Something is happening in South Florida right now with Chris Grier and the Miami Dolphins. This off-season has been quiet, almost too quiet, and I think something big is on the horizon.
And I am not just saying this because I have a gut feeling or a hunch; I am saying this based on the news that came out on Wednesday about how Miami structured Zach Wilson’s contract.
It may seem innocuous, but it raised some red flags and got me thinking.
It got me thinking that you would only do this with Zach Wilson‘s contract because another domino is about to fall.
For those who may have missed it the Miami Dolphins structured the contract of Zach Wilson‘s $6 million 1 year deal so that only $2.2 million is charged on Miami’s 2025 Salary Cap. This now means that in 2026, when Zach Wilson isn’t under contract to the Dolphins and will be a free agent, he will count $3.8 million against the cap. Ie. Dead Money.
Also, because Miami worked Zach’s contract this way, IF Zach would have left after this season, Miami may have gotten a compensatory pick for him. Now, they will not because he is counting on Miami’s salary cap in 2026.
This move now puts Miami, at the time I am typing this, at $21 million in available salary cap space as of March 29th.
Per overthecap, Dolphins have decided to charge only $2.2 M of Zach Wilson’s $6 M salary and $6 M cap charge to this year’s cap, giving Miami $21 M in space. (That means Zach will have $3.8 M Fins cap hit in 2026, when he’s not undercontract.) We’ll see what Grier has up sleeve.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) March 26, 2025
Was that $3.8 million so important to Miami? Was the giving up of a compensatory pick worth the $3.8 million in savings?
It doesn’t make any sense.
We know Chris Grier loves compensatory picks.
Miami at roughly $17-$18 mill in cap space was more than enough to do anything they wanted to the rest of this offseason. Signing a draft class of the 10 picks they have will only cost $4 to $5 million.
They still had money to bring back Calais Campbell IF he wants to return.
They still had money to give Terron Armstead a pay bump IF he wants to return and IF the Dolphins want him back.
Why was that cap space so important?
The only thing that makes any sense is that something BIG is about to come.
Chris Grier has something up his sleeve and he needed that cap space to pull something off.
Now, what could that be?
OPTION 1: TRADE FOR TREY HENDRICKSON
We all can see that Miami has ignored their defensive line thus far. The only serious players they have on the roster at the time I write this are Zach Sieler and Benito Jones (and I’m not sure Benito Jones is a serious player).
Hendrickson is a 6’4, 270 lb defensive end who would fit perfectly in Miami paired opposite Zach Sieler. He has played in 110 total games, starting in 81. He has 77 career sacks and get a load of these numbers.
The past 5 years’ sack totals
2020: 13.5
2021: 14
2022: 5
2023: 17.5
2024: 17.5 (led the league in sacks)
Miami then heads into the draft with a defensive line of Hendrickson, Jones, and Sieler. An Edge Rusher group of Chop Robinson and Bradley Chubb, and oh yeah, Jaelan Phillips will return at some point in 2025, with a linebacker group of Jordyn Brooks, K.J. Britt, and Wille Gay Jr.
Miami enters night one of the draft with no “pressure” to draft a DT or DE. They truly can go BPA, and if Tyler Warren, the superstar TE from Penn St., falls in their lap, go ahead and grab him. If they want to take Will Johnson out of Michigan or Jahdae Barron out of Texas, go for it. If the running back Ashton Jeanty falls to 13, go nuts. Or, take an offensive lineman.
Because as of today, March 29th, Miami has to draft a defensive lineman with pick 13 or 48, like there is no debate. Trade for Hendrickson, and you probably don’t have to.
Now, a couple of things. One, Miami probably has to part with Pick #98 at the end of Round 3 or one of the first picks in Round 4 to land Hendrickson via trade.
Second, Miami will have to pay him (and pay him a lot, which is why the draft pick won’t be in Rounds 1 or 2 that they have to give up). But they can structure the deal to where the cap number for Hendrickson is low in Year 1 (this year) and jumps next year when Tyreek Hill and/or Jalen Ramsey probably won’t be on Miami’s roster.
