Thomas passes physical, clearing trade hurdle
Julius Thomas passed a physical that was necessary to complete his pending trade to the Miami Dolphins, according to a league source.
The Jacksonville Jaguars tight end has also reportedly agreed to restructure his contract, potentially lowering his base salary in 2018 and 2019.
Neither Thomas’ deal, nor the corresponding deal which sends left tackle Branden Albert to Jacksonville for a lateround pick in 2018, can be finalized until March 9, which is the start of the new league year.
The Dolphins are giving up a seventh-round pick in 2017 to get Thomas, who caught 30 passes for 281 yards and scored four touchdowns in the nine games he played the Jaguars last season.
Thomas was almost exclusively used on passing downs in Jacksonville, where he was viewed as a major disappointment after signing a five-year, $46 million contract in 2015.
The past two seasons he’s been slowed by ankle, knee, hand, chest, abdomen, elbow and back injuries. The back injury forced Jacksonville to place him on injured reserve in December.
The Dolphins hope Thomas, a six-year veteran who turns 29 in June, will be able to regain the level of production he had while playing for Dolphins head coach Adam Gase when the two were together in Denver.
With Gase as his offensive coordinator, Thomas, who played college basketball at Portland State, caught 65 passes for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2013. He had 43 receptions for 489 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games during the 2014 season.
He’s a matchup nightmare in the red zone for linebackers because of his top-shelf hands and jumping ability. However, Thomas’ struggles as an in-line blocker might force Miami to re-sign Dion Sims, who excels at blocking.
Sims had his best season in the NFL last year, catching 26 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games . He missed two games because of a concussion he suffered at midseason. Sims might draw interest from other teams if he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Jordan Cameron, who missed all but three games last season because of concussion issues, is also an unrestricted free agent.
The only other tight ends Miami has under contract are MarQueis Gray, who signed a twoyear extension worth $2.1 million, at the end of last season, and Thomas Duarte, the Dolphins’ 2016 seventh-round pick.
Dominique Jones, who played in nine games last season, is a restricted free agent, but it is unlikely that Miami will give him an original round tender that will pay him $1.8 million.
The one-year extension defensive end Cameron Wake signed last weekend, which guarantees him $11 million over the next two seasons, will cost the Dolphins $7.5 million against the cap in 2017. That means Miami will have roughly $43 million in cap space to spend this offseason if Thomas’ salary in 2017 remains $7.1 million.
The Dolphins signed six former players Wednesday — quarterbacks
and cornerback
guard wide receiver and defensive end/linebacker — so they can retire as Dolphins.
Each player signed a contract, was added to the active roster, and then officially retired as a member of the Dolphins.