The final month of the Miami Dolphins offseason program has arrived, and it will conclude with a three-day mandatory minicamp this week.
But there are other things to watch with the Dolphins this month, and they involve contract negotiations, signings and possible extensions.
The Dolphins' three-day minicamp will run from Tuesday through Thursday and mark the final offseason event on the calendar.
Unlike every other part of the offseason program, the minicamp is mandatory and those players who do not attend will be subject to fines. All three practices will be open to the media, but not the public.
This should be the first opportunity for the media to see the high-profile veterans who were not in attendance during the two open OTAs. That list includes Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr., Terron Armstead, Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller and Jaylen Waddle, fresh off signing a three-year contract extension that will keep him in Miami through the 2028 season.
Center Connor Williams did not attend the minicamp last year, subjecting himself to fines totaling $93,000, as he looked for a contract extension. Williams never did get his extension and ended up sustained a career-threatening knee injury in the Monday night loss against the Tennessee Titans in December.
Now, being in attendance doesn't mean that we should expect every non-injured player to take part because it's entirely possible, if not likely, that certain players (Armstead immediately comes to mind) would just be watching.
As was the case with the OTAs, which concluded last week, live contact is not permitted during the minicamp, but 11-on-11s, 9-on-7s and 7-on-7s are allowed.
The Dolphins are among six teams that will wrap up their offseason program Thursday, along with the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers.
FREED-UP CAP SPACE AND THE DRAFT CLASS
All Dolphins fans should know by now the team picked up $18.5 million of cap space over the weekend when Xavien Howard's post-June 1 release was processed and his contract came off the books.
The additional space moved the Dolphins to $18.8 under the limit, which means they now can sign their entire draft class.
It should be noted, though, that because only the Top 51 count against the cap limit until the regular season, only Chop Robinson's cap number will affect the cap space. Robinson's cap number for 2024, per overthecap.com, will be $2.77 million based on the rookie contract formula in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
So logic says the Dolphins will start signing their draft class —Robinson, Patrick Paul, Jaylen Wright, Mo Kamara, Malik Washington, Patrick McMorris and Tahj Washington —soon and the process usually doesn't take very long to complete.
The bigger question is what the Dolphins might do with that additional cap, more specifically whether they might add a veteran free agent.
The biggest names still available — outside of players the Dolphins released in the offseason like Xavien Howard and Emmanuel Ogbah —would include Justin Simmons, Ryan Tannehill, Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, Michael Thomas, Stephon Gilmore and Patrick Peterson.
Based on need, the names to watch here might include Campbell and Simmons, with Ngakoue an outside possibility if the Dolphins are getting indications if could be later rather than sooner that both Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips could be ready for the start of the 2024 season.
Another name to watch is veteran guard Greg Van Roten if the Dolphins want to beef up their offensive line.
Don't be shocked, though, if the Dolphins wind up doing nothing this month. Going back through the last seven offseasons, the only veteran of note the Dolphins signed in June was guard Jermaine Eluemunor in 2021.
The Dolphins, however, have used June to extend some players in recent years, with Jerome Baker getting a new deal in 2021 and defensive back Bobby McCain getting an extension in 2018.
Hmm, notice the three-year pattern ... and now we're in 2024.
The Dolphins already signed Jaylen Waddle to an extension on the final day of May, and it's not like they're lacking candidates for extensions.
The glaring one is quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but safety Jevon Holland also is ready to enter the final year of his rookie contract, and then there's the situation involving wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who clearly wants a new deal and now has seen Waddle and Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson get big-money extensions.
The Dolphins have the cap space to take care of all three players if they choose, particularly since a new deal for Tagovailoa likely would lower his 2024 cap number, which currently stands at $23.2 million.
