Personnel moves are really coming to a head right now. While the front office is working hard on the upcoming draft as the NFL Combine is in progress, there are two impending free agents that are absolutely huge parts of our team, DL Christian Wilkins and OG Robert Hunt. From what I’ve been hearing on the airwaves, it’s likely that DL Christian Wilkins will be tagged with the NFL Non Exclusive Franchise Tag, which is $22.1M for this season, but also allows other teams to negotiate with the player, and if the player receives an offer from another team, we have the opportunity to match that offer to retain the player. If we don’t/can’t match the offer, we would get two 1st RD picks in return over the next 2 years. So basically, other teams do the negotiations for us, and come up with a contract to pay Christian Wilkins, and then we have the option to match it, or receive the 2 first round picks. Listen, Wilkins is a key part of our defense, we drafted him, groomed him and turned him into a top defensive lineman, and now we need to pay him. We offered him lower contracts last season because he didn’t have the sack numbers, so this past season he finished with 9 sacks, his career high. He didn’t sign a devalued contract and bet on himself and won.
We all know that a big contract extension is in the works for QB Tua Tagovailoa. If this is the case, then you naturally would assume that protecting him is a priority, which then leads us to re-signing OG Robert Hunt. the 6’6 330 2nd RD pick in 2020 played every game over the his first 3 seasons, only to miss nearly 7 games this season. While we shuffled different players all around him due to injuries or poor play, Jones was the one constant. I think he should be the #2 priority of business immediately after DL Christian Wilkins. Hunt is a solid run blocker and pass protector, one of the most consistent guys on our line. We have a 1st RD pick and and a 2nd RD pick, #21 and #55, and boy do we have pressure to hit on those picks. We need players to come in immediately and fill spots. At the moment, the only OL you can realistically pencil in as a starter is RT Austin Jackson. It’s very likely that our first round pick is going to be an offensive lineman. OC/G Jackson Powers-Johnson and OC/G Graham Barton are two guys I’ve seen often going to us. This cap conundrum has us desperate to hit here, we simply can’t miss. Cornerback has to be a priority, but again, we need to protect our QB who will be getting big bucks shortly.
Jalen Ramsey is going to be starting at CB, but that’s what we got right now. Cam Smith, our first pick in the ’23 draft (#51), managed to play only 20 defensive snaps last season (2%). That has to be one of the most disappointing storylines of last season, that with multiple injuries to DB’s, that we couldn’t find a way to get this kid playing time. Fingers have been pointed to two things, grumpy hardass DC Vic Fangio and perhaps some immaturity issues with Cam Smith. New DC Anthony Weaver along with new CB Coach Mathieu Araujo have to find a way to have Cam Smith ready to start and play tons of meaningful snaps in the ’24 season. Xavien Howard has been cut, I thank him for his tenure here, he was a great player for a while here. Now, X will be playing elsewhere, and I don’t believe that fan favorite Kader Kohou is a boundary CB. Is it possible we spend our 2nd RD pick on a CB? I look at our roster and see lots of holes.
Our own Free Agent list is extensive, and of course, this comes at a time when we’re significantly over the cap, down to around $39M over or thereabouts. DL Christian Wilkins, OL Robert Hunt, NT Raekwon Davis, OLB Andrew Van Ginkel, OC Connor Williams, OLB/DE Emmanuel Ogbah, OL Isaiah Wynn, S DeShon Elliott, S Brandon Jones, and DB Nik Needham. There are more, but with the uncertainty at OLB with both Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips injured, who knows if either will be ready to play at the start of the season or even the middle. We know AVG wants to come back, but it’s going to be hard to find the money to keep him. Same goes for safety, because all we have is Jevon Holland back there. I know DeShon Elliott wants to come back, but again, where’s the money? I think it would be in our best interest to find an upgrade to NT Raekwon Davis, but now the cupboard is bare, so DL could be in play with one of our first 2 picks. We know there will be restructures and new contracts issued to get us below the cap and probably some cap space, especially if we do the big Tua contract.
If you missed it, this is my priority list for our Dolphins . . .
#1 – Re-sign DL Christian Wilkins
#2 – Re-sign OL Robert Hunt
#3 – Identify a plug in starter on the OL in the ’24 Draft
#4 – Identify a plug in starter at CB in the ’24 Draft
#5 – Try and re-sign some of our own free agents, like S DeShon Elliott, LB Andrew Van Ginkel, OL Isaiah Wynn, OL Kendall Lamm.
Of course before we do one through 5, the cap guys need to restructure, massage and rework a few contracts in order to get us in the black and out of the red. That has to happen, so we know it will happen. Then we sit back and watch with great interest to see how many players we like we can retain and how many we unfortunately lose. Our owner Stephen Ross is more than happy to pay down whatever he can, which is huge, because paying guaranteed monies lowers the cap, and Stephen Ross NEVER says no.
