Dolphins won't use the "R" word, but they are

The Miami Dolphins won’t say it. They won’t utter that word that fans don’t want to hear. It’s the “R” word. It’s…rebuild. Miami won’t say it but they are.

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Looking at the moves that the team has made so far in the off-season it’s apparent that the team will be rebuilding. Some might say “re-imagining”. No matter how you cut this cheese it still smells like a rebuild.

Taking a look at the roster it’s easy to see how. They are committed to Cameron Wake for at least another year. Wake will count $9.5 on the salary cap but that number drops off next season. And by then, Wake will be 35. The Dolphins didn’t go after young talent to replace Olivier Vernon they went with a 31 year old Mario Williams and will likely bolster that unit in the draft. They refused to overspend when the market price drove skyward.

The Dolphins also took a look at Lamar Miller but decided that despite his production and youth, they could save the money and again, sign a one year replacement and take their time looking at the draft for a more permanent replacement. At tight-end, rather than create a hole they opted to keep things the way they were and kept Jordan Cameron on what essentially will be a one year deal.

The biggest contract Miami signed was not a signing but a trade. Byron Maxwell will play out 2016 with a big number and then Miami will have an out in 2017. It is looking like 2017 will be the pivotal off-season.

The Dolphins have done enough to try to stay competitive in 2016 but still need to fill holes. They will likely fill many of those with young talent in the draft. They are giving head coach Adam Gase the opportunity to build a team that he wants but saving money and not overspending realizing that adding costs to the future caps will not make this team better. It’s a smart move.

Following the 2016 season, the Dolphins can release, Cameron, Maxwell, and do not need to re-sign Wake. They can also restructure or release Ryan Tannehill as his guaranteed money ends in 2016 sans around $6 million. They would save $13 million on Tannehill’s $20 million cap hit.

Miami could also part ways with Branden Albert as well. Miami is in a position to clean house over the next two years and replace those players with draft picks. Next off-season Miami could have more than $70 million in cap space to work with.

The Dolphins have stayed tight with their wallet this season and that reflects on Mike Tannenbaum who is officially in charge of everything for the first time. Miami is working to build an executive structure that works together rather than apart.

Call it what you will but the Dolphins are not likely to be relevant in 2016 and it’s likely that 2017 won’t produce better results. The good news is that for the first time, the Dolphins are not making bold moves that have no system in place to support those moves. There is no splash this year and I doubt there will be a huge splash next season. Instead, the Dolphins appear to be working towards a more sound future. A stable one…hopefully.

Of course we really won’t see what their plan is until the draft in April when we see how they approach their draft picks. Will they draft players in the mid-rounds to replace players they anticipate losing in 2017 or will they concentrate more on the interior lines and build out? Mike Tannenbaum can say that this team can beat the 2015 team but that really doesn’t say much. Perhaps in 2018 they will have thicker legs to stand on.

Rebuild, re-imagine, whatever you want to call it, they are not making moves to win now. They are simply not making knee-jerk moves and in a way, despite it being offensively boring, it’s probably one of the smarter off-seasons they have had in a long time.

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Dolphins won’t use the “R” word, but they are

By Brian Miller | Mar 16, 2016

The Miami Dolphins won’t say it. They won’t utter that word that fans don’t want to hear. It’s the “R” word. It’s…rebuild. Miami won’t say it but they are.