No action until March 1st

Better get used to P Jissy because as of midnight tonight we've got exactly 20 days left with him until the CBA expires.  At that point the Dolphins have three days, until March 4th which is when his $1 million bonus is due.  Trades can't be made until March 5th.  They can either pay him on the 4th or release him from the 1st to the 3rd with no cap implications since as of the 1st there is no cap.

As long as he doesn't bash anyone or the team specifically then they'll allow him to run his mouth.  You see, he's only complaining about playing more when you really get down to it.  Seems to me he's in denial about his deteriorating skills.  Let him draw as much attention to himself as long as it doesn't get hostile.  As long as they don't react to him they'll let the situation fly in the wind.

Getting back to the action in March.  We're all speculating what is going to happen in an environment not even the teams have experience in.  A few obvious factors play into this new off season.  Many players who were scheduled to be UFAs won't be since they don't have six years accrued in the NFL.  That turns most of them into RFAs, protecting them from leaving without highly compensating the original team.  The final eight teams in the playoffs have very strict limitations when it comes to signing UFAs.  That means the other 24 teams should see an increased amount of interest from UFAs which in some cases should lead to an increased amount of signings.

Hopefully we'll be one of those teams that benefits from an uneven playing ground in FA.

I can think of one thing that will hit us all like a wall if the last few things mentioned won't already.  The amount of players that are going to get released due to salary should be higher than we're expecting.  Many of those players are due a bonus like J Pissy on the 4th.  Don't underestimate 32 old rich guys.  They know that if they all release the players they deem overpaid that it should all balance itself out in the end.  They're cheap, that's how they got rich.

 

So once again.  As of the 1st, J Pissy can be released with no penalty.  He's due $1 million on the 4th.  We can trade him on the 5th.  The options are simple.

1. Release him after the 1st but before the 3rd.

2. Pay him $1 million on the 4th and trade him before his next bonus is due.  I believe he has a workout bonus due a few weeks later, I'll check.

Thankfully we have a FO that understands the landscape of the NFL.  What ever they do will be the right move, I'm 100% sure they know if a trade would happen in order to risk the $1 million.

All of the things that we've been programed to think in regards to the off season have changed.  Those final eight teams should be prompted to make more trades than normal in order to fill holes.  An entire crop of players that aren't bad, just overpaid, should become available.  With no salary cap there is also no salary floor.

Thankfully the Dolphins spend what they need to in order to get the job done correctly.  That meant not overspending in a world with a salary cap.  In this world they might just spend a little more of Mr. Ross' dough.  Think of how many teams out there that will chop salary drastically.  With eight teams restricted by making the playoffs and another group retricted by being cheap, where does that leave us?

It leaves us in a group of about 10-16 teams that will actually take part in bidding over high priced players.  It leaves us with the second richest owner in the NFL who's desperate to prove he's part of the CKC.  It leaves the Tuna in year three of his rebuilding process an easy way to drastically upgrade this roster.

That's how I can speculate more than the normal amount of FA signings, because this isn't a normal off season.