New Contract Details for Zach Wilson ... And What It Means

The former second overall pick is now the backup quarterback for the Miami Dolphins

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (2) throws the football against the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

As it turns out, the 2025 cap number for new Miami Dolphins QB Zach Wilson will be much smaller than originally reported.

Based on the figures at cap website overthecap.com, Wilson will count a modest $2.2 million against the Dolphins' 2025 salary cap after it first was reported that number would be $6 million.

Wilson still has a $6 million guaranteed salary, but it now includes his $4.75 million signing bonus spread out over the next five years.

This was done by adding four void years to the contract.

There are two consequences to that decision, the most positive being that it turned Wilson's 2025 cap number from the 11th highest on the team to the 23rd highest.

On the flip side, if the Dolphins move on from Wilson next offseason it would cost them $3.8 million against the cap, as opposed to not cap charge had the void years not been added. Additionally, if Wilson indeed does become a free agent next offseason, the Dolphins no longer will be eligible to et a compensatory pick for him because he technically will have been released as opposed to being an unrestricted free agent.

It's what happened last offseason with wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. after he became a free agent through a void year and led to the NFL awarding and then taking back a compensatory pick after he signed with the New Orleans Saints.

WILSON'S TOUGH START, SOLID REBOUND

Wilson, of course, was the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft after fellow quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but he flamed out with the New York Jets before they sent him to the Denver Broncos in a trade last April.

As an indication of how much Wilson's star had dimmed, the Jets got only a sixth-round draft pick from Denver in return, and that's after throwing in a seventh-round pick along with Wilson.

As the third quarterback behind rookie Bo Nix, who played all 17 games for the Broncos last season, and Jarrett Stidham, Wilson never saw the field in a regular season game in 2024.

In fact, his last NFL game came against the Dolphins in December of 2023 when he was knocked out of the game in the first half with a concussion, but not before he was sacked four times in Miami's 30-0 victory.

Despite not seeing action in the regular season, Wilson managed to impress folks around the NFL with his preseason performance.

He played in all three of the Broncos' preseason games and completed 28 of 44 passes (63.6 percent) for 397 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 115.4.

More importantly, he showed the kind of poise in the pocket that was missing from his time with the Jets.

While Wilson always had the physical traits, starting with a strong arm, he easily got rattled and/or confused, which led to some poor decision-making.

His passer rating in his three seasons with the Jets, during which he started 33 of the 34 games he played, was a mediocre 73.2 overall and never better than the 77.2 he posted in his final season with the team in 2023.

The thinking behind his strong preseason showing in Denver is that head coach Sean Payton was able to quickly take his game to another level.

WHAT TO MAKE OF THE NEW CAP NUMBER

Adding Wilson at a $6 million cap number at the time seemed to slam the door shut on the idea of adding another veteran quarterback to the mix, but it wouldn't be nearly as unthinkable now that the cap number is down to $2.2 million.

One also has to wonder why the contract wasn't structured this way from the start.

Having Wilson as the top backup is not without risk for the Dolphins because as good as Wilson looked in training camp and the preseason last summer, that simply is not the same as game action and the reality is that Wilson only had a few flashes of brilliance in New York.

Wilson did have three games with a passer rating over 100, and one of them came in his next-to-last start for the Jets, the week before the Miami game in December, when he had a career-high 117.9 rating in a 30-6 victory against the eventual AFC South champion Houston Texans.

The Dolphins are hoping that'll be closer to what they see from Wilson if he's called into action than, say, the 38.1 passer rating he produced in Week 2 of that 2023 season in a 30-10 loss against the Dallas Cowboys when he completed only 44.4 percent of his passes and threw three interceptions.

WHAT ELSE AT QUARTERBACK?

The addition of Wilson doesn't preclude the Dolphins adding a third quarterback, though it's likely to be Wilson who'd get the first shot at being the top backup to Tua Tagovailoa.

One possibility for that third quarterback role certainly could be Tyler Huntley, who ended last season as the No. 2 but also began the season on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad.

Huntley remains unsigned two weeks after the start of free agency and he probably would be willing to come back to Miami, even with the understanding that Wilson would be the second guy.

However it shakes out in terms of a third quarterback, one thing is for sure when it comes to the second quarterback.

The Dolphins did not play it safe.

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