Before the league season started earlier this month, the Miami Dolphins were among the bottom feeders in available 2019 cap space. Mix in some serious spending across the rest of the league over the last few weeks and that dynamic has changed. A lot.
The Dolphins currently own the second most cap space in the entire NFL, trailing only the Indianapolis Colts (that’s a scary team for the future, by the way). Miami’s books currently show $35.5M in available cap room with 58 players signed.
Things will continue to get better, too. Miami’s “active” payroll currently sits at just over $122M, which is dead last in the league. The next closest is the Baltimore Ravens with $153M. The league average is $176M.
So how will things get better? Remember: the Dolphins are currently on the books for $37.5M in dead cap space this year. That is a whole lot of money to be paying players to not be here next year, but when the alternative is continuing to stay the course with the likes of players who have been just as much a part of the problem as they are the solution? This is the price of business and moving on.
