The Miami Dolphins took a hacksaw to their roster this offseason — setting a new league record for dead cap charges at $179 million. The team cutting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa contributed a whopping $99.2 million to that astronomical figure.
Yesterday, Jeff Legwold of ESPN released an article in which he informally polled 11 coaches and personnel executives around the National Football League asking if they felt the Dolphins were influenced by the extreme dead-cap charges the Denver Broncos were willing
to incur when releasing former starting quarterback Russell Wilson ($85 million in deap cap) just two offseasons ago.
“Many respondents believed Miami’s offseason strategy was a progression from what the Broncos did two years ago,” wrote Legwold.
In the two seasons following Wilson’s release in Denver, the Broncos went 24-10 in regular season games, made the playoffs twice and advanced to the AFC Championship Game this past January. If not for an ankle injury to quarterback Bo Nix, they could have easily represented the conference in this year’s Super Bowl.
The Dolphins and new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan would be thrilled to replicate those results — even if the process were to take a bit longer than it did for Denver. Miami signed their new signal-caller — Malik Willis — this offseason, and hope that his steady leadership and insane athletic ability can expedite their rebuilding process.
While the Dolphins are no longer in dire straits when it comes to cap space — the team gained more than $21 million in post-June 1st savings earlier this month — it is next offseason when they should be flush with money to burn. Spotrac currently projects Miami to have nearly $114 million to spend in 2027 if they choose to do so. With careful decision making, plus a little bit of luck, the Dolphins could find themselves following in the footsteps of the Broncos sooner than some expect.
