After waiting two weeks without a real football game, we’ve finally made it to the Super Bowl, where the Kansas City Chiefs will face off against the San Fransisco 49ers in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A rematch from Super Bowl 54, the Chiefs look for similar results, which would give them back-to-back championships and cement Kansas City as one of the NFL’s historic dynasties. A victory would mean three Lombardi Trophies in four attempts since the 2019 season.
Regardless of what happens on Sunday, the 2024 league year will kick off almost immediately after a champion is crowned, as on February 20, the franchise and transition player tag window opens and goes through a March 5 deadline.
This two-week period is one Miami Dolphins fans will need to circle, as defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is the prime target for a potential tag, should any further attempts at a long-term deal fall through.
The next chapter in the Wilkins saga, as it has become, could go a number of different ways. Going back to last summer, efforts were made by the Dolphins to lock up the NFL’s leading tackler among defensive linemen since 2019. However, Wilkins and his camp essentially passed on those offers and bet on his 2023 season to be his best – which it clearly was.
Wilkins added nine sacks to his resume this past season when the overall narrative as to why he should not be paid among the NFL’s elite used to be his lack of production in that stat.
Crushing the narrative, as well as quarterbacks all over the league, it’s also the non-stat plays on third downs that continued to show up last season, as well as the fact he pairs with Zach Sieler, making them the league’s top defensive tackle tandem.
Should the talks continue to hit a wall, with Wilkins and his camp wanting a certain dollar figure, the Dolphins and general manager Chris Grier have an ace up their sleeve in that franchise tag.
Now, there are different types of franchise tags, which carry very important distinctions. An “exclusive” franchise tag means that the player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever number is greater. When tagged as an exclusive franchise player, the player can’t negotiate with other teams. The player’s team has all the negotiating rights to the exclusive player.
On the other side of the coin, a “non-exclusive” franchise player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount no less than the average of the top five cap hits at the player’s position for the previous five years applied to the current salary cap, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater.
Non-exclusive franchise players have the ability to negotiate with other teams, but if the player does sign an offer from another franchise, the original team has a right to match the terms of that offer or make the decision not to match and part with the player, which would entitle them to receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.
It’s the second option that would be more lucrative for the Dolphins should long-term talks crumble officially, and should an NFL team want to pay the price, the non-exclusive franchise tag could be the way to go if you are Miami.
On top of the Wilkins drama, there is a sideshow with free agency, as several players potentially have other options on the market, including offensive linemen Robert Hunt and Connor Williams and defensive players Brandon Jones and Andrew Van Ginkel, to name a few.
March 11 is the day to circle for these particular players and other unrestricted free agents. From this date at 4:00 p.m. ET through March 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents as their 2023 player contracts expire. Unrestricted free agents cannot execute a contract with a new club until 4:00 p.m. ET on March 13, as per the NFL operations site.
On top of the Wilkins situation, the important names Miami must consider re-signing or not, as well as potential incoming free agents, Grier, and the Dolphins are speculated to be in the early frameworks of a contract extension for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
As recently referenced by the NFL’s leading passer of the 2023 season and even endorsed by the franchise’s greatest player Dan Marino, it’s believed and rumored that an extension is all but guaranteed in the coming months.
All of this business, starting a bit more than a week after the Super Bowl, is a precursor for the NFL Combine as well as April’s draft.
Another significant date to remember for Miami fans would be May 2. This would be the deadline for teams to exercise a fifth-year option for the first-round selected players from the 2021 draft.
That would be wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips. These decisions could have a major impact on 2025’s salary cap.
In a league where there is truly no off-time within the offseason, NFL fans will have little time to wait before significant moves are made that can impact the 2024 season and several years following.
