Miami Dolphins: The three biggest losers from Miami’s offseason

The 2021 offseason has brought a mix of rookies and veteran players expected to contribute in some capacity to the Miami Dolphins this season. In my last piece, I discussed three players who stand to benefit from the offseason proceedings.

A significant chunk of expected contributors this season are young. The Dolphins had the second-youngest 53-man roster at the start of last 2020. The 2021 season won’t be much different. In Peter King’s Football Morning in America column, Brian Flores said, “The guys we got in ’19, the guys we got in ’20, the guys we got in ’21, that we get in this draft, that’s the team…They’ll be the reason why we make noise or don’t make noise.” 11 of the 22 projected starters fall within this three-year range.

With the influx of new guys, some role players from last year are left fighting for their spot or are in danger of being cut altogether. Various position groups are looking bloated and ultimately, it’s a matter of dollars and cents. The salary cap is $182.5 million this season, a $15 million reduction from 2020.

The salary cap haircut has been rough on the middle-class of NFL vets, players in the $5-$10 million range making enough to be considered expensive, but not talented enough that their team can’t live without them. Kyle Van Noy and Bobby McCain were among this group of sacrificial cap lambs.

According to overthecap.com, the Dolphins cap space is $12.9 million. They need roughly $11.4 million more to ink the remaining unsigned rookies: Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips, Javon Holland, Liam Eichenberg, and Hunter Long. While this is workable, the franchise will need to make a cut or two if they want to add depth elsewhere…there are some intriguing names on the market.

Here are three players who have been marred by the offseason action.