What Can Miami Dolphins Do to Clear More Salary Cap Space for 2015 Offseason?

It's a new year, meaning a new NFL offseason for the Miami Dolphins since they are already out of the playoffs. 

The Dolphins have already made some changes by naming former New York Jets executive Mike Tannenbaum as head of football operations, as reported by Zach Krantz of Miami AM station Sportsradio 560 WQAM (h/t Alex Marvez of Fox Sports), but the real changes will have to come on the field. 

In order to do that, the Dolphins will have to clear salary cap space. What can they do in order to do just that? 

As it stands, assuming that the 2015 base NFL salary cap is $140 million like OverTheCap.com is projecting, the Dolphins only have $2,507,059 in cap space, with $147,770,411 as the team salary cap. 

The reason the numbers look like that is we are taking into account the $8 million the Dolphins will carry over from last season. 

However, the $2.5 million Miami is under the cap will not be enough to re-sign key players or add much-needed pieces to the team. The Dolphins must clear cap space. 

How can they do this? 

The Dolphins will have to restructure or release certain contracts in order to work this out. 

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

We'll start with the deals they can restructure; the deals belonging to defensive end Cameron Wake, center Mike Pouncey and wide receiver Mike Wallace. 

In the case of Cameron Wake, who becomes a free agent after the 2016 season, restructuring ensures that he will end his career in Miami, with the best way to go being a contract extension. 

Working out the extension to last until the 2018 season would provide Wake with more stability and more guaranteed money in the long term, even if it means him taking a short-term pay cut for 2015, a season where he's owed a base salary of $8.2 million and will have a cap hit of $9.7 million (2016 has Wake owed a base salary of $8.275 million with a cap hit of $9.8 million). 

In total, Wake is owed $16.475 million in base salary in the next two seasons, and it would behoove the Dolphins to add to their flexibility with a new deal that could bump that up in the long run to $22 million over the next four seasons (an average of $5.5 million per season) which would provide Wake with stability over the long run. 

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Mike Pouncey is in the final year of his deal, and he should be signed to an extension similar to the one the Steelers have his brother Maurkice signed to (five years, $44.14 million with $13 million guaranteed).

The reason for this isn't just that it will reduce the cap number around Pouncey (his cap number in 2015 is $7.438 million, whereas Maurkice's cap number was $5 million in the first year of his new deal) but also because Mike Pouncey is a building block for the Dolphins offensive line (when at center, not at guard) and should be treated as such after a year where he was very well-behaved and acted more like a leader both on and off the field. 

As for Mike Wallace, what would help the Dolphins the most would be for him to stay and take a restructured deal. If he's not willing to take it, the Dolphins could attempt to trade him (clearing $5.5 million) or release him as a post-June 1 release (clearing $6.9 million)

The Dolphins could always restructure other players (Brent Grimes, Brian Hartline and others come to mind), but those three players are the ones worth looking at. 

In terms of releasing players, the Dolphins should look to release their most expensive non-performing pieces. 

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

The linebackers are the best examples of that; mainly Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler. Both players have been maligned for their play in their two years in Miami, and they could use a change of scenery. The Dolphins could use a brand new linebacking core, and releasing these two players as post-June 1 cuts would make the most sense, as it would save them a combined $11.45 million. 

The Dolphins could also shed Cortland Finnegan off their roster and allow Jamar Taylor and either an inexpensive free agent or a rookie to compete for the second cornerback job. That would save the Dolphins $5.475 million. 

A controversial cut would have to be made as well, and that would be releasing defensive tackle Randy Starks. Starks showed signs of decline in 2014, and the Dolphins will have to figure out if keeping a declining Starks would be worth the $5 million they would save by releasing him. 

Other candidates for release are highlighted in this piece, and they include Brandon Gibson and Nate Garner. 

The Dolphins can cut a lot more fat than you think and still wind up with plenty of cap space, as Mike Tannenbaum, Dawn Aponte and Dennis Hickey certainly have their work cut out for them this offseason. 

Salary cap information provided by Spotrac.com and OverTheCap.com. 

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