Dolphins Get Good Salary Cap News
The Miami Dolphins' salary-cap situation got a little better Friday, and they didn't have to do anything.
The NFL announced Friday that the salary cap for 2024 had been set at a record-high $255.4 million, well above initial projections that had put it somewhere around $242 million.
This was good news for every team in the NFL, but particularly those with tight cap situations, and that clearly included the Dolphins.
The Dolphins are in the third-worst position when it comes to getting to the cap limit by the start of the league year March 13 at $38.5 million, according to overthecap.com, with only the Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints in worse shape. The Saints shaved off $23 million off their cap this week by restructuring the contract of QB Derek Carr.
The NFL explained that the unprecedented jump in the salary cap was "the result of the full repayment of all amounts advanced by the clubs and deferred by the players during the Covid pandemic as well as an extraordinary increase in media revenue for the 2024 season."
The previous biggest jump had come in 2022 when the cap increased $25.7 million for each team to $208.2 million.
THE DOLPHINS STILL HAVE WORK TO DO
The additional cap space will help the Dolphins — just like every other team — in putting together their 2024 roster, whether it be being able to sign an additional free agent or retain another veteran.
This is significant for the Dolphins, who have 26 pending unrestricted free agents, including defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, offensive linemen Robert Hunt and Connor Williams, and edge defender Andrew Van Ginkel.
The higher-than-expected cap total maybe also might be the difference between the Dolphins saying goodbye or keeping some high-profile veterans, such as Jerome Baker and Xavien Howard.
Whatever they do with that extra cap space, the Dolphins' offseason cap maneuvering got easier, even if just a ittle.
