Tidbits: Wake is one of the NFLs best bargains.... after Jordan signs we still have 14m in cap space, with more cost effective moves coming. We'll need to carry over a whole lot, 10 of the projected starters are in contract years.... TEN! Regardless, we already have 110m committed for 2014. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/miami-dolphins-salary-cap-outlook-cameron-wake-one-183941032.html
The major guys that will become free agents are Reshad Jones, Randy Starks, Paul Soliai, Brent Grimes, Richie Incognito, Koa Misi, Dustin Keller, Chris Clemons, Tyson Clabo, John Jerry, Lance Louis, John Denney and Nolan Carroll. This is why they really need to be aggressive in cutting away unnecessary salaries when you get to cut down dates. The primary guy I'm looking at from a bang-for-your-buck standpoint is Dimitri Patterson. Cutting him saves you $4.5 million of base salary that you can carry over to next year. It also saves you $5.3 million of that 'committed' salary for 2014. So essentially, you cut Dimitri Patterson in camp and that $110 million committed for 2014 goes down to $100 million. Another guy to potentially be aggressive about is Dan Carpenter who is set to make $2.7 million in base salary this year. That could be carried over to next year, as well. Two more guys I would spotlight on this basis and they are Vaughn Martin ($1.6 million 2013, $2.2 million 2014) and Austin Spitler ($1.3 million 2013). Spitler I could see retaining if the backup linebackers just don't look good...but that's a high figure for what he is considering you could get a young player to play the same role as him and probably do it nearly as well. The same really goes for Vaughn Martin. He will have to show that he's worth about $4 million on the 2014 cap. Essentially, cut all of those guys and you have $17.6 million less committed salaries for 2014, while doing minimal damage to the actual talent base of the team. And there would be the potential to lop off $4.0 million more if you draft a replacement for Matt Moore in 2014, $5.3 million more if the young corners you drafted pan out and so you can afford to ditch Richard Marshall (while potentially focusing on keeping Brent Grimes?), and if he plays like I predict he will then you'd give some consideration to ditching Brandon Gibson's $2.7 million base salary in 2014. All told if you were to get rid of all those guys at those times, that would give you another $50+ million available in the off season to make smart acquisitions and retain the free agents you want to retain. I'm guessing the team will want to retain Reshad Jones, Paul Soliai, Brent Grimes, Richie Incognito, John Denney and Nolan Carroll. Just a guess. Would probably leave room for another three major acquisitions on the order of Mike Wallace, Dannell Ellerbe and Phil Wheeler, plus a few more stopgaps similar to Tyson Clabo, Dustin Keller and Brent Grimes.
good points CK. writing is definitely on the wall with Carpenter. If Marshall is healthy, I can see us losing Patterson. So, when do we have to make these cuts in order to be able to carry the money over to next season?
It's still not that bad a situation, if you consider (IIRC) there are several guys who's 2014 number is pretty high, but those drop again after 2014...Perhaps some restructuring could give us add'l room, if needed...?? I can't remember all the guys, but Wallace is the biggie, but I believe also Ellerbe and Wheeler's contracts are similar ??
However much of the 2013 salary cap you don't pay in 2013, you will have a chance to carry it over to 2014. The timing doesn't matter. Every game check you give a guy is one game check you can't carry over. Some guys are old enough (Patterson probably) that if he's on the roster during the first game of the year, his entire salary will automatically be guaranteed. I forget how many seasons you have to have under your belt for that to be true...but I'm not sure it would apply to Carpenter, Spitler or Martin. Matt Moore, Richard Marshall and Brandon Gibson would only be guys I'd look at the possibility of releasing after the 2013 season if I didn't like how they performed (or in Moore's case if I'm able to draft a significant player to replace him).
It's virtually the same situation as we faced this off season. A lot of free assets, but a lot of liabilities as well. In the scenario I mentioned, you've got $50+ million in assets but you've also potentially got scheduled liabilities: Left Tackle Left Guard Right Guard Tight End Slot Receiver Backup Quarterback Nose Tackle Under Tackle Will Backer Left Corner Right Corner Nickel Corner Free Safety Long Snapper Some of those you'll fill with home growns. Some of those you'll fill by re-signing guys. Some you'll draft. Some you'll grab new outside free agents to fill. But it's still a lot to fill in one off season.
