Player Cuts Must Be About More Than Just Saving Money
Player Cuts Must Be About More Than Just Saving Money
Cuts need to make the roster better, not just to save money
Cuts can help a team, but the Grass isn’t always greener on the other side
The 2017 NFL Free Agency is quickly approaching and will begin in less than a month. As a result, there’s been a ton of speculation about what’s the Miami Dolphins plan of action.
Considering that Miami has 21 impending free agents (restricted and unrestricted), there’s a lot of speculation on what they should do with these players.
Miami is going to have over $30 million dollars worth of cap space available–with plenty of options to free up even more space.
Bottom line, Miami is going to be in great shape to maneuver and hopefully upgrade this roster.
There are a few players that should definitely be released like Jordan Cameron, Koi Misi, and Mario Williams. Each of these players have under-performed and battled injuries for most of their time in Miami. They add little to no value to the team. And if released, they will give the Dolphins another $15 to $20 million more in cap savings.
Cuts can lead to picking up other teams cuts…and sometimes that’s a good thing
However, there are more difficult decisions: Kenny Stills and Andre Branch. Both players are going to be unrestricted free agents and both played well enough last season that they should garner interest on the open market.The problem with both players is that neither is the top guy at their position on our team, and another team is likely going to offer them a lot of money… probably more than Miami would like due to their vision of cap responsibility.
It’s not to say they won’t be back, but it certainly won’t be smooth sailing if they do.
Even though Miami insists that they want to keep their talented, in-house free agents, the open market is where teams overpay for top talent. And considering that Miami did not choose to overpay for their pending free agents in 2016, I don’t see them going against that philosophy this off-season.
Then there’s Earl Mitchell, Brandon Albert, and Byron Maxwell that are not free agents, but they do have expensive contracts. Miami may decide that those financial resources are better served on other players.
But, the grass might not be greener on the other side–then of course, it might be. Big boy decisions like these for Mike Tannenbaum will determine if he is the man for the job or not.
Considering that we are going to have plenty of cap space, there’s no rush in making these decision’s, which huge advantage. So, it’s important not to just cut these players to save a little bit of extra cap space, because with so many holes already, making unneeded ones could spell trouble.
Every off season dead weight needs to be cut
Of these three, I think the most important to keep on the roster is Maxwell despite his slow start. After being benched early in the season, he responded by playing very well — and that says a lot about him. After his benching he played as good as any Cornerback in the league. In his 13 games last year, he made 53 tackles, 15 passes defended, caused 4 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, and completely shut down Antonio Brown in the middle of the season. With a 2017 contract of $8.5 million in cap space, Miami has a relative bargain for a quality Cornerback in the NFL. Releasing Maxwell will only save the Dolphins $5 million in cap space. So, with minimal savings and creating another holes, this is a no-brainer.
Maxwell will stay, and he should.
As for the other two players: both have battled through significant injuries over their last two seasons. If I had to choose between to Mitchell and Albert, I would keep Albert. He is an overall better player when healthy, and a more respected leader.
Although, the team may not want to keep Albert, since his replacement, in Tunsil, is already on the roster. However, Miami needs to add at least one an Offensive Guard at this point, so releasing Albert would save $7.2 million in cap space, but would force Miami to then need two starting Guards–not just one. Considering that the Dolphins difficult time finding any good linemen over the last decade, it might be wise to keep Albert around for one more season, so they can just look for one starting Guard.
Good players like Michael Thomas and Dion Sims are also players who are at risk of leaving
In terms of Mitchell, the Dolphins have Jordan Phillips who has flashed talent, but hasn’t been able to do it on a consistent basis. However, Phillips is still very young and is entering entering his third year in the league next season. So, it might be worth giving him the keys to the DT position next to Suh, and letting him sink or swim in his third season.
And then there is Damien Williams and Kiko Alonso. Both are restricted agents, so Miami has leverage on them, but if they aren’t careful they could lose them. Anyone remember Welker and Clay? They both played critical roles for Miami in 2016. And while Williams was a back-up and Kiko likely needs to slide over from MLB, their absence in 2017 would be felt.
From top to bottom, this will be as crucial an off season as 2009, but this one will be far more complicated. I’m buying extra popcorn for this one…
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans thoughts about the Dolphins possible in-house decisions?
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Just 3 moves clears up 21 million $. More than enough to go out and get 2 guards (Leary, Zeitler) and begin to resign our own (Stills, Sims, Damien, Thomas).
Jordan should be next chopping block, clearing up another 3 million.
