Miami Dolphins will have roster moves and contracts to work this weekend
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins have about $10 million and change worth of cap space but they figure to need $12 million to sign their draft class. That means that moves must be made this weekend.
The Dolphins could do some restructuring and I anticipate we should hear about those contracts in the next 24 hours or so but how much will it actually save the team? They will need money to add players from the undrafted rookie group as well as an operating space for the season.
In other words, $10 million let alone $12 million isn’t going to cut it. The Dolphins will have to make moves they may not want to and the next three days are going to be critical as they work not only the draft but the roster as well.
Fans are watching for news regarding Xavien Howard being involved in a trade but I’m not sold on Miami parting ways with their best corner on the team. I would look a little further down the roster to be quite honest.
For me, as I have said many times on here, the wide-receiver unit stands to take the brunt of the roster moves. With 11 players already on the team, there is more maneuverability. Jakeem Grant, Albert Wilson, and Allen Hurns all could save the Dolphins almost $7 million if cut, if traded that number would climb to a little or $8 million.
The thought of Miami being able to trade three receivers isn’t reasonable but one or two may be gone by the end of the weekend or they may restructure their contracts shoving money into a more cap-friendly 2022.
One player that could be gone is Clayton Fejedelem. Miami can recoup his entire non-guaranteed salary which would give Miami an additional $2.8 million in cap room. The same can be said for Durham Smythe. Miami would eat $158K but if they landed Kyle Pitts, Smythe would be a likely release.
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Another name to watch but also falling into the unlikely category is safety Bobby McCain. McCain is set to count $7.1 million in cap space. Releasing or trading him would save almost $6 million. The Dolphins could also move on from Eric Rowe who would save $5 million in space with only a marginal dead hit.
There are moves that need to be made and moves that will be made but it is unclear how or who the Dolphins will use to make the cap more friendly but rest assured, all indications are that moves will be coming much sooner than later.