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
Joe Alt is 6’9″?!! I just realized that.
Very disappointing 5.19 40-time for Tyler Guyton.
Everybody on NFL Network thought he’d run a sub-5.0… so did I.
Why does anyone care how fast an OL runs a 40 yard dash? When does that ever happen other than possibly a fumble recovery and return?
It is a low bar in order to demonstrate overall physicality. The split is far more important than the overall 40 in terms of footwork in speed.
Everything serves a purpose, otherwise the 40 for fatties wouldn’t exist.
PSU’s Olu Fashanu is OUT for the rest of the day after pulling his hammy during his 1st 40 run.
That sucks. He’ll still be top 10. I really hope he comes off the board before puke green picks .
ME TOO, Brother!
M13- I was hoping we would have a shot at Theo Johnson at some point in the later rounds, but his combine performance probably pushed him up 1-2 rounds.
I feel the exact same way. I HOPE there’s a way can can land him in the 3rd-4th round… which would require some wheeling and dealing to get said pick.
Yeah, we don’t have a third rounder
Or a 4th rounder.
Ugh
Our blog in a nutshell:
Barry Jackson
@flasportsbuzz
After tank/rebuild, if you’re happy with Dolphins being a playoff-caliber team (which they weren’t for years) & delivering entertaining product but not a SERIOUS S.B. contender, then be happy. If you expect a SB contender after all this trouble, then you can be unhappy. Your call
I’m in a different tier: IT AIN’T OVA MOFOZ! 🙂
VERY good onfield drill by Tyler Guyton. He’s showing that lateral movement and quick feet.
Taliese Fuaga is drawing my attention.
Can we be a playoff contender that actually shows up in playoff games? I’ll sign up for that!
No matter how one cuts, slices, or dices it… there WILL be a STUD available for us @ R1P21.
There is SO much talent in this O-Line class that even if we traded down to the late 1st, we’d still be able to land a STUD.
Jeez, Dolphins Twitter is littered with knuckleheads!!! 😳
INDEED! They are CRAZY, man!
You are known as “The Hand”. How many knuckles are in one hand? 😆 😉
Mike E,
That was a joke, see! 😀
👋
LMAO!!!
Well played! 😀
While I do not suggest trading down from R1P21, I could certainly see Grief doing it just to get another day 2 pick.
I swear, Dolphins Twitter(X) is so bloody toxic. They are deranged, unruly, unrealistic, and just batshit crazy. Very few even know what a football looks like, much less the game of football, salary cap ramifications, or really anything else pertinent to the business side of football.
Mike E and I unequivocally concur about Dolphins Twitter(X).
Yessir
5.07 for BIG Amarius Mims! 340 pounds! WOW!
I don’t think any NFL exec actually gives two shits about an OL 40 yard dash. Fans love the 40. It’s not even the sort of speed you want to assess in an OL. Sure, you pay attention, but I doubt it plays a whole lot in their decision making process. What I always want to see is their short area quickness. Explosive power. And the bench. Not speed.
***
I’m thinking of dating WordPress because it blows!!! I have to sign in constantly.
Oops, this is what made me laugh!!
The 40 doesn’t even give you the best idea of their foot speed. OL spend most of their time in a squat. Watch the mirror drill. That gives you a much better idea of their foot quickness and lateral movement. That’s what OL are doing 90% of the time. Not sprinting.
🙂
Kingsley Suamataia is the cousin of Penei Sewell. 5.06 40-time.
Randy,
OF COURSE an O-Lineman’s 40-time doesn’t tell the story… that’s why tape >>> than Combine results.
But I will say: the fastest of O-Linemen who also show up on tape are generally going to be Pro-Bowlers. This is what history at the Combine has taught us all.
AND Amarius Mims just hurt himself on his second 40-run.
Looks like cramping, not a pulled hammy.
Randy,
We obviously are more interested in other Combine drills outside of 40-times for the O-Linemen. I can only post what the BIG FUGLIES are doing in real time. Like you, I’m more curious about things outside of 40-times, but that’s all we’ve got thus far!
Gotta run for a bit. BBL…
M13,
I know you know that stuff. I just said that for when guys like Kiper Jeremiah read our posts, so they can get edumacated! 😎🤟
LOL
NCC, NR.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13152233/pigs-fly-wingspan-answers-correspondents.html
Hearing odd things on WQAM this morning. Omar is saying the Dolphins will likely end up with one of the two KC defenders that are going to be supposedly available. DT Chris Jones and/or CB L’Jarius Sneed. First off, that would be a huge slap in the face to Christian Wilkins, second thing is we have so many spots to fill on both lines, O-line and D-line, we can’t trade a pick or picks for a CB. It’s just crazy talk
I love Wilkins but Chris Jones is elite and then some
While that may be true, how can you pay Jones but not have the money for Wilkins?
