Assessing the Dolphins Salary Cap
Given that Byron Jones replaced Xavien Howard as the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL when the Dolphins signed him as a free agent in the offseason, it should come as no surprise that Miami will be spending more on its cornerbacks than any team in the league in 2020.
The Dolphins will spend $36.7 million on cornerbacks this season, according to overthecap.com, and it's interesting to note that the team in second place is the New England Patriots at $36.4 million.
Given that Brian Flores helped the New England Patriots win Super Bowl LIII as the de facto defensive coordinator with a defense built around a great secondary, it shouldn't be a surprise to see the Dolphins devoting a lot of resources.
It's also interesting to note that while Jones and Howard will take up almost $31 million of cap space together in 2020, the only other cornerback on the roster with a cap hit of even just $1 million is 2017 third-round pick Cordrea Tankersley, who's barely over that landmark.
With Jones and Howard leading the way, the Dolphins rank fourth in secondary spending for 2020, according to spotrac. The Dolphins come in at $52.2 million and trail only the Baltimore Ravens ($56.8 million), New England (55.4) and Denver Broncos ($52.9 million).
No other Dolphins position is in the top 10 in overall league spending, with the second-highest-paid group being the running backs.
On the flip side, the Dolphins are dead last in the NFL when it comes to spending on tight ends and offensive linemen, according to spotrac.com (overthecap.com has the Dolphins 28th in offensive line spending).
The Dolphins tight end group include two third-year players on their rookie contract (Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe), a veteran who didn't play last season (Michael Roberts), a first-year player who spent last year on the practice squad (Chris Myarick) and a rookie free agent (Bryce Sterk).
The Dolphins have a big disparity in their spending between offense and defense. They ranked fifth in the NFL in defense spending at $78.6 million, but are 29th in offense at $83.5 million, according to overthecap.com.
The only teams spending more on defense are Denver, Baltimore, Chicago and Arizona; and the only teams spending less on offense are are Baltimore, Denver and Jacksonville.
