The Miami Dolphins are going to find themselves in tough spots against the salary cap all season long.
That’s what happens when you’re paying more money to players not on your roster than to the players actually on the roster.
With Tua Tagovailoa at the forefront, the Dolphins have a record-setting amount of dead cap, which means salary that hits against the salary cap for players that aren’t even on Miami’s roster anymore.
Because of that, the Dolphins are particularly up against it when it comes to trying to make in-season moves. Despite not having a high-earning roster, Miami doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room to make moves.
That means wherever Miami can find a spot to save a little bit of cash, they’ll do it, which explains their four contract moves on Wednesday.
Dolphins Make 4 Contract Moves
The Dolphins converted four elements of player contracts into bonuses to create about $2.5 million in cap space, according to a post on X by Spotrac on Wednesday morning.
The largest savings came from offensive tackle Austin Jackson’s contract. He had $1.51 million of the per-game bonus portion of his deal into a signing bonus, which creates $1.2 million in cap space.
The next largest savings came from the cornerback Julius Brent. He had $792,000 of his salary converted into a signing bonus, which turns into $634,000 of cap space.
Out of Zach Sieler’s deal, $511,000 of his per-game bonus was converted into an overall signing bonus. That creates $408,000 in cap space.
And then there’s tight end Greg Dulcich. He had $341,000 of his per-game bonus rate converted into an overall signing bonus, which freed up $272,000 in cap space.
The Dolphins won’t be able to do a ton with an extra couple million dollars, but they will have a bit more flexibility to sign any necessary replacements as the year goes along.
These might not be the last maneuvers, but with Miami feeling a bit more secure about who belongs where on its roster after a Week 1 loss to the Raiders, it was possible to start shifting some more of this money around.
What’s Next for Dolphins?
Things don’t get easier for the Dolphins this week after their 27-13 loss to the Raiders.
They’ll be playing in San Francisco against the 49ers, another late afternoon kickoff for those watching back in Miami.
The 49ers played in Australia in Week 1 and thrashed the Los Angeles Rams, an incredibly impressive result that doesn’t bode favorably for the Dolphins.
It’ll be a sturdy test of Miami’s resolve. If they can lift their level to play tight with a powerful NFC West team, it’ll be an encouraging sign. If they can’t, though, they could be looking at a long season of salary cap struggles and on-field woes, too.
Dolphins Change 4 Contracts Before Week 2