It’s obviously not about the money if that is in fact what we do
It is also silly season when rumors run wild so hard to take seriously these stories to heart
Wow:
Buccaneers, WR Mike Evans agree to terms on two-year, $52 million deal
Dov Kleiman
@NFL_DovKleiman
#Eagles C Jason Kelce has made his decision.
He will have a press conference today at 1 ET.
————————-
Sounds like retirement to me and another team needing a center.
RIP
Longtime ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen Dies at Age 72
I saw a blurb the other day that Christian Wilkins had more tackles in his first 5 seasons than any other defensive lineman in history.
MikeE,
If they are still trying to win now, that is exactly what they would do. Chris Jones is better than Wilkins. I’d make that swap if they feel he’s still got plenty in the tank. I’m not a huge fan of Wilkins leadership abilities, and Jones is well known as a great leader, I think.
***
KFAN guys here in MN were talking about how much they would love to get Wilkins. Maybe the team feels Wilkins is gone, and they are looking to make a move. Frankly, I’d go after Danielle Hunter, if he isn’t set on going back to his home area. He’s a stud, and he’d make who ever is on the other side of him immediately better. I’m thinking Phillips. Hunter might even be cheaper than Jones. I have no clue.
Randy – I get that. We can definitely win with Wilkins, especially if we can win with Tua. lol
Wilkins would be more of a long term move for sure though
A possible replacement for Hunt.
Christian Mahogany is a DOMINANT Interior FORCE (youtube.com)
Looks like wordpress changing shit up again
https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1764748605389210020?s=20
I hate it as it could have and should have been avoided.
That’s weak!!!
Week 1 of no smoking is in the books. Starting week 2. Was a tough time to start as on day 1 we found out my brother-in-law OD’ed again, this time with fentanyl. He was about dead until they hit him with a 4th dose of Narcan. He is ok now, if you can say that, and refused hospitalization. The next day, day 2, my wife got her results from her chest CT. Lungs were OK but showed a high buildup of fats and cholesterol around her lungs and was at risk for Endogenous Lipoid Pneumonia. Doc said that was rare and asked if she vapes. She has been vaping for the last year to give up smoking (also using a weed pen). Doctor told her to stop immediately as that is more than likely the root cause. They also found a 1cm spot on her kidney, so she had to get an ultrasound on that last Friday and waiting on the results today or tomorrow. On Wednesday, day 3, last week our oldest dog passed away. Then this past weekend work was tough being as both my day and night clerks this past weekend smoke. They had strict orders to not let me bum one. LOL
Should be downhill after making it through week 1, but I doubt it. lol
Bless you Mike. Keep at it. Nicotine is a crutch, but it doesn’t uplift you. Don’t give in to it’s evil. I say evil because it makes you want to kill yourself with it. It is insidious. You know it is poison, but man, I really like this poison.
It’s that crazy rumor time of year.
That also. It will be really smoky for the next 7 days until we start seeing deals being worked out during the tampering period starting on Tueaday, March 11.
Then we will start seeing the smoke get thicker again about 2 weeks before the draft.
Quite a few are projecting QB JJ McCarthy being selected in the top ten and 4 QB’s total being drafted in the top 10. That would be great for us as he was projected late 1st to early 2nd. If taken top 20, that push another player down to us.
He must have really impressed at the conbime.
Pick #21 will be in a good spot. Could get many offers from teams wanting to move up a couple spots.
This is what Denver gave up for Russell Wilson and then signed him to a $242M deal.
QB Drew Lock
DT Shelby Harris
TE Noah Fant
2022 first-round pick
2022 second-round pick
2022 fifth-round pick
2023 first-round pick
2023 second-round pick
———————————-
Hmmmmmm???? Ya’ll sure you don’t want to see what you can get for Tua??
If we’re doing what’s best for the team, we should check it out. He’s earned the right to be traded!
Jason Kelce
NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 6 / Pick: 191
• Super Bowl champion (LII)
• 6× First-team All-Pro (2017–2019, 2021–2023)
• 7× Pro Bowl (2014, 2016, 2019–2023)
Not bad for a 6th-rounder out of Cincinnati
———————–
Hope we can find some late round OL gems.
