Breaking Down the Miami Dolphins' Salary-Cap Situation Heading into Free Agency

With one look at the Miami Dolphins' salary-cap table, it's easy to see that they have a problem but hard to see how they fix it.

The Dolphins have just $1,925,248 in cap space, according to Spotrac, but most of their highest-paid players are among the most important and talented players on the team. 

Wide receiver Mike Wallace and cornerback Cortland Finnegan are the only players inside the top 10 cap hits that are in danger of being cut. Those moves would clear up nearly $11 million in cap space, bringing the Dolphins to just shy of $14 million in cap space, but that's still not enough to work with for an entire offseason—while keeping enough money stashed away to sign all their draft picks.

So, with that in mind, let's take a closer look at the Dolphins' salary-cap spending to see where they may be most in need of some penny-pinching. 

Offense

Position	Players	Cap dollars	Cap %	NFL rank
Wide Receiver	9	$26,268,156	17.54%	3
Left Tackle	2	$11,310,000	7.55%	6
Center	2	$7,948,000	5.31%	6
Quarterback	2	$4,615,364	3.08%	26
Right Tackle	3	$4,455,213	2.97%	10
Guard	3	$4,274,927	2.85%	24
Running Back	3	$1,407,200	0.94%	28
Tight End	3	$749,713	0.50%	31

The Dolphins are spending a whole bunch of money at wide receiver, with more than 17.5 percent of their cap space going to the wideouts. That's thanks to a $12.1 million cap hit for Wallace, which would be reduced to $6.6 million in dead money if they cut him. Another player who could be in line as a cap casualty is Brandon Gibson, whose $4.26 million cap hit would only leave a residual $1 million in dead money if released.

The Dolphins are fortunate to be spending only $4.6 million on the quarterback spot since that allows them to allocate more money elsewhere.

Where the Dolphins are one of the league's lowest spenders is at running back. That's because they currently have Lamar Miller under a rookie contract, along with Knowshon Moreno, who was on a one-year deal last season and finished the season on injured reserve. The Dolphins could be active in the market for a running back like C.J. Spiller, Darren McFadden or Shane Vereen to fill Moreno's role on passing downs.

Defense

Position	Players	Cap dollars	Cap %	NFL rank
Cornerback	7	$18,800,727	12.55%	5
Defensive End	6	$17,454,138	11.65%	8
Outside Linebacker	4	$15,503,872	10.35%	5
Defensive Tackle	5	$12,030,666	8.03%	8
Safety	3	$8,345,000	5.57%	13
Inside Linebacker	2	$4,948,000	3.30%	22

With both Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler on the roster, the Dolphins are the fifth-highest spending team in the league at the outside linebacker spot. Those two contracts account for $14.25 million in cap space this season, but the Dolphins could save $6.65 million by cutting Ellerbe and another $200,000 by cutting Wheeler. 

As for the defensive end spot, their cap spending is mostly allocated to Dion Jordan ($5.6 million) and Cameron Wake ($10.45 million). The Dolphins are foolish for continuing to employ Jordan for that price when he is hardly a factor in their game plan (405 defensive snaps, according to Football Outsiders). They should try to find a trade suitor to take on his salary. 

The Dolphins are big spenders at nearly every position on defense besides safety and inside linebacker. They just re-signed Koa Misi to a four-year extension two years ago, and he does not appear to be on his way out anytime soon. 

The free-safety market is not particularly strong (pun intentional), but there are a few names on the list that could provide a lift for the Dolphins defense: Devin McCourty, Dawan Landry and Rahim Moore are all slated to hit the open market. There's also the possibility that the Dolphins could re-sign Louis Delmas after he played out a one-year deal last season.

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