Dominic Papa

@OmarKelly Not a soul on earth who thinks the Raiders will be any good this year- yet there’s not a soul on earth who doesn’t think they should take Mendoza. QB is the first piece in a rebuild. Why is the Dolphins decision getting crushed like it’s any different than that?

First off, that’s dumb because there is absolutely no way they could have taken the full Tua cap hit in one season. Second, this league is run by QBs. No QB, no chance. Waiting on a 2027 QB might turn out like waiting on a 2026 QB and you end up like the Jets.

@PoupartNFL Also enjoy his stuff usually, still strongly disagree with the mock. Just makes no sense in year 1 of a rebuild where you basically need everything to take a tight end in the top 15. Then again - picking Warren last year would’ve worked out pretty well so what do I know ?

Yeah, Kenyon Saddiq from Oregon ... that was from Charles Davis, who I respect quite a bit, but I'm with you. For me, it's a no, no, no, no on a tight end unless there's a 90 percent chance or better you've got yourself the next Gronk.

@PoupartNFL Don’t worry I saw another one today (can’t remember who it was) who had them going tight end at 11 which might’ve been the worst idea I have seen yet

In light of two mocks this week having the Dolphins picking Jordyn Tyson and Makai Lemon, I'm going to re-up this. si.com/nfl/dolphins/o…

@TheKostos UNC fanbase spent the day taking a victory lap about Dukes performance who ended up winning and then blew a 19 point second half lead in a loss

I’ve been betting on sports for 22 years. You’d think I’d be used to endgames like what we just got from North Carolina. But every time it’s somehow like the first time

@PoupartNFL The waddle trade put them 7 million over the cap so another move is coming in the next day to clear the space and the only options I see involve an extension for brooks/brewer or a trade/extension involving Achane

Explaining why the Jaylen Waddle trade was a winner for the Miami Dolphins. si.com/nfl/dolphins/o…

@billbarnwell Not saying it’s going to go the same way, but the Seahawks traded DK last year, signed a QB, hit massively on a few draft picks and won a Super Bowl the same year (no I don’t believe Miami is doing THAT but we just saw a quick turnaround with a similar plan just happen)

@billbarnwell Tanking is a stretch here considering they brought in what they believe is their QB. They have 11 draft picks including 7 of the first 94 and currently stand as the third highest available 2027 cap space. I would Argue they have greatly positioned themselves for quick turnaround

New column: Breaking down the Jaylen Waddle trade and why it does (and doesn't) make sense for both teams espn.com/nfl/story/_/id…

@PoupartNFL And IF he ends up resigning next year I believe that dead cap hit doesn’t even come into play

Yep, they were able to do that because Jackson was willing to play ball.

@MattInfante It was already 9 million next year dead hit. So they added only 3 million next season to save 8 this year in a cap strapped year. Not all of these void year contracts should be viewed the same and this is a good example of using it to your advantage

Austin Jackson's new contract sounds good (1 year, $7M)... Until you realize Jackson will have a cap hit of $12.89M on Miami's cap next year despite being unsigned. This feels like a move the old Chris Grier regime would make. Not good.

@PoupartNFL This felt like an actual good use of the void years. His dead cap next year went from an expected 9 mil to 12 and they saved roughly 8 this year by doing so

NEW: How the Miami Dolphins created some cap space by addressing the contract of tackle Austin Jackson. si.com/nfl/dolphins/o…

@TheKostos Either that or he got greedy with wanting another extension maybe? Signed one less than a year ago but that’s the only other real possibility

Ravens probably flunked Crosby on the physical — nothing else makes sense

@EvanRobertsWFAN The part you’re not realizing with the Minkah trade- by trading for Minkah you created a decent amount of cap space for Miami who is in the Malik Willis sweepstakes with the largest ties to him when it comes to familiarity from both sides

@MattInfante Sanders missed the entire season, keeping him at an almost 5 year cap hit on a team that’s rebuilding and need money would’ve been actual malpractice by the organization

Rough Friday in Miami Gardens. Alec Ingold and Jason Sanders will be released. Riley Patterson is an unrestricted free agent. So the Dolphins have no kickers under contract at the moment.