We have found them, and then cut them because we changed coaches and schemes again…
when they traded for Russell Wilson he was still a top QB. Don’t think we get that return for Tua
According to some here he’s one of the best. According to some on Dolphins twitter he’s the most accurate QB in the NFL who led the league in passing yards and the ceiling is much higher than that for him. If a team offered us two 1st RD picks for Tua, I’d gladly accept that trade
I have Tua ranked at about 7 or 8th best QB
Wilson also has a Super bowl championship to brag about
I can see somenone trading for Tua and giving up a lot if he leads the league in passing again
next year we have to worry about Waddle, Phillips and Holland
so maybe it’s best not to extend Wilkins
in terms of the draft I’m leaning towards wanting to trade back, maybe even into the early 2nd
I think I would rather have multiple 2nd rounders
if we had 3 second rounders or more there’s a lot of room to target 2 OL, a DT and a TE which I fell like are our priorities (maybe a DB too)
If er draft an OT, I think we may be able to play that OT at OG like we did Tunsil , and then have him be ready to go with the inevitable Armstead injury(s)
That way maybe we are a little safer to let Hunt go
So we trade Tua and gets some draft picks and players so we can reach the great heights that the Seahawks have reached since they traded Wilson?
if we’re letting Wilkins go and Hunt too, let’s keep going!
Actually, it seems as if they were right about Wilson though, weren’t they?
We really don’t know anything yet. I’d rather see us keep building on what we started as opposed to some new unknown rebuild. But that’s just me. 🙂
Mike E.
says:
March 4, 2024 at 9:11 am
Hearing odd things on WQAM this morning. Omar is saying the Dolphins will likely end up with one of the two KC defenders that are going to be supposedly available. DT Chris Jones and/or CB L’Jarius Sneed. First off, that would be a huge slap in the face to Christian Wilkins, second thing is we have so many spots to fill on both lines, O-line and D-line, we can’t trade a pick or picks for a CB. It’s just crazy tal makingk
———————–
So with the Chefs* slapping the franchise tag on Sneed earlier today, I guess we’re making run at Chris Jones… according to Omar.
Hang in there BBM!
I have puppies to kick on standby when Wilkins goes.
I recommend chickens
they’re jerks anyway
I like Wilkins a lot, he’s been my avi from the day we drafted him. But he’s not a game changer enough to be paid top scale. He deserves a big contract but some of the numbers I’ve seen are a bit over the top.
That’s precisely how I feel about Tua. I put up earlier that Wilkins had more tackles than any DL in their first 5 seasons in NFL history. Oh, and Wilkins actually played in every game in his career.
I knew you were going to say that. 😂
Mike, QB is a different beast and we all know that. They get overdrafted and overpaid. That’s today’s NFL. That’s why I don’t spend too much time talking about it. When you have a young QB who is #1, 2, top 5 and top 10 in all the categories you don’t let them go. You build on it.
Tim – not trying to be a dick, but it looks more like we’re tearing it down than building. if we’re building, you don’t jettison your best DL who you drafted and developed on his 2nd contract, and same for Hunt, who was our best OL we drafted in the 2nd RD. I’m not sure this constitutes “building”.
Nothing has happened yet except for the release of X and Ogbah which wasn’t a surprise to any of us. Everything else is all speculation right now. We’ll see how we go about it.
Remember that I’m not as emotional about sports as I once was. If it’s not fun or entertaining why the fuck do I follow it all? 🤔
QB is a different beast, but only when you have a game changer. Tua’s not the guy, he disappears in every big game.
Yep
Seiler and the rest don’t have the production without Wilkins there.
I am with you on the “building”.
👍
If we actually let Christian Wilkins WALK to FA, there’s something awry. Even if it’s some kind of personal issue/vendetta, it’s just plain foolishness to not make an attempt to get an appropriate return on him. NO… a 3rd-round compensatory pick isn’t an appropriate return.
Tag him at the very least, Chris Grier. Come on now.
Asking for too much. Agents play a major role in all of this.
Yessir, I realize that agents play a HUGE role in all of this. Well if somebody like the Raiders want to overpay for him and his agent, TAG HIM! At least we get something of true value in return.
Would any of you be surprised if Tua wasn’t our starting QB in 2024? I would be. That’s all I’m going by. There are opinions and reality. McDaniel has said over and over that Tua is his QB. Unless he’s lying and I don’t get that vibe from him.
Tua is the least of my concerns. He’s under contract, so of course he’s going to be our QB. What the rest of the team is going to look like concerns me.
Speaking of vibes, something isn’t right in Miami. Don’t know what it is, but something is very wrong if we just allow Wilkins to walk.
We’re either bluffing the media (we’re about to re-sign Wilkins), or there’s something out there on him that makes no team willing to trade for him under any franchise tag.
The only other thing I can think of is that we’re prevailing hope that Wilkins will take a hometown discount to remain with us.
But should he hit FA and he sees the $$$ dangled to him and his agent, he’s likely a goner.
So seriously, WHY would we not make a mere attempt to at least match another offer from another team when we could be compensated should we not match?
None of this makes any kind of business sense to me.
His camp already said no home town discount which isn’t the norm anyway. Let’s see what his market is.
Mike, look at how the Mets are doing things. I have a lot of pissed off friends how they’re going about things. But they won only 75 games last year. They have some really good core pieces but they’re not good enough to compete with the top teams.
