Phins Make Good Moves, Plenty More Needed!
The Miami Dolphins have inched towards getting out of their huge 2024 salary cap hole by cutting ties with Ogbah and Howard, but they still need a bunch more moves to add talent and free up more cap space. Phins General Manager Chris Grier has his work cut out for him this season without a doubt, especially given the expectations on this roster with two postseason appearances over the last two seasons. There’s no doubt that this season Head Coach Mike McDaniel has to do much more than just make the playoffs. And considering how things change fast from season to season, even just making the postseason is never a given. So, these decisions on who to keep, who to cut, and who to extend to free up money will be a huge foundation for success this year… or failure!
The new non-Howard era begins!
The Phins received a sizeable boost with the NFL salary cap for 2024 set to rise to $255.4 million per team. It couldn’t have come at a better time too! This is significantly higher than last year’s $224.8 million per team and is a huge boost for the Phins. Add in Xavien Howard’s release, who is designated as a post-June 1st cut to save the team the most money and create an additional $15 million in June. That’s a ton of financial ammo added to Chris Grier’s war chest. The problem is even with this cash influx and the money coming from the release of Emmanuel Ogbah, the Dolphins are still in the red and currently $28 million over the cap!
So, Miami must make some more big decisions to get this roster in shape to contend this season. The three most critical are on the futures of Robert Hunt, Christian Wilkins, and Connor Williams. All three of these guys have been key to the Dolphins’ success and at the moment it looks like Grier isn’t tagging any of them. There’s still time to put a tag on them or work out a deal, so we’ll see.
With Howard gone and likely the trio of Williams, Wilkins, and Hunt, a new era of the Dolphins is starting.
Still, there will be more familiar faces exiting as well.
Will Baker be cut, sign for a cheaper deal, or stick?
Another big upcoming decision will be what Miami does with Jerome Baker since cutting him could potentially save around $10 million. He played so well for us at the end of the season and has been a leader on the field for 4 years. Still, his contract has become bloated for his production, so it feels likely Grier will make a move to fix that. Of course, who will replace him is another thing.
Then there’s the ‘Tua contract’ situation, which could free up some cap space for 2024. However, it will mean larger cap hits for future seasons. In addition, extending Tua could potentially be in the ballpark of an average of $50 million per season. There is always a change in the way a Front Office does business after a rookie quarterback gets paid. The problem is that usually, the team isn’t so cap-strapped unless they’ve had great success. The substantial rise in the money going to the quarterback position and the need to cut so much to make weight for the season will make building a winning roster even more challenging. But, you don’t come by quality QBs often, so it seems the Tua extension is all but a done deal.
Then there’s Terron Armstead who is contemplating retirement. However, just a couple of weeks ago he mentioned he wants to play next season. Armstead currently counts for about $21 million towards the 2024 cap, so the only way I see Miami bringing him back is by restructuring his contract and loading it with more bonus money options. The reality is if Armstead retires it won’t be a huge cap relief due to the guarantees and then we’d have to find a left tackle on top of all the other positions needing help. This is a real stick situation for the Dolphins given his injury history.
The Dolphins offensive line will be as big a story as any in 2024
Last year was the first year in many many years where our offensive line played well and wasn’t a major weakness. However, Armstead is not the only player on the Offensive line Miami needs to decide with Connor Williams and Robert Hunt set to be free agents. Most pay-per-head shops are betting Miami isn’t going to be able to pay and keep all of these linemen. This is a heartbreaker because our offensive line play could take a big step back next year if we are forced to replace multiple quality starters. Given how much we are going to pay Tua, a poor offensive line will make his job a lot tougher.
I think this team has real talent! The reality is that we were decimated by injuries last season. We have to find a way to keep the bulk of this team together next year while adding some more talent in key spots and depth players to not just make the playoffs but to win a playoff game. Let me restate that WIN a playoff game!
Let’s pray Chris Grier can be super creative with restructuring contracts so they can try to keep as many of their talented players from last year as they can! This window of talent is shrinking and it feels like the Dolphins will have to rebuild soon, let’s just hope it’s in 2025 that they start the teardown!
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins News fans’ thoughts about what Miami needs to do to get under the cap, and who we should pay to keep?