@OmarKelly Agreed but it’s a one season issue- and probably good to be forced to break it all down and not be able to do anything too financially damaging for next year and beyond

I keep looking at the Dolphins financial books with free agency in a week and can’t stop thinking…..

@OmarKelly If it’s comparable to the Fields deal from last year they can make it work and won’t be shocked if this new regime gambles on him (even though it would likely require multiple void years)

They need the Dolphins to be bidding so bad.

@PoupartNFL No. know it’s a rebuild but we’re going to trade a good wide receiver with a reasonable contract already in hand? can’t trade/cut all of your good players that should be foundational pieces moving forward (which they don’t have a lot of to begin with)

What do you think, Dolphins fans? Do we like this trade?

@KylePorterNS Final group seems like it finished in 4:01- no shot that has happened in years on the PGA tour. That seems unheard of

Bridgeman: "This is way, way better than I've ever dreamt it. It was easy until I got to 16, and then it got really hard."

@OmarKelly Sam Darnold just won a Super Bowl. Backup for the 49ers got paid good money by the Vikings led them to 14 wins. Not his fault the Vikings were the dumb enough to let him go win a Super Bowl the following year for a different organization. I don’t care his original draft status

Name the last backup QB who left his team as free agent that got PAID to become a starting QB and delivered on expectations? Not a player traded for then paid. Not a backup who elevated into a starting role for his own team and shined.

@MattInfante A Minkah trade before 6/1 for this front office would be one of the smartest things cap wise. Saves you money this season immediately and takes all the dead cap off the table for 2027

Trading or releasing Minkah Fitzpatrick before June 1 would result in $5.85M of cap savings for the Dolphins. A post-June 1 release or trade would result in $15.6M of cap savings in 2026.

@ckparrot That’s fair-but you also need to factor in they need money to spend and in that case the 8 million from Chubb is sort of needed now more than later, the biggest other ways to free up space are extensions to guys like brooks and brewer but are those premium positions to spend on?

Truthfully what matters is cash spending. And that is always the case. You have to ask yourself at some point, OK let's say you do "rip the bandaid off now" and take every single dead cap charge you can possibly take all this year, what then? You have to understand they currently don't have much of a payroll in 2027, especially once you account the for the departures of Tua, Tyreek, Daniels, NWI, Chubb, etc. The remaining payroll might be as low $70 million, something like that...versus a $330 million salary cap budget. So per your plan they take it all this year and then are absolutely SWIMMING in cap space in 2027...with hardly any home-grown culture warriors to spend that budget on. What do you do? You can't just NOT spend. The CBA doesn't even allow that. So I guess you go to free agency and just spend like a mad man on everyone else's players hitting free agency? How does that benefit your program long term? You end up with the same issues we just had - too old, too injury prone, too expensive, bad culture, bad scheme fits, too much year to year roster turnover, etc. You're back in the cycle where FA spending necessitates more future FA spending until something breaks. This is why "smoothing" strategies will tend to win out over hurky-jerky whipsaw strategies wherein e.g. you take every bit of dead cap in one year and then have a ludicrous amount of cap space the following year.

I'm starting to see this a little more so let's clarify because it's relevant to Miami's coming release of Bradley Chubb. If they designate him a "post-June 1st" cut, they still have to carry his full cap figure on account until June 1st, just as if he's still on the team. The primary benefit of releasing a player EARLY but still giving him a "post-June 1st" designation is that from an employment standpoint, the team is no longer responsible for various contract clauses that could trigger before June 1st. For example, the player might have roster bonuses, option bonuses, workout bonuses, or partial/full guarantee triggers that could trigger on e.g. the 3rd day of the new league year (pretty common). As soon as the team releases a player (even if there's a post-June 1st designation) they will no longer trigger those elements of the player's contract. And in turn that player is free to seek out a new team a lot earlier than he would otherwise be if the team HAD to wait until June 1st to cut him. But from an accounting standpoint, it is treated as if the player were held all the way until June 1st. So any "cap savings" you believe the team will get from releasing the player with a post-June 1st designation won't actually go into effect until June 2nd.