Releasing the likes of Ndamukong Suh, Julius Thomas and Lawrence Timmons wasn’t enough for the Miami Dolphins to create the necessarily cap room to become players in free agency.
Immediately after the official start of free agency Wednesday afternoon, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that quarterback Ryan Tannehill has restructured his contract as a way to give the Dolphins more cap room.
#Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill restructured his contract and gave the team cap space, source said. He’ll get more money upfront.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2018
After missing the 2017 campaign to a torn ACL, the 29-year-old Tannehill was expected to count $19.8 million against the cap in 2018.
That number will be significantly lower, giving the former first-round pick more upfront money.
For #Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill, instead of a $17.475M base, he gets a $16.7M Signing Bonus and the base went to a minimum. All upfront… which is nice.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2018
Miami will soon announce the signings of wide receiver Albert Wilson and Danny Amendola. So some of the cap space will be used to bring those two veterans on.
Though, these moves save a combined $40-plus million against the 2018 cap. That should enable the Dolphins to be more active in free agency than most had anticipated.