So they really want to take a good look at young players moving forward. I understand what they’re doing. But it’s a different sport and circumstance. The Dolphins are ahead of the Mets.
Again, we have no control over anything so we root as fans or we don’t. I’m just a fan man.
I actually mentioned this on the blog. I’m not happy with the Mets not paying Alonso. To me it’s like the Dolphins not paying Wilkins and Hunt.
Yeah the Alonso thing bothers me too. But he’s more valuable to the Mets than Wilkins and Hunt are to the Dolphins.
Big money to a really good DT is not the same for a RG. Most big money contracts to FA OL don’t pan out.
Supposedly the Mets have some really good pitching in the minors. But they may be a year or two away. We’ll see.
M13, do you think there are teams out there looking to give up high draft picks and give Wilkins the contract he’s seeking in the neighborhood of $25M per?
See below. If one doesn’t at least try, one will never know.
Tim Knight
says:
March 4, 2024 at 8:46 pm
His camp already said no home town discount which isn’t the norm anyway. Let’s see what his market is.
——————
I’m not trying to be argumentative in any way, but couldn’t Wilkins’ market have been set had we applied the non-exclusive franchise tag on him? There may have been some buyers… but we didn’t even try. We’ve now lost that leverage. I call that mismanagement, my guy.
And if we had no buyers, we could have rescinded the tag to get a deal done.
I mean, that’s a win-win IMO.
He earned the right to be a UFA. They tried to get a deal done last year and they weren’t on the same page. We’re not the only team to lose a good player to FA. Lots of turnover in the NFL these days.
Quoting the great Chris Grier now Tim? You’re falling right in with the company line, eh? 😂
Sports is big business.
Making music is so much more gratifying for me that the two don’t mix anymore. I still love the competition of sports but what I can’t control is not affecting me as much anymore.
I’d love to see one of my teams win a championship but it hasn’t happened in 37 years.
Yeah, it’s not always enjoyable. I find it very frustrating. We think our teams are in good hands and then all of a sudden it looks like anything but. I’m really concerned about what our team will look like in ’24. I don’t see what the plan is. Hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised at how things go down
I have no idea. Like Bob Weir once sang, “at least I’m enjoying the ride”.
I feel you Tim (The Mets). My ride though, is more like the worlds largest roller coaster
Another team who will make a run at Wilkins is the Texans. Houston is going to be really good this year.
Is today BBW day? BYE BYE WILKINS. lol - Dirty boys!
If we let Wilkins walk and sign Jones, would that be a wash and mean we wouldn’t even get the comp for Wilkins?
Right now, reports are saying it’s looking good Chiefs might even retain Jones anyway.
The Ravens only spent like 18 mil on their 7 dlinemen last year. Maybe the idea is to invest less in the Dline.
Still no excuse to only get a 3rd for Wilkins.
I don’t think we’re really in play for Chris Jones.
Not at all.
Point being, if we are, or were, in play for him wouldn’t we we basically be letting Wilkins walk for nothing?
Letting a stud 1st rd pick walk for a comp 3rd is bad, but to let him walk for nothing is just bad business no matter how you slice it.
When you have a young QB who is #1, 2, top 5 and top 10 in all the categories you don’t let them go. You build on it.
——————–
I don’t see how we are building on or around our QB by letting 2 of our best players walk. We are still over the cap by 28.5 million with FA starting in a week.
We have the smallest roster in the NFL right now with 43 players under contract. That is pathetic in itself. The NFL average is 54 rostered players right now. We can’t even play in FA.
We don’t have the formula for success this year at all. Take a step back and take a look, our roster is a complete total mess with all these holes and no money to fill them.
We aren’t going to be shopping at the mall. We are going to be at the thrift stores and yard sales trying to fill our roster.
That’s not building around your QB.
Yeah, we have a top 5 QB. But we don’t have a QB who can put the team on his shoulders. The way things are stacking up, we will be fighting to not be last in the AFCE and bottom 1/2 of the AFC. I could see a 7-10 season this year and a top 10 pick in the 2025 draft.
Yeah, I got up on that side of the bed. lol
My feeling all along was we couldn’t do it loaded up last year. Now we have guys that have earned the right to be free agents. We lose Hunt, Wilkins and Raekwon Davis, X, and more that I can’t think of at the moment. Even if we draft perfectly in RD 1 and 2 and get a starting C and maybe a LB, how can we be better when our LT may be retiring, we have no LG, and no RG. We have no NT and no DE. We have one safety, and he’s barking about getting paid. Our starting OLB’s are probably out for a while, we have one ILB. It’s UGLY!! If we couldn’t win with Tua loaded up, how are going to win with less?
We won’t.
Only thing helping us as far as Wilkins is Chris Jones and Justin Madubuike also being free agents. Per PFF, Wilkins is the #3 DT available in FA right now. Of course, on the flip side, teams could view Wilkins as a cheaper option to Jones and Madubuike even though Wilkins is better vs the run than both them.
