What Wilkins’ Departure Meant for the Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins went after volume in free agency.
The Miami Dolphins lost a core piece and emotional leader when Christian Wilkins left in free agency, but they gained something very significant this offseason: financial flexibility.
Now that the first part of NFL free agency has passed, it’s easy to crunch the figures and see how the Dolphins were able to sign so many players because they were ready to let Wilkins walk, no matter how painful it was.
“I’d be the first to say, I absolutely love Christian Wilkins as a player and his game,” stated head coach Mike McDaniel during the NFL owners meetings. “But there’s this entire thing about the pay cap, and when money goes one way, it doesn’t go the other. The basic line is that we’ve never doubted Christian’s abilities as a player, but you have to make some difficult decisions when considering the entire team. Realistically, it’s much more difficult than we’d want with all of the best players. There are times when you have good players on your team, something that you’re wanting to – a problem resulting from drafting a good player and developing him is that we’ve made .
THE CHRISTIAN WILKINS “REPLACEMENTS”
Of course, the Dolphins’ ability to add so many players this offseason was aided by how they structured those new contracts, with vacant years becoming prevalent to reduce the first-year cap amount.
The Dolphins have brought in 13 new players, not including the two defensive tackles signed before the start of free agency, Daviyon Nixon and Isaiah Mack. LB Jordyn Brooks, TE Jonnu Smith, LB Shaquil Barrett, C Aaron Brewer, CB Kendall Fuller, S Jordan Poyer, CB Siran Neal, T Jack Driscoll, DT Benito Jones, DT Neville Gallimore, DT Jonathan Harris, LB Anthony Walker Jr., and tight end Jody Fortson.
According to Over The Cap, none of these players have a 2024 cap number that exceeds $2.8 million.
Wilkins, meanwhile, will cost the Las Vegas Raiders $10.3 million after signing a four-year, $110 million contract, with his cap figure exceeding $30 million each of the next three years.
Looking only at 2024, the Dolphins acquired Brooks, Fuller, Barrett, and Brewer for $10.5 million in salary space.
The Dolphins’ choice not to use the franchise tag on Wilkins was also questioned, and it will be fascinating to see how it impacted what they were able to do with that cap space.
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