Between making roster cuts and negotiating potential trades, the Miami Dolphins took care of an important piece of business Tuesday when they restructured the contract of wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr.
Per multiple reports, Wilson's $7 million salary for 2023 that came with a $5 million guarantee has been replaced by a $3 million signing bonus to go along with a $2 million salary and incentives that could push his return to slightly more than the original $7 million.
The move will save a little more than $3 million of cap space for the Dolphins, who earlier had cleared about $1 million by trading veteran offensive lineman Dan Feeney to the Chicago Bears for a draft pick.
WHAT THE MOVE MEANS
As part of the restructure, the final year of the original three-year contract Wilson signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2022 will be voided, making him a UFA next offseason.
GM Chris Grier said in the offseason the team would try to do right by Wilson after he had limited opportunities on offense in his first year with the Dolphins, suggesting he would look for a trade.
But the $5 million salary guarantee made it practically impossible to find a trade partner after Wilson had only 12 catches for 136 yards in 15 games last season.
Wilson, who was signed before the Dolphins traded for Tyreek Hill in March 2022, ended up playing only 22.4 percent of the offensive snaps after being beaten out for the third wide receiver role by fellow free agent pick-up Trent Sherfield.
Even though Sherfield now is with the Buffalo Bills after leaving as a free agent, Wilson would appear to stand clearly behind Braxton Berrios for the third wide receiver role and there's probably little separation among Wilson, veteran newcomer Robbie Chosen and River Cracraft.
If the Dolphins still wanted to explore the idea of trading Wilson, he's now much more attractive to potential suitors because of his now-low $2 million salary. For the Dolphins, the cap hit of trade only went up $1 million (from $2M to $3M).
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