Also, with this trade, you are probably moving on from Jaelan Phillips after this season and not signing him to a long-term deal. And while Phillips will be 26 in May and Hendrickson will be 31 in December, I wouldn’t mind this because Phillips is coming off two major injuries in a calendar year, while Hendrickson has missed very few games since 2020.
OPTION 2: TRADE FOR GEORGE KITTLE
There have been rumblings for weeks that San Francisco is blowing it up and is willing to move George Kittle who is in the final year of his contract where he is due to make $14 million and count $22 million on the salary cap.
Why would Miami be interested in this? Many reasons.
To start, George Kittle LOVES Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and Dolphins Tight Ends coach Jon Embree as they were his coaches in San Francisco before McDaniel came to South Florida.
Also, if San Fran is going to break the bank to pay Brock Purdy and rebuild around him, do you want to hold onto a soon-to-be 32-year-old George Kittle, who will probably be gone after this season anyway, or instead trade him now and get compensation in this draft in return?
Only makes sense to trade him now.
From the Miami side, we know it’s been quiet on the “Tyreek Hill Drama” front, but nobody has forgotten that he quit on this team in that final game of the year. And IF the organization, coaches, and teammates are really fed up with him (no matter what they say publicly), the only way to trade away a weapon in the passing game as good as Tyreek Hill and not take a huge hit on the field is to replace him with a great weapon. Ie. George Kittle!
Kittle catches 60-80 balls a year and normally is in that 6-8 touchdown-per-year range. He sees 90+ targets a season. Enough production to where Tyreek’s absence isn’t crushing to the team.
Granted, I know Kittle isn’t a WR who will put up numbers like Hill, and the offense will change some, but you can get by for a year with Jaylen Waddle, George Kittle, De’Von Achane, and Jonnu Smith and maybe find another WR to pair opposite Waddle in the draft or via trade.
And yes, you would have to trade for Kittle now, give him a new contract, and make the cap hit small this year in year 1. Then, because of how his contract is structured, you really can’t trade Tyreek until after June 1st.
Details…details…details.
Big picture, you see why this isn’t so crazy.
OPTION 3: TRADE FOR JAIRE ALEXANDER
This one is simple: Miami desperately needs CB help. Jaire Alexander is a great CB (when he’s healthy), and Green Bay has him on the trade block.
This checks many boxes and is a total Chris Grier move if there ever was one.
This is the high-risk one, though, because you look at games played the past four seasons, and it’s ugly
2021:4
2022:16
2023: 7
2024: 7
Alexander never is on the field! Plus, he is under contract for 2025 and 2026, so Miami would have to trade for him and hopefully rework his deal to lower his cap number because he isn’t worth what his contract currently pays him. The question is, would he agree to that?
Because he has no incentive to rework his deal unless you pay him more in guaranteed money, and with his lack of games played 3 in the past 4 years, what team would do that? (Actually, don’t answer that question)
From a talent perspective, he is outstanding. He is a two-time second-team All-Pro. He has 12 interceptions in his career over 78 games played, and he just turned 28, so he isn’t old by any means.
But its those damn injuries.
Again, though, Chris Grier is the one who said in the NFL the “injury rate is 100%,” and clearly he isn’t scared off by them, just look at his track record.
Conclusion
Chris Grier is up to something. You don’t do what he did with Zach Wilson’s contract just to open up cap space to roll over to next season or to have a few extra bucks to sign borderline NFL free agents in the next few weeks.
Grier could have gotten that cap space he got from the Wilson contract by easily extending and re-working the contracts of Jordyn Brooks or Zach Sieler and not giving up the potential for a compensatory pick down the road with the Wilson deal.
Something is happening in South Florida, and I think a trade is coming. Maybe it’s for one of the three names I mentioned above. Perhaps it’s for someone else. But I have a sense that something is brewing.
