Miami Dolphins will have to make moves due to salary cap

The Miami Dolphins have been pretty quiet since they made two big trades that shuffled their draft order, but is another big move coming?

Earlier today we looked at the possibility of the Dolphins trading WR assets for more draft picks, specifically to fill the holes in rounds five and six but there is another reason they will need to make moves, the salary cap.

Despite the Dolphins’ cautious approach to the free agency period, the Dolphins have left themselves with just under $7 million in cap space and that is a tight amount. Miami has to sign their rookie class and have a working amount for the season should injuries occur.

Miami probably needs to be around $15 to $20 million of space to be comfortable with the rookie and contingency money. That means the Dolphins have moves ahead of them sooner rather than later and it may not bode well for several players.

As we mentioned earlier, WR is the deepest position with a lot of money tied up. Albert Wilson, Allen Hurns, and Jakeem Grant will combine to count just over $12 million. Six million can be cleared by moving those three players and that will increase to $8 million if they are traded.

That would put Miami around $13 million in cap room total. So they still have some moves to make. While that would get them the rookies signed, Miami would still need to clear some room.

Miami can clear a little over $9 million by trading Xavien Howard. Howard should bring the Dolphins a big trade but they would also have to replace one of the best coverage corners in the league and the 2020 interception leader. That is not ideal.

One thing is certain, the Dolphins are in a position where they will need to start shuffling some of the roster and with the cap space currently tight, we should see these start to materialize in the days ahead of the draft or during the draft itself but make no mistake, something is brewing in South Florida.