Dolphins release starting inside linebacker Baker and special teams ace Crossen to save cap space
The Dolphins on Tuesday cut a pair of players, including a longtime starter, as they continue to work to get under the NFL’s mandated salary cap ahead of the start of the new league year.
Miami released starting inside linebacker Jerome Baker and cornerback/ special teams ace Keion Crossen, moves that save the team about $13 million in cap space.
The two cuts leave the
Dolphins about $19 million over the cap, with more cuts and restructures coming before the new league year begins at 4 p.m. next Wednesday.
Baker was set to enter the final year of a threeyear extension he signed in 2021. He had no guaranteed money remaining on his deal. According to a source, Baker agreed to take a pay cut from his $10.8 million base salary in 2024 but the sides could not agree on an exact number. A return to Miami has not been ruled out.
At the NFL Scouting Combine last week, general manager Chris Grier did not commit to Baker being on the roster in 2024.
“We’d love to have Baker here,” Grier said. “I think the big thing for us was to have the new defensive staff come in, spend time watching the team, watching the defense as a staff together. Once we have those discussions with the defensive staff, [head coach] Mike [McDaniel] will get together and then we’ll make that decision here in the next couple of weeks.”
In 2023, Baker missed extended time because of
Tracking NFL personnel moves ahead of tag deadline, injury for the first time in his career. An MCL sprain sidelined him for four games late in the season. And then a dislocated bone in his wrist kept him out of the wild-card loss to
the Kansas City Chiefs. Baker appeared in 13 games, recording 78 tackles and 11⁄2 sacks this past season.
The Dolphins selected Baker, 27, with the No. 73 overall pick in the 2018 draft. Over six seasons, Baker appeared in 94 games (82 starts), recording 581 tackles (378 solo), 221⁄2 sacks, five interceptions, 21 pass breakups and six forced fumbles
Inside linebacker: David Long Jr. is set to return on the final year of a twoyear deal he signed last offseason. Duke Riley, who filled in for Baker last season, is also under contract for the 2024 season. And 2022 third-round pick Channing Tindall could be primed for a bigger role. He’s played sparingly on defense in his first two seasons, logging just 21 snaps.
Crossen, 27, did not play in the 2023 season after sustaining a seasonending leg injury during the team’s final practice before roster cuts.
He originally signed a three-year deal worth $9.45 million during the 2022 offseason. None of Crossen’s $2.94 million base salary for the 2024 season was guaranteed.
In his first season in Miami, Crossen appeared in 16 games and made two starts, recording 32 tackles and four pass breakups.
The Dolphins will not only have to be cap compliant, but, realistically, free more space so they can conduct offseason business early in free agency.
The $18.5 million in cap savings from releasing cornerback Xavien Howard cannot be used until after June 1. Though Grier hasn’t ruled out re-signing Howard, the expectation is that he will move on to another team.
Simple restructurings for cornerback Jalen Ramsey and outside linebacker Bradley Chubb could create about $29 million in space, virtually eliminating the current deficit.
If the Dolphins extended deals of wide receiver Tyreek Hill and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, that could create another $28 million or so in cap space.
Running back Jeff Wilson’s 2024 cap hit would drop from $3.7 million to $782,500 if Miami releases him, opting not to pay him $2.6 million, none of which is guaranteed.
WILKINS UPDATE
Though the Dolphins have decided not to use the franchise tag to guarantee defensive tackle Christian Wilkins’ return to the team, they remain very much open to his return, and lines of communication are open, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Some background on how the Dolphins reached this point, unable to agree with Wilkins on a deal after discussions spanning more than eight months, but with team officials still trying to retain him as Wilkins nears next week’s start of unrestricted free agency:
Last summer, the Dolphins offered Wilkins a contract that would have paid him in the top 10 among defensive tackles in both average annual salary and guarantees.
As perspective, Green Bay’s Kenny Clark averaged the 10th highest per-year salary last season among defensive tackles, at $17.5 million, so Miami’s offer would have been at least that high, if not higher.
Ten defensive tackles have contracts calling for at least $40 million in guaranteed money; the Dolphins have offered at least that amount of guaranteed money to Wilkins.
Grier said a few months ago that Wilkins and his agent agreed that the team’s summer 2023 offer was fair (Wilkins’ agent, David Mulugheta, generally hasn’t addressed his client’s contract issues publicly in the past, and Wilkins declined to discuss the matter consistently last season).
But Wilkins decided that he should be paid in line with other defensive tackles who had much higher sack production than his pre-2023 sack numbers.
Wilkins, 28, had 111⁄2 sacks through four seasons before producing nine sacks last season.
Wilkins bet on himself and produced the career high in sacks, though his overall tackles plunged from 98 to 65. His 10 tackles for loss tied for 52nd in the league and fell from 16 in 2023.
The other factor at play has been how to reconcile Wilkins’ salary with that of defensive tackle Zach Sieler, and how much overall to allocate at the position.
The Dolphins offered Wilkins significantly more money than the three-year extension that Sieler signed last August, one that averaged $10.25 million per year. The Sieler deal includes $20 million guaranteed.
While the Dolphins cannot stop Wilkins from hitting the open market once Tuesday’s franchise tag deadline passed, they will continue efforts to re-sign him. If the bidding reaches a point they consider unpalatable, they then likely would seek another veteran defensive tackle.
Giving Wilkins the inflexible $22.1 million franchise tag would have handicapped Miami in free agency. But a longterm contract could cut that $22.1 million 2024 cap number in half or more.
If the Dolphins lose Wilkins in free agency, they are likely to receive a compensatory third-round pick in 2025, presuming they don’t go on an extravagant free agent spending spree, which is unlikely given their situation against the cap.
FINS SIGN DT
As the Dolphins continue to monitor Wilkins and fellow pending unrestricted free agent Raekwon Davis, they are bringing in a veteran lineman with ties to new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
Miami announced it signed defensive tackle Isaiah Mack.
Mack, 27, spent the
2023 season on the practice squads of the New York Jets and Washington Commanders. He was with the Ravens in 2021 and 2022, overlapping with Weaver, who was the defensive line coach in Baltimore during that time.
Mack has appeared in 25 games (one start), recording 17 combined tackles and 21⁄2 sacks.
Mack, the 2018 Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Chatanooga, signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent. He has also spent time with the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.
DRAFT PROJECTIONS
In his newest mock draft, ESPN’s Jordan Reid has the Dolphins selecting Oregon interior offensive lineman Jackson PowersJohnson at No. 21 and Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders at 55.
“Powers-Johnson played all 792 snaps of his 2023 season at center, but he also has experience at guard in 2021-22 and is capable of playing any position inside,” Reid said. “His sturdy base and raw strength are two of his best traits, and I see Day 1 starter potential.”
As for Sanders — who caught 99 passes for 1,295 yards and seven touchdowns during the past two seasons — Reid said: “Miami’s offense was among the best in the NFL last season, but it was missing a dynamic tight end.
“Because the Dolphins are so reliant on the middle of the field, Sanders is a perfect match. He is coming off his second straight 600-plus-yard season and has good hands.”