The Miami Dolphins, for the second straight offseason, have a serious question to ask themselves about one of their home-grown players.  

Last offseason, former draft picks Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt ended up making it to the open market, where they garnered contracts of $100+ million each.  They were players that Miami surely would have loved to keep, but ultimately, salary cap issues proved to be too burdensome on the team. 

Miami could have presented one or the other of them leaving town by using either the franchise or transition tag, but ultimately general manager Chris Grier declined to do so. 

Now, he has to decide whether he wants to pull the trigger on the tag this year with his 2021 second-round pick in safety Jevon Holland.  The window for placing the tag on players opened up on Tuesday and runs until March 4.  The Dolphins have during that time frame to use it on Holland.

But should they? Let's take a look at both sides of the coin for that argument.

For: the replacement options for Holland simply aren't as good on the market

Does Miami really want to be down two starters in their secondary in March?  The oft-injured Kendall Fuller was a cap casualty last week, and losing Holland would be a double whammy to the unit.  

Holland also has been considered by most experts as the top safety available on the market. His numbers weren't elite in 2024, but his body of work is good enough to command a ton of interest.  

However, the options to replace him for Miami pretty much won't be as good.  As such, just about any option they could find would be some form of a step back, and that's obviously not ideal, particularly when Miami's defense carried them for stretches last season. 

Miami would have to find a way to clear enough cap space by March 12 to account for the $19.626 million it would take if they franchise tagged him, per OverTheCap.com ($15.598 for a transition tag).  Miami is currently $5.4 million over the cap as of Tuesday, per OverTheCap.com.  Not easy, but conceivable. 

However….

Against: Miami needs as much cap space as possible to fix other areas, particularly offensive line

The Dolphins simply have other areas they have to address first, and that includes the offensive line in multiple spots.  

Committing almost $20 million guaranteed through the tag would take up a good chunk of that.  They can't kick the cap hit down the road a couple of times with void years like they can with a contract restructure.  That number is on the books for 2025.  

Would committing that much to one position to the possible detriment of others be feasible? Not really.  Miami needs to find another starter alongside Holland's safety spot, as well as another starting corner and depth across the secondary.  The defensive line could use a rock in the middle next to Zach Sieler.  Another veteran backup QB is a must, and a WR3 and TE2 are also in play.  And, as mentioned, multiple starting offensive linemen need to be found.  

That is a whole, whole lot to have to figure out with very little financial flexibility to do it.  That's a similar story to why Hunt and Wilkins are playing elsewhere. 

Verdict: Holland finds a new team next month

And that's why I think the Dolphins don't potentially tie themselves up financially by using the tag.  Holland leaves in free agency, and the Dolphins look to fill another hole on their roster. 

It is possible the Dolphins could use either of the tags as a placeholder to work out a long-term deal, and it's something the Dolphins could ultimately rescind before July or before Holland signs it, but they would have to account for that potential cap hit throughout free agency and the offseason if a deal couldn't be reached. 

It just seems like that space could be more widely used by Grier and his staff for a roster that needs plenty of help throughout. 

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