Dolphins Get Final Salary Cap Answer

Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Terron Armstead (72) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins and the other NFL teams now know exactly what the 2025 salary cap will look like.

The NFL informed teams Thursday the 2025 salary cap has been set at $279.2 million, which came in between the previous reported figures of anywhere from $277.5 million to $281.5 million.

The salary cap last year was $255.4 million, so we're looking at an increase of $23.8 million. The salary cap jumped $30.6 million from 2023 to 2024.

The cap number is good news for every team in the NFL, but particularly those with tight cap situations, and that clearly includes the Dolphins.

With the cap at $279.2 million, the Dolphins now stand a little bit under the limit with 47 players under contract, and their current figure still lists tackle Terron Armstead at having a $22.8 million cap number despite reports he's willing to drop his base salary from $13.3 million to the league minimum, which was $1.2 million last year.

The Dolphins are in the sixth-worst position cap situation, and the five teams in worse shape are the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and, as usual, New Orleans Saints.

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THE DOLPHINS STILL HAVE WORK TO DO

The Dolphins began creating cap space two weeks ago when they terminated the contracts of veterans Raheem Mostert, Kendall Fuller and Durham Smythe, and they're not done yet with the possibility of extensions, restructures or other cuts coming.

The Dolphins have nine players with a current 2025 cap numbers exceeding $10 million, topped by Tua Tagovaialoa's $39.2 million. The others are OLB Bradley Chubb ($28.7M), WR Tyreek Hill ($27.7M), Armstead ($22.8M), CB Jalen Ramsey ($16.7M), T Austin Jackson ($13.5M), OLB Jaelan Phillips ($13.3M), DT Zach Sieler ($12.4M) and LB Jordyn Brooks ($11M).

Whatever they do with that extra cap space, the Dolphins' offseason cap maneuvering got easier, even if just a ittle.