Miami Dolphins roster moves will likely be the domino effects of Tua Tagovailoa and Christian Wilkins
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins have a lot of roster moves to make in the next 12 days. Those moves may be the dominos that fall after two big contracts are decided.
Tua Tagovailoa's new contract extension which is expected to happen any day now will be the first piece of the Dolphins roster puzzle. His contract is the first corner piece and the Dolphins will build from there.
Miami has made it clear they want to retain Christian Wilkins, they would have had him cheaper last year. Miami bet that Wilkins wouldn't perform better in 2023 and Wilkins bet on himself that he would. Wilkins won. Now, he is going to be paid a lot more than he was asking for last season.
Wilkins' contract extension would not free up cap space this year. It will add to it. Wilkins is an unrestricted free agent and unless the Dolphins place the Franchise Tag on him, he will hit the market. A new contract will push the dollar amount Miami needs to cut from the roster, higher but it gives them options for the future.
The Dolphins' moves will happen regardless of what happens with Tua and Wilkins. They have no choice but to make moves. They are hoping to get at least one of these two extensions done before they start trimming the roster. Why? Because if they free up cap space with these contracts, they may not have to trim as much from the payroll.
Miami could restructure guys like Jerome Baker and Tyreek Hill. Jalen Ramsey and Bradley Chubb but that money is just pushed down the line and eventually will still come back to bite Miami in the you know what. If they can get Wilkins and Tua under an extension, they will know what they have to spend in the future as well as this year.
Tua and Wilkins' contracts will be low in 2024 but they balloon in 2025, 2026, and 2027 with likely outs in 2028. The Dolphins will have to manipulate those dollar amounts for the future of those deals. This is where Brandon Shore comes into the spotlight.
Chris Grier gets the accolades for dealing with new contracts but it is Shore who constructs them and finds the loopholes in the NFL cap guidelines to make them work. Grier puts the limits on the deal and approves them.
If the Dolphins can get Wilkins and Tua extended in the next week, they will free up money from Tua's contract this year and can hit free agency with more knowledge of their future payroll. That will help design new contracts and will provide an opportunity to offer more for some players the Dolphins are going to need.
No matter what the Dolphins are hoping for, the absolute deadline will be March 13th when NFL teams will need to be at or under the mandated salary cap. That cap number will be north of $250 million. Miami needs to shed around $28 million to get below the cap. They will need more to operate.
Christian Wilkins and Tua Tagovailoa are big keys to this offseason and keys to the direction Miami takes when free agency starts. Miami won't be big spenders but having at least one, if not both under contract, might be the difference between tier-2 and tier-4 free agents.