At what point do we declare that Miami has an internal cap? I don't think they're ever going to fully-realize the money they've continued to carry over.
So, the Dolphins have $110M committed now for 2014. Last year's cap # was $123.9M (but Miami had $128M+ available to spend because of carryover). This next year, the cap should certainly increase. If it did by the same as last year (probably the minimum amount, it could be higher) that would be a league cap # of about $127 M. Add to that the estimated $14M carryover (at this point before cuts in training camp) and that gives them an actual cap available of $141M or so. So, that leaves $31 M available for new signings and rookie signings (which is what? $7-8 M?). Take away say $8M for the rookies and you have probably $23 M available right now if nothing changes. Add in some of those cuts CK mentions and it really can give them a good bit of room for signing their own players. I think they can add some slots in the draft (OL would be a priority, imo; probably DT as well; and maybe TE or WR). I think they have a good shot at re-signing some of the 1 year vets from this year. If they sign Leach there will be more pressure to cut some of the higher salaried vets this year. But, they should have enough to sign him and still have some space next year. That could be one of their best signings, esp. with potential mediocrity on the OL.
In the scenario I laid out above I suppose with those $50 million in assets and all those liabilities you can fill the positions this way: Left Tackle - Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama (R) Left Guard - Dallas Thomas Right Guard - Richie Incognito Tight End - Randall Telfer, USC (R)/Dion Sims Slot Receiver - Jacoby Ford Backup Quarterback - Tyler Russell, Mississippi State (R) Nose Tackle - Paul Soliai Under Tackle - Jared Odrick Nickel Tackle - Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh (R) Right End - Olivier Vernon/Derrick Shelby Will Backer - Dion Jordan Left Corner - Brent Grimes Right Corner - Sam Shields Nickel Corner - Will Davis/Jamar Taylor Free Safety - Stevie Brown Strong Safety - Reshad Jones Long Snapper - John Denney That would involve three new significant free agents, two of them pretty major signings (Sam Shields, Stevie Brown) and one of them a little more of a mid-level signing (Jacoby Ford). It would involve re-signing Reshad Jones, Richie Incognito, Paul Soliai and John Denney. I'm not fully comfortable with the concept of Dallas Thomas and Jon Martin starting on the offensive line but you drafted them to develop so you might as well try them. There could very well be some other low level free agent signings, but not necessarily worthy of too much attention. I'm thinking of guys like Marcus Benard, Anthony Collins, Cam Thomas, Kevin Boothe, etc. I think a draft featuring OT Cyrus Kouandjio, DT Aaron Donald, TE Randall Telfer and QB Tyler Russell is doable. You could still pick up some underrated talents later, guys like OT JuWuan James of Tennessee, DE Walker May of Vanderbilt, TE Justin Jones of ECU, RB Zurlon Tipton of Cental Michigan, etc. Of course, I would CERTAINLY monitor the situation out in Cincinnati between the Bengals and Geno Atkins and make that a priority should the Bengals fumble the ball there, but I doubt they will. It also wouldn't hurt to monitor the Ravens' situation with Dennis Pitta.
Also, will they look at extending anyone this season? Grimes and Jones would be my two that I'd extend. Both have to show in the first 8 weeks of the season. From a salary cap perspective, since the Dolphins have this $14m in cap room on the horizon for 2013, it doesn't really matter if they extend this year or sign in the offseason next year as cap space can be carried forward. Timing is everything from a market value standpoint.
I would love to extend Grimes at the first sign that he's back to what we think he is. But I'm not sure Grimes will be willing to do that. Jones is a different story. I'd be alright with extending him now, but we don't know what he is asking for.
The interesting thing in all of this is that Miami appears to be taking the approach that they'll spend, but only if they are getting the right value. Just because they may need to upgrade the FB position, that doesn't mean they will go get the best FB available. They're only willing to sign guys that they deem to be the right price. The salary cap may not be much of a consideration.
Do you think Jeff Ireland has pushed "all in" this year? The FA acquisitions would seem to suggest that is the case. Now JI's all in is different than say Don Shula's all in back in the 90s when we had like 17 former first round players on the roster.
