The 2023 NFL season is officially in the books after Super Bowl 58 concluded Sunday night in an overtime walk-off win for the Kansas City Chiefs, their second title in a row and third in the last five seasons.
For the San Francisco 49ers, the other thirty NFL teams, as well as even the dynastic Chiefs, organizations will now have a few days to catch their collective breaths before officially turning to league business as early as next week. A week from Tuesday, February 20, the franchise and transition player tag window opens.
Before going into any mock preparation, the Miami Dolphins are currently in the red for their 2024 salary cap at roughly $51 million over. With a number of pending unrestricted free agents that will become officially open market players on March 13, the Dolphins and their salary cap guru Brandon Shore, mixed with general manager Chris Grier, of course, have plenty of work to do.
The Dolphins administration will have to clear cap space, and before doing that, two dominoes may have to fall before the other trimmings proceed, leading into re-signings and, ultimately, new signings.
Christian Wilkins and Tua Tagovailoa are major pieces, contractually, that could be the first points of business for Miami. An extension for Tagovailoa could create a bit of 2024 salary cap space, while as the overall number increases across the league, the Dolphins can be very strategic here.
In the model used on Over The Cap, the Tagovailoa mock contract was a tad south but mirrored that of Joe Burrow’s deal, which recent rumors have speculated is the target range the sides are looking at.
The Wilkins saga, while having a number of potential outcomes, a few staying in Miami either long-term or for one more year. Either way, if Wilkins is either tagged or re-signed, his cap number will be approximately in the $21-23 million range for 2024.
While it’s been rumored more money is wanted, with the league cap increasing all the way to $284 million in 2026 and $314 million in 2027, Miami could very well flood those years with money for both Wilkins and Tagovailoa.
Mixed with a number of other contracts long gone at that point, these two moves, if each long-term deal could set the table for cap restructures, with names like Bradley Chubb, which could save a cool $14 million for 2024.
The next move could be another veteran restructure in Tyreek Hill. That’s another $12 million dollars, and all of a sudden, the Dolphins have cut their negative cap figure in…
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