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Miami Dolphins sign Brent Grimes to 4 year deal

Dolphins sign their Pro Bowl cornerback to a 4 year deal, potentially keeping the franchise tag in play for other free agents

We get this guy for potentially 4 more years
We get this guy for potentially 4 more years
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Per the Miami Dolphins team public relations Twitter account, the Dolphins have signed Brent Grimes to a contract and avoided the use of the franchise tag, which neither side wanted.


Brent Grimes told reporter Josina Anderson that the deal is a 4-year deal, but details of the contract structure haven't been leaked. Most deals that are labeled as "Four-year deals" in the NFL tend to be 2 or 3 year deals in practice because the guaranteed money is usually contained in the signing bonus and base salaries of the first 2 years. Depending on how much guaranteed money is in the deal, therefore, a player signing a four-year deal usually becomes a viable cap casualty (a player who can be cut to gain cap space) no later than the fourth year of his deal.

This move is significant for 2 years. First, it means the Dolphins have a playmaking, number 1 cornerback under contract for the next few years to give the Dolphins some stability at the CB position. Grimes, who was playing under a 1-year, $5 million contract, was rated as the second best cornerback in the NFL in 2013 by Pro Football Focus, behind only some guy named Darrelle Revis who was getting paid $16 million that year.


Second, it leaves the Dolphins the option to use the franchise tag on another player before today's 4 p.m. deadline.

Hat-Tip to Phinsider Mavin12.

Update:


$8 million per year for 4 years with $16 million guaranteed is an interesting mix. The $8 million per year average is actually slightly below what top cornerbacks are getting in the NFL. Revis is in a class by himself on a $16 million per year deal, but others like Brandon Carr and Johnathan Joseph have averaged $10+ million per year. Younger elite CBs have gotten $20+ million guaranteed, but $16 million guaranteed for Grimes is top-flight money for a cornerback over age 30, in line with the contracts that Antoine Winfield and Champ Bailey received in their early 30's. I'd estimate then that Grimes isn't a viable cap casualty until the fourth and final year of his deal, but we won't know for sure until we get specific year-by-year breakdowns of how his contract is structured.

Hat tip to TheFloridianDebater.