Lynn Bowden to wear 15 for Dolphins, what it means for Albert Wilson

Lynn Bowden will wear Albert Wilson’s 15 for the Miami Dolphins in 2020.

When the Miami Dolphins take the field with Lynn Bowden, Albert Wilson’s 15 will be on his back so what does that mean about Wilson?

Albert Wilson took a pretty big pay cut to stay with the Miami Dolphins in 2020. Then, COVID became a thing and ruined everyone’s summer and the NFL’s off-season. The league offered players the right to opt-out of the 2020 season and Wilson decided to take the option.

Wilson’s reasons are his own and in no way do I or almost anyone fault him for putting his family at the forefront of his career. That being said, it also doesn’t come with any guarantees.

Wilson will be one year older in 2021 and will have sat out the entire season of 2020. While there are still guarantees in his deal, they are minimal and Miami will only have to play a portion of that salary to release him. Wilson is scheduled to earn $1 million guaranteed when he comes back to the Dolphins, if they want him.

The reality is that Wilson’s contract will be as though he never left the team, minus the money he was paid this year as opt-out salary. The rest of his contract would look exactly as it did heading into this season. No annual accrual or anything.

Miami can simply walk away and Wilson will be a free agent.

Now that the Dolphins have given Bowden the number 15, some believe that it is disrespectful to Wilson but I think it may be a sign that Miami isn’t really interested in bringing Wilson back. Honestly, I would be surprised if Allen Hurns returned in 2021 as well.

Wilson has spent time injured and missed a good chunk of the 2018 season and really wasn’t a big factor in last year’s offense either as he didn’t regain the confidence in himself after the injury. The opt-out isn’t the reason he will get cut but it sure didn’t help his situation either.