The Miami Dolphins' week kicked off with a flurry of releases that absolutely everyone saw coming, but were surprised by the number of them all at once. Now, the question becomes "whose next?"
Naturally, everyone is keeping a keen eye on Tua Tagovailoa. His release or trade will leave ripples across the league, but the Dolphins can't be done just yet. There is still more work to be done.
As of now, Miami is cap-compliant after releasing Bradley Chubb, Tyreek Hill, James Daniels, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. There are still other moves to be made, and one of them is Jason Sanders.
Miami Dolphins releasing Jason Sanders makes more than just financial sense
With so much dead money on the books now, it's hard to imagine Jon-Eric Sullivan not making a move that sends Sanders to free agency. Miami would gain $3.9 million in cap room with only $660,000 in dead money.
Sanders has been good the last few seasons, but keeping a guy coming off a hip injury doesn't make sense.
If the Dolphins are looking to bargain shop, they won't have to look far. Riley Patterson was good enough last season in Sanders' place, so bringing him back at a slightly more than league minimum salary makes a lot of sense.
Sullivan made a statement on Monday when two of the higher-paid players, Hill and Chubb, were released. The Westbrook-Ikhine release was a cap wash with $1.6 million in dead money compared to a $1.55 million in savings. If the Dolphins are trying to create room, which they still need to do, these moves suggest more moves are coming.
While some are unlikely given their playing style, these players would further help Sullivan gain spending cash.
- Tyrell Dodson - $2.9 million savings
- Alec Ingold - $3.06 million
- JuJu Brents - $1.8 million
Miami will also need to decide which players will be designated post-June 1st cuts. Austin Jackson and Tagovailoa both are possibilities, and it looks like Chubb could end up being considered one as well. In addition, we should start to hear trade talk surrounding Minkah Fitzpatrick when the calendar flips to March.
This is one of the biggest roster purges in team history and is starting to rival the 2019 roster implosion they went through in an attempt to rebuild.