The Miami Dolphins have more available cap space than anybody, but does this mean they will splurge in free agency this year, or will they wait until 2021?
The Miami Dolphins aren’t only swimming in oceans, they’re swimming in cash!
They’re also swimming in draft picks. 2020 has the potential to be the most important offseason for Miami in decades. Though Ryan Tannehill had his moments, the Dolphins have never really replaced Dan Marino as their star quarterback. Miami has the No. 5 overall pick this spring, three picks in the first round and 12 in total to get in position to draft their 21st century Marino.
That’s the most important thing the Dolphins have to focus on this offseason. What really matters is if general manager Chris Grier and head coach Brian Flores see something special in this year’s crop of quarterbacks. Do they think Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or even Jordan Love can change the state of this underwhelming AFC East franchise?
Not only are the Dolphins loaded with draft picks, they have more available cap space than any team in football. Miami has roughly $93.7 million to work with this offseason. Surely, the Dolphins can splurge in free agency. However, how do we know this is what they want to do? Maybe they want to be big free-agency spenders in 2021, not 2020?
Overall, the Dolphins are still a few years away from contending for a playoff spot. Ryan Fitzpatrick can provide them short-term stability at the quarterback position, but nothing more. Miami should make a few smart additions in free agency, but not go crazy . It’s better-served building through the draft.
What makes 2021 the more likely year the Dolphins go deep-sea fishing in free agency is two-fold. One, the salary cap is set to explode. We’re looking at potentially a $40 million annual spike from 2020 to ’21, when it has been closer to $10 million each year under the current CBA. Once the new CBA is ratified, we’ll have a better understanding of how teams will approach free agency.
The other reason the Dolphins may wait is their timeline for contention. They massively overachieved to get to 5-11 last year. Many people thought the Dolphins wouldn’t win a single game in 2019. Look at how they proved us all wrong.
Ultimately, there is no reason to rush the process in Miami. It seems as though owner Stephen Ross is willing to let Grier and Flores methodically build this team from the ground up. Once they have a better idea of what type of players they want to complement this rebuilding football team’s identity, they can dip heavily into free agency. This isn’t the year.