Dolphins rank 12th in three-year salary cap forecast
The Miami Dolphins are exiting the “rebuilding” chapter of the Chris Grier & Brian Flores tenure, with Miami coming off of a 10-win season in 2020 and welcoming the (presumably) last major influx in new faces into the fray. And that makes the team’s outlook at this point in time all that much more interesting, as part of the mission statement from Grier, the Dolphins’ general manager, was that he wanted to build a “long-term” winner here in South Florida.
And a large part of Miami’s 2019 teardown was rooted in aligning the Dolphins for more flexibility against the salary cap — a necessary evil after the Dolphins were boxed into a corner with the prior handling of the cap under former executive Mike Tannenbaum. Miami was notorious for ambitious signings of older players and frequently restructured new contracts to defer guaranteed money.
But the myth that the salary cap is “fake” is just that: a myth. Eventually, it all comes to pass. And for the Dolphins of 2021, they’ve clearly learned their lesson.
Pro Football Focus put together a study of all 32 teams in the NFL and their three-year salary cap outlook. The Miami Dolphins? They checked in at No. 12 overall.
The study looked over “active” draft capital, 2021-2023 “effective cap space”, 2021-2023 prorated guarantees, a top-51 veteran player valuation and a 2022 unrestricted free agent valuation. Miami finished in the top-12 in draft capital (10th), effective cap space (12th), and prorated money (9th).
Lessons clearly learned from the Tannenbaum era — as Miami is working in the polar opposite set of ideologies in the here and now. Here’s what PFF had to say about Miami’s offseason and how it aligns with their study of the league-wide cap situation.
“Arguably no one had a more eventful offseason than the Miami Dolphins, starting with a surprise release of linebacker Kyle Van Noy. The Dolphins then traded edge defender Shaq Lawson to the Houston Texans in exchange for linebacker Benardrick McKinney and traded left guard Ereck Flowers back to the Washington Football Team.
Come draft time, Miami was wheeling and dealing before the selections began. All told, the Dolphins have an extra 2023 first-round pick from the San Francisco 49ers in the trade for quarterback Trey Lance.
Miami is coming out the other side of a rebuild. Now it’s time for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to get them over the proverbial hump and back into the playoffs for the first time since 2016.” — Brad Spielberger, PFF
Where Miami chooses to go from here? That is yet to be determined. But with Grier’s mission of a long-term winner in mind, it is hard to imagine him abandoning his path with long-term cap flexibility.