…we MUST have TWO starting Guards …TWO, not one …Albert WILL sure as hell get injured AGAIN and Tunsil will move, leaving the LG position to a backup …AGAIN
…Albert is still a better starting LT than Tunsil but not by enough to make up for the OL disruption caused by his inevitable injury
…Tunsil is a natural LT, not LG …he’s not built to be a Guard and he will never be better than average there imnsho …he was a fill last year …this year we need to move him to LT and let him develop into an all-pro there, building OL consistency in doing so
…Albert is too much cap to play backup LT and too much risk to play LG …deal him or cut him …good guy, good LT, but the laws of age and wear have caught up with him …I hope he has the sense to retire before his body is permanently worn
…all of which means we MUST have a starting LG in FA …there are none in the draft that are even close to sure thing NFL starting caliber …and Tannenbaum won’t use a 1st/2nd on a Guard anyway
…and then there is the RG which is a MUST FA acquisition as well …please, we don’t have a starter on the roster …don’t even go there
…so STOP talking about ONE Guard being needed …that is BS, pure and simple
…and yes, I fully acknowledge the simple fact that we need TWO starting LBs, one of which needs to be a MLB with proven 4-3 experience …not 3-4 …we’ve been there/done that/hopefully learned better
…not to mention other needs
…but DAMN! …we have played patchwork for like forever with the OL and it finally put our ironman QB on the stretcher, and denied what is credibly the best RB in Miami history the ability to exploit his abilities to the fullest …it is time to fix the OL FIRST and damn everything else
…we MUST have TWO high caliber, injury free, starting Guards out of FA …period!
Yeah, I disagree with Jimmy on that point. He leans toward keeping Albert. I don’t. I’d move Tunsil to LT and use Alberts cap money to get zeitler or warmack — both if possible, depending on other moves. The line would be expensive till next year when you cut Pouncey. I could see them going second tier for RG…just get a healthy mauler. The LG spot though needs to be a premium piece. I’d then get a C in the draft…only problem is if Albert goes you only have 2 T’s…but, I think it’s time to have a quality line to support the team.
Yea, I to believe that Albert should be gone. Tunsil needs to play LT and we need to get 2 guards. For me, I would like either Zeitler/Warmack and team one of them up with Leary (Dallas). That would be a nice line. I also like you thinking Admin about moving on from Pouncey next season, (unless he plays ALL 16 games and is out of his mind). I may also consider Lang (Packers) or Winters (Jets) as one of or both guard spots. We absolutely need to come away with at least 1 top tier guard via free agency.
Could be tricky depth wise with the release of Albert, but James played majority of the snaps he wasn’t benched for and Tunsil would have played them all if it weren’t for the shower mishap = sprained ankle. Keep Bushrod (back-up Tackle), whom by the way played ALL but 4 snaps for the 2016 season (led the team).
Albert gone. Good luck big fella.
Williams gone, easy decision.
Mitchell gone, no big surprise.
Just 3 moves clears up 21 million $. More than enough to go out and get 2 guards (Leary, Zeitler) and begin to resign our own (Stills, Sims, Damien, Thomas).
Jordan should be next chopping block, clearing up another 3 million.
Yeah, sweet moves. I like them all…that’s big money if used smartly.
…we MUST have TWO starting Guards …TWO, not one …Albert WILL sure as hell get injured AGAIN and Tunsil will move, leaving the LG position to a backup …AGAIN
…Albert is still a better starting LT than Tunsil but not by enough to make up for the OL disruption caused by his inevitable injury
…Tunsil is a natural LT, not LG …he’s not built to be a Guard and he will never be better than average there imnsho …he was a fill last year …this year we need to move him to LT and let him develop into an all-pro there, building OL consistency in doing so
…Albert is too much cap to play backup LT and too much risk to play LG …deal him or cut him …good guy, good LT, but the laws of age and wear have caught up with him …I hope he has the sense to retire before his body is permanently worn
…all of which means we MUST have a starting LG in FA …there are none in the draft that are even close to sure thing NFL starting caliber …and Tannenbaum won’t use a 1st/2nd on a Guard anyway
…and then there is the RG which is a MUST FA acquisition as well …please, we don’t have a starter on the roster …don’t even go there
…so STOP talking about ONE Guard being needed …that is BS, pure and simple
…and yes, I fully acknowledge the simple fact that we need TWO starting LBs, one of which needs to be a MLB with proven 4-3 experience …not 3-4 …we’ve been there/done that/hopefully learned better
…not to mention other needs
…but DAMN! …we have played patchwork for like forever with the OL and it finally put our ironman QB on the stretcher, and denied what is credibly the best RB in Miami history the ability to exploit his abilities to the fullest …it is time to fix the OL FIRST and damn everything else
…we MUST have TWO high caliber, injury free, starting Guards out of FA …period!
…lets be about it, eh
Yeah, I disagree with Jimmy on that point. He leans toward keeping Albert. I don’t. I’d move Tunsil to LT and use Alberts cap money to get zeitler or warmack — both if possible, depending on other moves. The line would be expensive till next year when you cut Pouncey. I could see them going second tier for RG…just get a healthy mauler. The LG spot though needs to be a premium piece. I’d then get a C in the draft…only problem is if Albert goes you only have 2 T’s…but, I think it’s time to have a quality line to support the team.
Yea, I to believe that Albert should be gone. Tunsil needs to play LT and we need to get 2 guards. For me, I would like either Zeitler/Warmack and team one of them up with Leary (Dallas). That would be a nice line. I also like you thinking Admin about moving on from Pouncey next season, (unless he plays ALL 16 games and is out of his mind). I may also consider Lang (Packers) or Winters (Jets) as one of or both guard spots. We absolutely need to come away with at least 1 top tier guard via free agency.
Could be tricky depth wise with the release of Albert, but James played majority of the snaps he wasn’t benched for and Tunsil would have played them all if it weren’t for the shower mishap = sprained ankle. Keep Bushrod (back-up Tackle), whom by the way played ALL but 4 snaps for the 2016 season (led the team).