As each day goes by, more and more reports are indicating that Tua Tagovailoa's time with the Miami Dolphins will come to an end sometime this offseason. If that happens, Bradley Chubb may or may not return.
There has been a lot of speculation regarding the Dolphins' salary cap next season. Where can they trim the roster, who can they release to create working cap space, and how are they going to replenish the team after making needed cuts?
Chubb was always one of those mentioned as potential releases; now that seems far less likely given the Tagovailoa situation. Or does it?
Bradley Chubb may not find out his Miami Dolphins fate until after Tua Tagovailoa is moved
When the league's new year begins, the Dolphins are expected to release Tyreek Hill with a post-June first designation. The move will hit Miami with a nearly $16 million cap hit. On June 2nd, they will get $36 million back on the cap.
Chubb's situation is similar. He will cost $10 million in dead money with a $20 million return on June 2nd, if he is released with a post-June 1st designation. This is where it gets a bit cloudier.
Tagovailoa's situation will decide what happens next. If he is traded, the Dolphins are going to eat a big chunk of his cap unless they can facilitate a trade with a team that can carry a larger load of it. Releasing him before June 1st is a $99 million nightmare; after June 1st, it's a $67 million bad dream.
Miami may be in a horrible cap situation at this point and could look to June 1st for relief. If Tagovailoa is traded, Miami may look to send Chubb and Hill out to get $56 million in cap space. That would offset some of the Dolphins' loss if they jettisoned Tagovailoa.
For the Dolphins, the problem is trying to work through the contracts verbiage and seeing which player is guaranteed how much and on what day. The other issue is Tagovailoa. If the Dolphins designate two players for early June release, teams will know they can't do the same with Tagovailoa. They would have to wait until June to make that move.
Miami likely won't care if this happens. Chances are, they will carry Tagovailoa through the summer with the hopes of a team needing to trade for him later. While a $3 million guarantee will trigger early in the league's new year, that is hardly a major hurdle for the Dolphins.
Stephen Ross may not make many changes to his executive and coaching staffs this year, but this offseason is going to be one of the most interesting we have seen in a long time, nonetheless.