Miami Dolphins and the Cap

MIAMI DOLPHINS AND THE CAP

The Miami Dolphins hit free agency is a big way in 2013 handing out $159,673,000 in contracts with $66,950,000 of it guaranteed. A tidy sum but far less than the quarter million to gazillion dollars the un-informed threw around all year. Confident in Tannehill as their QB of the future the Dolphins moved to support him with better receiving options. It was a sound plan that fell short when injuries to the receiving corps and O-line issues cut down their effectiveness. They certainly need to address the O-line and shore up the running game in the offseason but the money to get it done is there. As far as rebuilding goes Miami falls into place a year ahead of the Jets and a year behind the Bills in the cap and contract department.

The Miami Dolphins current financial season starts close to here:

(A) ESTIMATED 2014 CAP	$           126,000,000.00
2013 CARRYOVER	$             18,000,000.00
(B) MAX CAP SPENDING	$           144,000,000.00
DEAD MONEY	$               5,000,000.00
AVAILABLE TO SPEND	$           139,000,000.00
(C)PRACTICE SQUAD AND DRAFT	$             (5,000,000.00)
(D) IR and IN SEASON REPLACEMENTS	$             (7,500,000.00)
CURRENT TOP 51 CONTRACTS	$         (106,000,000.00)
AVAILABLE TO SPEND	$             20,500,000.00

 

(A & B) the estimated 2014 cap figure subject to change
(C) money that will be spent this season
(D) estimate based on a reasonable amount to set aside for contingencies

The biggest items on the Dolphins agenda are the resigning of free agents Starks, Soliai, & Grimes. The team has free cash to fill most of its needs but don’t expect another wave of free agent signings. More than a few of their contracts call for bigger cap hits in 2015 and this isn’t a good year to push more cap than necessary into  the future. Miami might want to consider Belichick’s approach to the passing game which is 1. Get a QB. 2. Protect the QB. 3. Add targets for the QB. Tannehill would be much better with a line that could buy him that extra quarter second. By draft day the GM search and Martin-Incognito headlines will belong to last year and the focus will fall on the new season. It’s close to a coin flip whether or not this team will be as dangerous as the Bills, Tannehill gives the fins a slight edge.