Time for the Dolphins to Reassess
The Dolphins will be tight against the cap in 2025 and need to make some decisions.
The Miami Dolphins entered the 2024 season with playoff expectations. However, a number of injuries to key players — most notably, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — dealt the Dolphins a setback. Though they are still in the playoff hunt, even after a loss on Thanksgiving to the Packers, they're going to need to win out to at least have a chance at making it.
If things do work out for the Dolphins and they make the playoffs, they will still be in a bind in 2025. They are currently projected to have about $3.7M in cap space, assuming a base cap of $272.5M.
However, the Dolphins have just 37 players under contract for 2025. They have four exclusive rights free agents they can tender and could sign 10 players to futures contracts to get to 51, but that would put them above the projected cap.
The Dolphins have multiple players who have significant cap hits for 2025, but restructuring their deals isn't so simple. That's because some of these players have option bonuses that, when exercised, are treated like signing bonuses and the money is pro-rated over the remaining years of the contract.
The players with option bonuses in their contracts are Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Jalen Ramsey and Austin Jackson. Waddle and Ramsey would be left with small base salaries, so the Dolphins wouldn't be able to do further restructures on their deals. Tagovailoa, Hill and Jackson have larger base salaries (Tagovailoa's is $25.046M, Jackson's is $10.88M and Hill's is $10M) but a restructure means their future cap numbers get larger and might make it more difficult for the Dolphins to move on if necessary.
The Dolphins are a team that thus needs to reassess its position in 2025. It means they will need to sit out free agency for the most part, aside from low-cost signings. They will also have to be careful about what they do with other players, because some of those players are either older or coming off injuries.
There will be temptation to do a lot of restructures to chase down a playoff trip, but the Dolphins need to avoid that situation in case things don't work out in 2025. They may have to restructure a couple of deals, but otherwise, the focus should be on renegotiating deals or simply cutting players.
Let's look at the things the Dolphins could do to get themselves into a cap situation that at least lets them sign low-cost free agents and whatever draft picks they make.
Renegotiate Bradley Chubb's 2025 salary: First, let's explain the difference between restructuring and renegotiating. A restructure means converting base salary or a roster bonus into a signing bonus, while a renegotiation is either raising or reducing a base salary, but in the latter case, giving the player incentives. With Chubb, I'm looking at a renegotiation, not a restructure.
Chubb tore his ACL in Week 17 of the 2023 season. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list to start the season. He was never activated, so he'll miss the 2024 season.
The Dolphins could cut Chubb because he has no guaranteed money left in his contract. However, a straight cut means the Dolphins only gain nearly $2M in cap space. The post-June 1 cut is an option, but the Dolphins would have to carry his cap charge until June 1.
I would approach Chubb with a request to renegotiate his contract. The Dolphins could reduce his base salary of $19.45M to save some cap space. In exchange, the Dolphins could fully guarantee his base salary and convert the remainder into incentives.
In this case, I gave Chubb a base salary of $9.45M with $8M converted into incentives. This reduces his cap charge by $10M and still gives the Dolphins the option to cut him in 2026. It also gives them the option to trade Chubb after June 1, possibly in a midseason trade.
Restructure Jaelan Phillips' contract with void years: The Dolphins exercised the fifth-year option for Phillips during the offseason, but Phillips tore his ACL a few weeks into the 2024 season. Because his 2025 salary is fully guaranteed, cutting him is not an option.
A trade might seem like a possibility, but Phillips would have to be able to pass a physical before he could be traded. There's no guarantee he'll be able to pass a physical early in the 2025 offseason.
I'm not a fan of using void years in the final year of a contract but, in this case, the Dolphins may not have much choice. I converted $10M of his $13.251M base salary into a signing bonus and used two void years to reduce his cap charge to about $6.6M.
Cut RB Raheem Mostert and TE Durham Smythe: The Dolphins can clear additional cap space by cutting these two players who are underperforming this season. Their releases give the Dolphins another $5M in cap space.
After I made these moves, I got the Dolphins to $25.6M in cap space. That allows the Dolphins to keep a couple of their own free agents, possibly add another cheap free agent or two and get their draft picks signed, without compromising their situation in 2026 too much.
In 2026, the Dolphins would then be able to move on from some players if things don't work out in 2025, or if they make the playoffs, to be in a better position to make decisions on what to do next.
The only thing the Dolphins cannot afford to do is keep the band together in hopes that they will make a deep playoff run in 2025. They don't want to put themselves in the situation the Saints are in. Once the 2025 offseason approaches, the Dolphins must approach things in a way that gets them cap compliant but gives them flexibility in 2026 to change course if necessary.