The Miami Dolphins signed defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a six-year, $114 million contract last offseason, and the Dolphins' newly constructed front office may look to restructure Suh's contract before March, according to Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper. Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum has said that Suh's contract is something the front office expects to sort out early in this offseason.
The Dolphins are currently one of three NFL franchise in the red for 2016, and they are already $2.7 million over of the cap, according to Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post. Tannenbaum and Dawn Aponte, the team's salary cap administrator, are expected to take a closer look and see if Suh's deal could be spread out.
"We have designed, and I think Dawn has done a really good job, when these contracts were constructed that we have a lot of flexibility," said Tannenbaum, via the Palm Beach Post. "By the time we get to the first day of the league year, we should have plenty of room to address the needs that we have and certainly we'll be looking at Suh's contract."
Suh had a relatively disappointing season in his first year in Miami with 61 combined tackles and six sacks. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound defensive tackle was not the same force he was in Detroit in 2015, but he saw more double team blocks on the line after the Dolphins lost star pass rusher Cameron Wake with a torn Achilles in October.
The Dolphins also may lose defensive end Olivier Vernon this offseason, as he becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Vernon recorded 7.5 sacks during the 2015 season and has been one of the Dolphins better draft picks in recent years. Miami has the eighth pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, and it will be interesting to see what direction they head, as they need help on both sides of the ball.
The Dolphins have plenty to sort out this offseason, and Suh's contract is clearly one of the top priorities for the new Dolphins front office. Newly acquired head coach Adam Gase clearly has talent on his roster in Miami and will look to lead the Dolphins to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
