Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald has the re-worked contract details for Terron Armstead. The new deal created roughly $10 million in salary cap space for the Dolphins in 2024, and the Dolphins added void years to his deal to spread out the remaining cap hit.
Armstead accepted a $4.25 million pay cut in 2024 and received $10 million in guaranteed salary. His new contract includes a $7.29 million signing bonus and thus it reduced his salary cap hit this year in 2024 by $10.29 million. No changes were made to Armstead’s 2025 and 2026 payouts and cap charges.
Overall, this news isn’t bad for the Dolphins moving forward. Armstead accepted a small pay cut, gave Miami cap relief this season, and spread out future money over two void years, which will be a little dead cap money Miami will have to eat in 2027 and 2028.
Void years in contracts have been popular this offseason for teams to manage the cap, but not everyone agrees they are a wise direction to take in cap management. To pay players on your cap (even if only a small amount) for multiple years when they will no longer be on the team. It is a practice that NFL teams will experiment with now and see what the fallout is moving forward. In the case of Armstead, the number here is small in the void years, and with the salary cap expected to continue to increase, I don’t have a huge problem with it. Although, I wouldn’t make it the “new normal” to be putting void years in all re-structured deals.
Since joining Miami, Armstead has missed numerous games due to injury. In 2022, he started and played in only 13 games. Last season, he started and played in only ten games. Prior to the 2022 season, Armstead signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the Dolphins in 2022, a deal that included a $12 million signing bonus and $43.4 million in guaranteed money.
As of today, Miami’s starting offensive line is in flux and will return Armstead at left tackle, Austin Jackson at right tackle, and newly signed Aaron Brewer as the new starting center. Kendall Lamm filled in for Armstead last season as his back-up and played significant snaps while Terron was out of action. Miami has yet to re-sign Lamm and who Armstead’s back-up is will be key going into the 2024 season.
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