June 1 is here, and for Miami Dolphins fans, it may as well be Christmas morning or the eighth night of Hanukkah wrapped into one joyous event. The gift list which Dolphins fans have been clamoring for includes a running back, offensive line help and perhaps some depth pieces in areas like linebacker or defensive line.
As of the start of this month, the salary cap money from former Miami cornerback Byron Jones has been recouped, and general manager Chris Grier and his salary cap right-hand-man, Brandon Shore, now have $13.6 million in added funds. They also free up $8.7 million for the 2024 season.
Coinciding with Miami’s salary cap increasing to about $15 million following the Jones savings, the Dolphins could do the equivalent of gifting fans the shiny toy they have been wish-listing for years.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Dolphins’ head coach Mike McDaniel was humorously coy with his knowledge of the added funds when asked.
“We are aware that that’s occurring, and we typically do everything we can to have the best team possible within the guidelines of the salary cap,” he said. “I’m not sure where, but I’d feel confident to say that we’ll make good use of that salary cap room when it comes to the start of the regular season.”
June 1 is also the date in which the Minnesota Vikings can trade or cut running back Dalvin Cook while creating their own salary cap savings. Here are the financial parameters in the difference between a trade or a cut for Minnesota.
According to Over the Cap, cutting Cook pre-June 1 would’ve left roughly $8.2 million in dead cap for Minnesota, with a savings of about $5.9 million this year. A trade, however, would’ve created $6.2 million in dead cap and savings of $7.9 million.
Now, if Cook is cut post-June 1, Minnesota would be left with a dead cap hit of $5.1 million and cap savings of $9 million. Even more intriguing financially, a post-June 1 trade would mean a dead-cap figure of just $3.1 million with savings of $11 million.
It should be noted that Miami could wait it out, and should the Vikings not find a trade suitor, and simply cut Cook, the Dolphins could sign him to a new deal. A trade to Miami would likely have to match with a reworked deal for Cook to make it economically sound for Grier and the Dolphins.
Before getting ahead of the situation the Vikings brass will decide how to handle this, and the league and fan bases will have to wait to see where the smoke clears. Yet the waiting could be hours and not days, now that we’re in June.
The table is set for Grier and Shore to scramble the books and make way for a potential new dish or two. In addition to Cook, there are a few free-agent offensive linemen out there like Dalton Risner, who played four years of left guard for the Denver Broncos to start his NFL career. Entering his fifth season, Risner once played for Miami defensive coordinator Vic Fangio when he was head coach of the Broncos just two seasons ago.
Other names on the free agent market to look for over the next few days include George Fant and D.J. Fluker, who’s looking at a potential comeback tour, having last played in the league in 2020, yet looks to be in fine physical condition.
Adding other ingredients to this mix, the Dolphins are loaded with talent, so any importing of players may simply have to match with exporting, as there are a number of “expendable” candidates on the current roster. While nothing is a guarantee regarding the potential of acquiring Cook one way or another, it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see other moves in order to make way for him and/or other additions.
Grier has been known to make a minor move prior to a bigger move, and at times, he moves swiftly with multiple deals days or even hours apart in his history as head front office executive in Miami.
Of course, the Dolphins could start utilizing the money to help in the long-term extension process with their defensive linemen duo of Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler. Nevertheless, the money is extremely important to get back into their capital ledger, and when looking at the absence of Jones, you can simply add in replacements like the newly acquired Jalen Ramsey and rookie Cam Smith as the cornerback cherries on top of the salary cap savings.
Thursday, June 1 is here, and many Dolphins fans will be rushing to social media and news outlets to see when, or if, their shiny new gift has been purchased…or if it’s simply another home-knit sweater from your favorite aunt.
Regardless, this Miami team is already one of the most talented groups seen in South Florida since the early 1990s on both sides of the ball. The current Dolphins aren’t on the field today, but they’re back at it with OTAs on Friday, June 2.