Leonard Williams is also a FA and may come as a good, cheaper option to Wilkins for some teams.
So, now we aren’t tagging Wilkins at all? WTF?
TBH, this would have been a good time to blow it up as we will not be able to field a good enough roster to make the playoffs.
Yeah, we will have Reek, Waddle, Mostert and Achane to make things exciting and put up some points against the weaker teams again. But will have a pieced together OL where that O will struggle to score against the good teams. This time, we won’t have a good or decent defense to at least start the season. The D will be pieced together also and trying to learn a new system.
refer to my avatar.
Is this what happens when you quit smoking, you turn into Rockphin? ;-)
BTW Rock, thanks for the encouragement!
you have the power!! do not give in!! You can do it!!
Congrats on your quitting going well so far, BBM. I know it’s a tough journey.
I wish my wife would quit. She’s tried over and over and just hasn’t found the will yet. Probably won’t until she gets that health scare. I just hope if/when that comes, quitting will still mean something.
I see you guys have finally come around my way of thinking. Realization is finally setting in. Grier, fucked this team hard
BBM,
If you’re gonna blow shit up, don’t do it half way. Sadly, the NFL is all about whether or not you have a stud QB. It makes the overall football product worse, but it’s how you expand your fan base and make billions. Change all the rules to benefit QBs and offense and the promote those QBs like superheroes and then find some way to get them into the playoffs and SB. Merch. Female fans. Fringe fans who have no clue about football but are into hero worship. Boom. Marketing 101.
True
Only three plays have been tagged so far with a few hours to go.
OLB/Edge Brian Burns, Panthers
WR Tee Higgins, Bengals
CB L’Jarius Sneed, Chiefs
Jacksonville Jaguars
ROSTER CUTS
———————
Of course, we don’t have the money to sign anyone worth anything.
Being a little sarcastic. We have $$ to sign players to contracts past 2025. Just pissed it is not getting done prior to key players hitting FA. We could have close to 200 mil in cap space in 2026 right now if you consider Hill, Ramsey and Armstead being gone.
There is so much that can be pushed forward to 26 and beyond. It just seems so stupid to not secure your core players when you have the future money to do it.
Well, we only have like 8 players signed through 2025 so that cap room needs to be spent. All these 1 year contracts really screw the team’s ability to keep a cohesive roster.
Just double checked. It’s not that bad. We have 13 under contract into ’26. (but Hill is a cap hit of $56M that year, so will he really be here?)
I’m not a big fan of Good Morning Football, but I’m watching while I wash dishes. They did a thing where they picked teams to watch this season. Not a single word about the Dolphins. I don’t think anybody sees us as an up and coming team ready to make a move. Even though I agree, that’s kinda depressing. Maybe I should change the channel to CNN and hear how much better the economy is under Biden than it was under Trump! 😈🤬😜
There you go! If you turn it to “The View” though, I am really going to worry about you. lol
Who is it? A former pocket passer or a former mobile athletic QB?
Piggy,
@Jordan_Reid
One name that multiple scouts raved about following the NFL Combine? Washington OT Troy Fautanu
The free agent RB pool is just ridiculous:
Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, Tony Pollard, D’Andre Swift, and a lot more.
And none of them will be paid what they are worth
Every single one will be paid what they are worth. They just over value what they think they are worth. At the end of the day, they will take a deal. THAT is what they are worth!
More than likely, not.
Rumors are that Panthers tagged OLB Brian Burns at the last minute in order to tag and trade him to get more value than letting him go via free agency.
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Hmmmmm, I know another team who should have done that with a player.
Bills announced they agreed to terms on a trade to send OL Ryan Bates to Chicago in exchange for a 2024 5th-round pick. The trade will become official on March 13, pending a physical.
Hill (12.18%), Ramsey (10.6%), Chub (10.44%), Howard (10.07%), Tagovailoa (9.01%), Armstead (8.11%), Baker 5.75%) Byron Jones (3.91%) make up 56% of the salary cap this year.
Eight players two not even on the roster this season make up 60% of our salary cap. This was never sustainable. But Grief is going to spew bullshit about how great a job his capologist has done and how “flexible” we are.
16 million in Dead cap so far this season. (more to come)
Grief has fucked this team and should be sued for all his past salary for malpractice.
not sure if they are 100% correct but Sportrac shows us at $25.5 Mil over the cap still.
How flexible our salary cap is
Exactly, that 16.8 dead cap does not yet include another 7.4 that will hit on 6/1 for X. As you said, “more to come”. That will put us at 24.2 in dead cap for this year.
X will also have a 15.7 mil dead cap hit in 2025 also. We will have around 20 mil in dead cap in 2025. X and Baker will account for 17 mil alone.
