Whatever opinion you hold of Jay Cutler, it is beneficial to know what he will cost the team prior to rating the move. He is a "free" pickup this year but he does cost the Dolphins a significant amount of carryover money. Many pundits are suggesting that this will prevent the Dolphins from signing Jarvis Landry to a new deal.
I think our front office knows its trade a bit better than that. Drafting a corner in the third round this season and picking up Alterraun Verner in free agency may provide a clue to Miami's long range plans. Byron Maxwell renegotiated his deal on arrival in Miami; the guaranteed money expires after this season. Parting ways with the aging cornerback will allow Miami to reclaim 10 million dollars in cap space (no dead money) which can be earmarked for 2018 draft picks, Landry, etc.
The Cutler move may not work out. I am not sold that his attitude will fit our building well (see the Smoking Jay Cutler meme if you haven't got a sense of what Chicagoans thought of him.) But Gase deserves the benefit of the doubt, and my larger point is that our front office also does. This signing should be evaluated strictly based on how well Cutler performs this year in wins and losses. The money will take care of itself or we would never have made this move.
Finally, for the Matt Moore fans out there, remember that his health is a very thin blanket to sleep under. At the very least, Cutler puts us two hits (instead of one) from seeing if Peyton Manning is available (joking, I hope.)
Jay Lopez
Sunday, August 06, 2017
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5 comments
I am not familiar at all with the ramifications of the salary cap. If Cutler signed a one year deal, how would any of his salary carry over into next year? Would that be his incentives?
And couldn't we just renegotiate Maxwell's contract in order to keep him?
For context
https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/miami-dolphins
In my opinion, I don't see how Cutler impacts next year. Rather, I argue that the decision will be this:
1. I think that the decision will come down to who plays better between Maxwell and Ja'waun James. Both have $0 in dead money. If Maxwell plays well, aka beats out the young corners, and James doesn't play well, then they cut James and draft an OT in the second round. Vice versa if James plays well and Maxwell gets beat out by the young talent, though I am not sure if they will target a corner in the second, in that scenario.
2. Julius Thomas also has $0 dead money. If both of those guys play well, then they could keep both and get rid of Thomas. I do think that it will more of Thomas is kept or cut on his own merit regardless of the earlier point.
3. For the last few months, I have considered 2017 to be Tannehill's make or break year. I would not be surprised if Tannehill is let go because of the knee, and draft a rookie in the first. I do think that this decision could be influenced by the three players mentioned above.
The question is, for me: what combination of James, Maxwell and Thomas would make me want to keep Tannehill's salary with his knee situation. If all three do well, I think Tannehill's gonna have a tough time staying around.
Disagree with the analysis. Maxwell's salary, his play this year, and competition at the CB position will dictate if he is around or not next year. The QB position is irrelevant.
Gary; carryover money is rather like stem cells- can be used anywhere to bolster a position of need. Using some of it now and having less next year means we will have to tighten our belts. Given our depth at CB and the cost of those players, seems the likely place to pick up 10 million next year.
I don't believe we will be dumping James. He may not be the best RT in the league but he isn't the worst and we are thin already on the OL. I believe he stays until we get better depth at the Tackle position.
We have much more of a luxury with our depth at CB. I could see one or possibly even 2 getting let go there.
Tannehill will renegotiate his contract before we wind up cutting him loose.