For much of the season, the Miami Dolphins were the AFC's team to beat. Mike McDaniels' squad was 5-1 entering Week 7 and 11-4 with just two games left in the campaign and the number-one seed in their hands.
But ultimately the Dolphins' inability to beat good teams blocked them from postseason success. Five of their six regular season losses were against playoff teams and they won just one game against a team that finished with a winning record. Miami's season ended disappointingly with a road loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in frigid conditions. The Dolphins now have four straight seasons with a winning record and no playoff wins to show for it. In fact, with the Detroit Lions' Wild Card win over the Los Angeles Rams, Miami now has the NFL's longest drought without a playoff win at 23 years.
Acquisitions are usually the focus once the season ends, but some of the toughest decisions are internal debates over which veteran players to cut to save money. The Dolphins are $51 million over the salary cap heading into the offseason, and with many players entering free agency, finding ways to get under the cap will be the team's main focus. Here are the top three cut candidates for the Dolphins this offseason.
Jerome Baker (Outside Linebacker)
Jerome Baker has been a solid outside linebacker for the Miami Dolphins for six seasons now. But as he enters the final season of his three-year, $37.5 million contract, the 27-year-old could be expendable. The Dolphins have numerous top free agents on both sides of the ball that they will be looking to re-sign, and at the moment, they do not have the cap space to do so.
Baker is set to earn nearly $15 million in 2024, but the Dolphins would save $11 million by cutting him after June 1 — leaving them with just $3.7 million in dead cap this season and $1.2 million next year. With Baker entering free agency in 2025, the Dolphins could decide to cut ties early if they do not anticipate keeping the outside linebacker on the payroll past this season.
Mike White (Quarterback)
With a cap hit of $5.2 million, Mike White is the 12th-highest-paid player on the Dolphins heading into 2024. The Miami backup quarterback played just 53 snaps in 2023 and keeping him on such a high salary is not practical for the franchise in its current cap situation. Cutting White saves the Dolphins a much-needed $3.5 million in cap space while the team only has to eat $1.7 million. A second season in South Beach does not seem likely for the former New York Jets quarterback.
Jeff Wilson (Running Back)
Coming off a season in which he put up a career-high 860 rushing yards, Jeff Wilson's opportunities were few and far between in 2023. Wilson missed the first six games of the season with injury and watched electric rookie De'Von Achane assume his role and play 43% of offensive snaps. Wilson finished with just 188 yards on the ground in 2023 and played less than 20% of snaps in five of the 10 games that he was healthy.
Wilson carries a $3.7 million cap hit in 2024 — far higher than the Dolphins should be paying for a third-string running back. Trading Wilson is also too talented to be an RB3, bringing a trade into play here. Should Miami be unable to find a suitor, cutting Jeff Wilson saves Miami $3 million in cap space this season.
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