Kirk Cousins is from Illinois. He has recently been talking about moving his family to Atlanta. Has there been tampering going on???
His wife I’d from Alpharetta and her family is still there.
The team will be releasing cornerback Keion Crossen, according to NFL writer Aaron Wilson, after he missed the entire 2023 season with a shoulder injury.
Duke Riley likely next as he will save 2.5 mil and only have .5 in dead cap. Although, his performance vs pay may keep him on the roster, we need players after all.
From Dave Hyde
The Dolphins have just two weeks to clear not only $31.6 million of cap commitments to be cap compliant, but realistically, an additional $25 million more or so simply so that they can conduct offseason business early in free agency.
Keep in mind that the $18.5 million in cap savings from Xavien Howard’s release cannot be used until June 1. Simple restructurings for Jalen Ramsey and Bradley Chubb could create about $32 million in space, virtually eliminating the current deficit.
If the Dolphins extended deals of Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa, that could create another $28 million or so in cap space. So those four moves, alone, could create room for Miami to sign some players in free agency, while holding off on filling a few other needs — or signing their first- and second-round draft pick — until Howard’s money is freed up on June 1.
But Hyde neglects to mention that Hill already has 56M in cap hit in ’26. Are we going to ADD to that!?!?!? Doubtful, especially since he already said he was thinking about retiring after next season.
ooof! The Broncos taking an 85 million cap hit over the next two seasons for Russel Wilson.
Play Tua on the 5th year and see how it goes!
Couldn’t agree more!
I was listening to a GM on NFL radio the other day. I forgot which one. Typically the top 10-12 players on your take up 80% of your cap
We’re gonna have the wrong 10-12
REPORT: Dolphins Offered Wilkins Top 10 DT Money Last Summer; Over $40 Mill Guaranteed (dolphinstalk.com)
If this is true, then I have no problem moving on from Wilkins. With the income tax benefits, he would have been a top 7-8 paid DT in the NFL. Looking at Suh, Donald, etc, etc DTs don’t seem to be the necessary part of winning SBs. I hope he stays here but work that new limit better Grier. Quit overpaying especially for injury prone dudes.
I’m not bothered moving on from Wilkins s so much as it bothers me getting nothing but a comp pick for him at best.
It has been clear to me for awhile Wilkins was going to take the biggest contract he could get, nothing wrong with that, his call. But if I could see that from my couch, our GM should also see it, and if we didn’t intend on giving him a top DT contract this year, then we should have traded him last year so we could get good value. You can’t tell me we couldn’t have gotten better than a 3rd for him even with a trade and sign deal.
I also wonder about this ‘he’s earned the right to be a FA’ stuff. I wonder if he considered holding out last year and we gave him a promise not to tag him if he played.
Or as BBM has outlined, are we so screwed with our cap, there was nothing we could do to tag him and get under the cap. That is just bad. I’m really struggling to see how we can field a roster even close to equal to last year…
Just asking – does anyone here see light at the end of the tunnel for this season? Does anyone see a clear plan as to what we’re doing, besides getting ass fucked dry due to the cap situation we’re in?
I thought I did, but it was just the glow of the bonfire caused by my Avi.
BLOWED IT UP REAL GOOD MOCK DRAFT
Traded Tua, Tyreek and Jeff Wilson to Commanders for two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks and some other picks. Lost one of the 2025 2nd round picks trading back up. Then tagged and traded Wilkins with Baker and got more picks. Did some trading back up and down and ended up with:
PICK: 2 Jayden DANIELS QB LSU
PICK: 21 Troy FAUTANU OT Washington
PICK: 36 Brian THOMAS JR. WR LSU
PICK: 40 Xavier WORTHY WR Texas
PICK: 46 Braden FISKE DT Florida State
PICK: 55 Zach FRAZIER C West Virginia
PICK: 66 Jeremiah TROTTER JR. LB Clemson
PICK: 67 Trey BENSON RB Florida State
PICK: 141 Theo JOHNSON TE Penn State
PICK: 157 Malik MUSTAPHA S Wake Forest
PICK: 186 Curtis JACOBS LB Penn State
PICK: 200 Gabe Hall DT Baylor
PICK: 239 Garret GREENFIELD OT South Dakota State
2025 1st
2025 3rd
2025 5th
The trade of Hill did create a 33.9 mil dead cap hit for Tyreek but it’s only an extra 2.6 mil above his regular cap hit. HOWEVER, Hill will have ZERO cap hit in 2025 clearing 34.2 mil and ZERO cap hit in 2026 clearing 56.3 mil.
Better yet, the trades all together cleared 33.2 mil in cap in 2024.
Spotrac has deleted Crossen. Shows us at 42 players under contract and down to 25.5 over the cap.
