I’m sure some here are already handwringing about next year’s cap. Here’s a simple breakdown (which some of you still won’t understand, so please ask questions) and this doesn’t account for the expected $10-$20 cap increase being projected right now.
Summary: With very simple and obvious moves, the Dolphins could create as much as $72m in cap space. Again, not including the $10-$20m cap raise being projected right now. Will a potential $92m in cap soace still create panic around here?
There aren't a lot of ways to clear space by releasing guys, but I would expect Mostert and Smythe to be let go, which would save in the neighborhood of 6.5m. Trading Tyreek Hill post June-1 is also a viable way to move on from him in a financially neutral way. Its actually more finalcially prudent to move on from Hill in a June 1 move in 2025 than a pre-June 1 move in 2026.
Really impressed that Hill hasn't shown much of a diva attitude with him being less targeted than the past 2 years. If we're not forced to I wouldn't trade him. It looks like we don't need him as much right now, but one can only tell once the player is gone. If the perception of the deep ball threat is gone, Tua might have to prove it's still there with Hill's replacement which might not work.
He would obviously need to be replaced, but IMO its not shock that he's slowing down. Almost all WRs do around his age, and its only going to get worse. He's also been playing though injury for the last year. I don't question his toughness or desire, but I think that we need a different player opposite Waddle going forward, and someone with a longer future with the team. On a related note, among players to be drafted later than 2003, the NFL's leader in catches by a WR over the age of 31 since the 2011 CBA is Adam Theilen, with 268. The only other guys to play in the last three years with over 100 are Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins. Point being, Tyreek is likely going to see his expiration date pass before long, and it would be best to move on before then.
I agree but need to find a sucker team to trade for him. I think he has already lost half a step and doesn't look as explosive as the past two years with ball in his hands.
I wouldn't even expect much of a return. Just need to dump his salary to someone with a lot of cap space looking to make a splash.
If, and it’s a HUGE IF…Hill is indeed true to his word, he does NOT want to be traded. It was reported earlier this year he’s told his agent to do whatever it takes to keep him from being traded. If that is indeed true, I think you could see Hill negotiate a team friendly contract that would keep him in Miami, even if that means a pay cut. Again…IF
Hill made some comments before the season started about being focused more on the success of the team instead of individual numbers. It seems to be elevating Tua's game even more without him feeling the pressure of getting him the ball constantly. Keeping the miles down on Hill should help slow down an inevitable decline too.
If we can generate some cap space, put it towards the offensive line. There are a few decent players that will be available while a good portion of our guys on the line are going to be free agents. Not gonna cry if we lose Kendall Lamm, but we need to replace some of these guys with better players. Patrick Paul is all but a lock to replace Armstead after his latest injury. Who else is there? Do we keep Jones? Austin Jackson? The O Line is going to have to be rebuilt yet again this summer.
I would have EXTREME doubts that he would take less money to stay, and I am absolutely not interested in another extension that just kicks the can down the road. He is due 30m in base salary with a 56m cap hit in 2026. And the dead money on a post-June 1 trade in 2025 is exactly the same as a pre-June 1 trade in 2026. Getting him completely off the 2026 books so we can start fresh has to be the goal in this respect.
Like I said, that was a big IF. I’d love to see a return to the days where a player who’s already a multimillionaire put the TEAM ahead of himself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about making as much money as you can, but when you’re already a multimillionaire who’s already hinted at retirement and your net with is 8 figures, how much MORE does one need? Maybe it’s because I never had that kind of money but I know I could live COMFORTABLY $10-15K per month. You know his monthly stipend from investments should be at least 10 times that. I’d really love it if the clock was turned back to the days of the team being more important than the individual and players truly felt that way.
Hill has a lot of child support checks going out every month. That might have a major impact on any contract negotiations.
You're not wrong. And the list seems to keep growing. Doubt he'd willingly reduce what he's getting paid.
I'm sure everyone remembers Antonio Cromartie asking the Jets for an advance on his salary to pay off all the child support. It's all fun and games until you’re knee deep in baby mommas.
I would counter that the team's success running the ball is in spite of them, not because of that. And a lot of the success in passing is on Tua getting it out quicker than anyone else. Wish he had a lot more time to throw.
Many of those stats are due at least as much to the QB as the OL. Sack%, QB hits and QB hurries all tend to be much higher for mobile QBs that run around a lot trying to extend the play, while fast release pocket QBs tend to have much lower numbers. So a lot of those rankings are due to Tua being a fast release pocket QB. It's hard to measure the OL, but ESPN has a decent stab at a metric in pass block win rate (PBWR) and run block win rate (RBWR). Dolphins are currently #15 in PBWR and #23 in RBWR. Overall we have an average OL.
The dropoff from average starters like Hunt and Jackson to guys who should be backups has been devestating, agreed. And with Armstead out, we have four backups starting on the OL. Any success is in spite of them.
That’s a bit misleading though Finatik. While those stats are correct, the one that’s missing is the one saying Tua has the least amount of time to throw the ball. I’ll look for the source and post it but Tua ranks 50th in the amount of time quarterbacks have to throw the ball. That means that other teams’ back up quarterbacks have more time to throw the ball than Tua does. Those OLine stats are more of a reflection of Tua’s skills set than the offensive line’s.