will be just a few things to look out for as the Dolphins prep for free agency next week. There is always a surprise, but sometimes we don’t know where it will come from. I don’t expect the Dolphins to be as active this off-season, but I’m sure they will look into every avenue to improve the team.Â