Miami Dolphins, You Are Now on the Clock (msn.com)
still need to clear more because we have to sign players, not just get under the cap with 42 players on the roster…
replacing good players with street free agents. THAT’S how you build a roster. NOT!!!
Yeah, that’s how you build around a QB. Sheesh
Spotrac keeping up. We are down to 41 players on the roster and at -15.6 in cap space.
Mike E
To answer your question, no. Looks like to me it is just going to be can kicking down the road. The bills will come due eventually and I think the team just gets weaker in the process. Grier swung and missed. Just my opinion of course.
Brutally disappointing, is it not?
There’s plenty of time for different things to develop, but as of this moment, my best guess is they’re going to give a big contract to the one guy we have under contract for this season, and in my opinion, the one guy that would be best to let play on the 5th year contract. In turn, they’re going to let go their best DL and their best OL. I guess I’m going to have to be patient and see what develops, but right now it looks like a lot of fuckery. Looks like “Well, we just don’t seem to have any cap room left, so he’s gotta go, he’s gotta go, he’s gotta go, he’s gotta go, and so on, and so on, and so on
I traded down and ended up with four second rounders
50.
Zach FrazierOC West Virginia
53.
Ja’Tavion SandersTE Texas
55.
Braden FiskeDT Florida State
57.
Payton WilsonLB NC State
97.
Kiran AmegadjieOT Yale
200.
Cornelius JohnsonWR Michigan
239.
Prince PinesOG Tulane
I like it! Just not a big fan of Sanders.
I do hope we can bring Baker back under a much more reasonable contract.
LOL I like him, he just never was great and I wanted great.
Liked him a lot also. Thought our LB group would have been fine with him back there. It was the OLB injuries that had me worried. Now, it’s the entire LB group.
All of these amateur gm’s posting articles about how they can trim this many million and that many million by cutting so and so are not carrying through with the realization that whomever they cut, they are going to have to spend money to fill that spot. We will have sloppy seconds at best.
I know.
That’s true but you can’t be big players every year in FA when you already added some top players the last few years.
Lots of last minute franchise tags done. Of course, non by the Phins.
@AdamSchefter
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Free-agent tight end Jonnu Smith visited the Miami Dolphins today, per source. The two sides are said to be in contract negotiations.
How is this when free agency has not started yet? Unless Atlanta outright released him earlier after the season was over.
He was released last week.
Interesting, I know who he is but not much about his game. He’s a decent receiver based on his stats but I’m pretty sure he’s a good blocker.
He’s an average blocker. If he can catch one TD he will beat all the TEs from last year!
No, we can’t be big buyers every year. In fact, this year we’re just going to let other teams buy our former stars, while we get worse. Grier most certainly did not portend this last year. It’s almost as if he didn’t realize it was going to happen
Check the date…
mf13ss
says:
March 9, 2023 at 3:48 pm
I sense we are trying to win it all NOW… same essential strategy the Rams used to win their last Super Bowl. As we restructure deals to free up more money for TODAY, it kicks the can into oblivion tomorrow (again, see the Rams).
We’ve got Tua on his rookie contract (that’s a HUGE factor) and we’re aiming to make noise NOW. If we want to re-sign/extend Christian Wilkins, Zach Seiler, Tua, and maybe a few other key players, we’re already in trouble.
IF we add another prized FA target (see Tremaine Edmunds), I’d say the ‘WIN NOW’ theory is in full effect. If the ‘WIN NOW’ theory doesn’t hold up, we’d better be very careful with our future spending, starting today.
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And then we traded for Jalen Ramsey… who cost us probably double-triple what Edmunds got from the Bears, LOL
In the offseason last year (I’ll see if I can find it), I said all of X, Baker, Ogbah, and possibly T-Stead would be gone in ’24, due to our chronic over-spending.
Not trying to brag, just reading (had read) the writing on the wall. We went ALL-IN and it failed, miserably (injuries derailed us more than anything). Now, we’re stuck with the bill with no way to pay for it.
Oh yeah… and with two stud EDGE rushers who may not be able to start next season until mid-late season in ’24.
Plenty of ways to clear cap space.
Yes, but at what cost to coninuity and maintaining the same level of play as last season?
None of us know what the team will look like in 2024. You know I don’t play the doom and gloom game. 😉
This is surprising because Jannu Smith is going to cost a lot. He made 8.5 million with the Falcons last year. What the hell??? I will lose my mind if they spend big on a non position of need, TE.
He signed a 4 year 50 million dollar contract with the Pats in 2021, then traded to Falcons for 2023 season and now released by the Falcons.
Last season was about his best. He won’t come cheap. I don’t get it.
Okay, we have no OL or DL or ILB, BUT our TE room is solid. WTF!
I’m right there with ya, bud. WTF?
We almost HAVE to trade down from R1P21 in order to recoup lost picks… for cheaper labor in order to fill our roster, rather than signing pricer FAs.