ALSO INSIDE
Restructuring defensive tackle’s deal would lessen $26.1M cap hit.
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Suh’s contract among 2018 puzzles,
DAVIE — There’s no disputing Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is among the best players in the game at any position. There’s not even much argument against him being worth the $114 million deal Miami gave him three years ago.
The real issue is whether a Dolphins team that needs several upgrades can afford that luxury.
As they move into 2018 planning, the $26.1 million salary cap hit for Suh is going to be an obstacle. If they restructure him, spreading his guaranteed money out over more years. Suh agreed to redo his deal once already, in early 2016.
“We really haven’t gotten toward the salary cap yet,” Vice President Mike Tannenbaum said when asked about reworking Suh’s deal. “In a perfect world, we try to give ourselves as much flexibility as possible. We’re going to sit down and look at all of our players and figure out what makes sense for us. Some situations, we may have a little bit more flexibility than others.”
According to Spotrac’s calculations, the Dolphins currently have the fourth-lowest salary cap space for 2018. They’ll be able to add, though, by making some personnel moves in the coming months.
Even by letting go of some highpriced veterans, though, Miami faces the financial challenge of re-signing Jarvis Landry, any outside free agents at positions of need, several important role players who are hitting unrestricted free agency and possibly an established backup for quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Restructuring Suh’s contract might sound simple, but it takes two sides working together to get something like that done. He could insist upon a bump in total guaranteed money to agree to that.
When asked whether Suh has been a cooperative partner, Tannenbaum steered the topic toward how he’s contributed as a player.
“He’s been a pro,” Tannenbaum said. “He’s played well. He helped us win a bunch of games, helped us get to the playoffs a year ago. He’s played well for us, and again, we’ll evaluate each player, their salary and what flexibility we have”
In three seasons with Miami, Suh has 180 tackles, 15.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He has played all 48 games and been on the field for at least 83 percent of the defensive snaps every season. Pro Football Focus ranked him in the top four at his position each of his three years with the Dolphins.
Cutler back to TV? There’s little chance Jay Cutler will be unemployed next season.
Although the Dolphins aren’t bringing him back, indications are that the door is very much open for Cutler to return to Fox — if “return” is the right word — as a game analyst.
You’ll recall that last year, Fox was so impressed by Cutler’s audition that the network quickly moved to name him their No. 2 game analyst as a rookie broadcaster for 2017. But those plans were scuttled when Ryan Tannehill sustained a season-ending knee injury in training camp and Dolphins coach Adam Gase, who had worked with Cutler in Chicago, called on him to lead the Dolphins’ offense.
Now that Tannehill is expected to return as Miami’s starting QB next season — not to mention that Cutler, 34, has no desire to be a backup — there’s a good chance you’ll hear Cutler on TV next fall.
A source at Fox Sports said despite Cutler’s abrupt departure this summer, he did not leave on bad terms. Quite the contrary, “Everybody understood this could potentially happen,” the source said. “The executives were very understanding the stars could be aligning for Jay. The door is not closed.”
It’s too early to say what the next move will be — whether Cutler or his agent will have to pick up the phone to initiate dialog or whether the overtures will come from Fox.
Fox might, in fact, be even more eager to hire Cutler this year than last, given the tremendous success CBS has had this season with another quarterback-turned-rookie-analyst, Tony Romo.
Romo immediately stepped into the top analyst role and performed far beyond his years, conducting virtual classes on game strategy for viewers. He also drew raves for his knack for predicting plays.
Another wrinkle in Cutler’s future could be widespread speculation that the Raiders are going to rehire Jon Gruden as their coach. That would create an analyst opening for ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecasts alongside Sean McDonough. Considering MNF is the highest-rated show on cable, this would be a high-profile gig that, at least for now, has no favorite to be Gruden’s successor.
For most of his career, Cutler was regarded as aloof, especially for a quarterback, so the transition to television caught many off-guard. Not so with Gase, who staunchly defended his former QB in Chicago in May, when Fox’s hiring was announced.
“I guess I know a different guy than what everybody portrays,” Gase when Fox hired Cutler. “A lot of things that have been said about him in the past has been (B.S.).”