Considering the circumstances, the Miami Dolphins can chalk up the 2019 season as somewhat of a success. While Miami didn't secure the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, they did win five more games than some people thought they would.
This offseason will be the first complete offseason for Brian Flores as head coach. The Dolphins are among the teams that are going to have plenty of money to bolster their roster for next season.
To be exact, Miami is projected to have $93.8 million in cap space (most in the NFL), per Spotrac. That is more than enough for the Dolphins to continue rebuilding their current roster.
Unlike most teams, the Dolphins don't have many key players that are an impending free agent. But that doesn't mean that Miami won't be making any roster moves before the 2020 season.
For next year, the Dolphins only have five players that are going to be a cap hit of $5 million or more. Given that, there's a legitimate possibility that Miami doesn't release any of their notable players.
However, there are a couple of players that could have played their final down for the Dolphins already. With that in mind, here is one player that could be a surprise roster cut for the Dolphins this offseason.
Reshad Jones
To move forward with their rebuild, Miami has been parting ways with some of the players that aren't part of their long-term plan. Of course, that means that some of the veterans on the roster are in jeopardy of being traded or released.
Since last year, the Dolphins made attempts to try and trade Reshad Jones to rid of his contract. Seeing that Jones is still on the roster, Miami was unable to find a suitor for the veteran safety.
Next season, Jones is the highest cap hit for the Dolphins with a hefty price tag of $15.5 million. Under those circumstances, Miami would like to move on from Jones in the easiest way possible.
The Dolphins would undoubtedly prefer to trade Jones to create more cap space. But Jones is going to turn 32-years-old in February and not many teams want to consume his lucrative contract.
In light of that, the team may have to release Jones if they want to move forward without him. If Miami does choose to release him, he'd induce a $10.1 million dead-cap penalty while freeing up just $5.3 million, per Over The Cap. However, the Dolphins do have enough cap space to consume that dead money.
On the other hand, if Miami could trade Jones, he'd only provoke an $8 million dead-cap penalty while creating an extra $7.4 million in cap space. Again, that would be the preferred method of ridding of Jones.
The fans in Miami likely don't want to see Jones go due to how long he's played with the franchise. But this past season, Jones only managed to play in four games. Even though Miami is in cap-space heaven, Jones could be surprisingly released by the team this offseason.
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