The Miami Dolphins are set to head into the offseason being financially restricted with their salary cap space that could prevent them making any adjustments to their roster. At this point, the team is projected to be one of two teams alongside the Philadelphia Eagles over the salary cap by more than $7 million.
This has put the front office in the position of having to find out a way of making financial room to get under the cap. According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, this will more than likely see the Dolphins decide to part ways with former Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas in order to save a significant amount of salary cap space.
The Miami Herald has learned the team will cut tight end Julius Thomas by March 14. That will save $6.6 million in cap space.
Thomas has just wrapped up his first season in Miami where he finished with 41 catches on 63 targets for 388 receiving yards with three touchdowns in 14 games played before being placed on the injured reserve in late December. He was fourth on the team in receptions and third in touchdown catches. He had been acquired by the Dolphins from the Jacksonville Jaguars last March in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and subsequently signed a two-year, $12.2 million deal.
Article Continues BelowMiami has marked the third team that Thomas has played for in his seven-year career. He had spent the first four years with the Denver Broncos where he earned both of his Pro Bowl selections and followed it up with two seasons with the Jaguars. His 33 touchdowns from 2011-16 were the fourth-most among tight ends.
Along with this move to part ways with Thomas, the team is also expected to part ways with veteran linebacker Lawrence Timmons before the new league year starts on March 14, which will save them an additional $5.4 million in cap space. On top of that, there is the option of possible declining the fifth-year option on offensive tackle Ja'Wuan James that would add $9.34 million in space.
Each of these moves would be made in conjunction with each other in order to provide the Dolphins the space they need to make any moves aside from using the franchise tag on star wide receiver Jarvis Landry. This could be just the start of some major shifting in Miami this offseason.