Why Miami Dolphins fans need to know the importance of May 1st

Technically, free agency is still moving along but the NFL Draft has taken the front seat. For Dolphins fans, May 1st is a date to keep an eye on.

When the calendar turns to May, the Miami Dolphins will already have their draft completed and will then start the task of filling in what is left on their roster. Through undrafted rookies, much of the roster will be completed, as it relates to the 90 players.

That being said, May 1st is significant. Currently, any free-agent players who are signed by a new team will count toward the compensatory formula in 2025. On May 1st, that changed. All free agents will no longer count.

Players like Dalton Risner who would immediately fill a starting role at guard for the Dolphins would not count toward the Dolphins comp picks. Any current player who became a free agent this season will no longer count.

This will become a 2nd wave of free agency in the NFL. It won't come with all the fireworks that we saw in mid-March but there could be significant additions around the league, including with the Dolphins.

Following May 1st, Dolphins fans will keep an eye on June 2nd. One full month later the Dolphins will receive $18 million in cap space from the release of Xavien Howard. If the Dolphins don't jump back into the pool in early May, expect them to make some ripples in June.

If there is any good news to all of this, it is the fact that May is around the corner, then June is only 30 days further down the road. Following June, we hit July and at the end of July, training camp starts. Football may seem a long way off but it will be here quickly.