Peyton Watch: Manning is in Arizona this afternoon, the second leg of his tour to find a new team. Arizona Republic beat writer Kent Somers reports that Manning arrived with coach Ken Whisenhunt around 10 a.m. Mountain time and is also spending the day with team president Michael Bidwill and star receiver Larry Fitzgerald. For updates on the visit, follow Kent on Twitter.
In the meantime, Dolphins fans are chewing fingernails and wondering if their team will even get a shot at speaking to Manning. ESPN?s Adam Schefter reported this morning that Manning is more likely to choose Arizona or Denver, and ?indications are that Miami isn?t as high on his list.? It is not clear at this time if the Dolphins will even meet with Manning, as nothing has been formally discussed.
Meanwhile, NFL business churns along as usual, and the league made an important announcement Sunday afternoon ? the 2012 salary cap, which will officially be $120.6 million, up just $225,000 from last year?s cap of $120.375 million. The league also officially announced franchise tag and restricted free agent salaries, which are listed below.
The new league year officially begins at 4 pm on Tuesday, which is also start of the new free agency period. Teams must be under the salary cap by then, which means the top 51 salaries must be under $120.6 million. The Dolphins have enough room under the cap to sign Manning and potentially Reggie Wayne and Jeff Saturday, but will need to free up more space to sign any other free agents and their rookie class.
The Dolphins? top 51 salary cap numbers currently account for about $115 million (including a $4.1 million penalty for Vernon Carey). The Dolphins also rolled over approximately $9.05 million of unused salary cap space from last year, putting them about $14 million under the salary cap entering the 2012 league year. They will likely attempt to restructure multiple contracts to create more cap space, and also have $1.5 million in salary cap credits at their disposal.
The league also finalized the salaries for restricted free agents. Those tendered with a first-round value will make $2.742 million, second-round tenders will make $1.927 million and original round tenders will get $1.26 million. If a restricted free agent signs with a new team, the new team must surrender the corresponding draft pick to the original team.
The Dolphins have four restricted free agents:
RB/FB Lex Hilliard
RT Lydon Murtha
DE/DT Phillip Merling
DE/DT Ryan Baker
Murtha, an intriguing young tackle who suffered a season-ending toe injury in the final preseason game last year, is a good bet to get a second-round tender. The Dolphins like his potential and the depth he provides, and since he was originally a sixth-round pick, an original-round tender would expose the Dolphins to losing him to another team willing to surrender a sixth-rounder. It would not be surprising to see Murtha do the same thing fellow backup lineman Nate Garner did last year ? sign his RFA tender and then negotiate a contract extension to lower the salary cap number in the current year but then add a second year to the contract.
Merling would likely be an original round tender, as he was a second-rounder in 2008. The Dolphins could actually save $700,000 by designating Merling as an original round tender and not a second-rounder. Merling hasn?t proven much in his four seasons, and likely wouldn?t be swiped away for a second round pick. But he will probably get one more shot in Miami to prove himself.
Hilliard, formerly a sixth-round pick, is iffy to receive a tender, and Baker is doubtful as well. But the two players can certainly return to the Dolphins at a salary lower than the RFA tenders.
Finally, here are the Franchise Tag numbers for 2012, from NFL.com. The Dolphins didn?t use the tag, but you can see how much money the owners saved in this area in the new collective bargaining agreement. Last year, under the old CBA, Dolphins nose/defense tackle Paul Soliai made $12.476 million as a franchise player. This year, defense tackles will make $7.96 million. Advantage: Owners.
The franchise numbers by position:
Quarterbacks: $14.436 million
Running backs: $7.742 million
Wide receivers: $9.515 million
Tight ends: $5.446 million
Offensive linemen: $9.383 million
Defensive ends: $10.605 million
Defensive tackles: $7.96 million
Linebackers: $8.856 million
Cornerbacks: $10.281 million
Safeties: $6.212 million
Kickers and punters: $2.654 million
Tags: Jeff Saturday, Ken Whisenhunt, Larry Fitzgerald, Lex Hilliard, Lydon Murtha, Michael Bidwill, Paul Soliai, Peyton Manning, Phillip Merling, Reggie Wayne, Ryan Baker, Vernon Carey
jack o lantern jack o lantern dave thomas mean girls hank williams jr hank williams jr peter king
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.