Dolphins have business with veterans on roster whose contracts might need attention

A couple of months ago, before free agency brought in new veteran talent from other NFL outposts and before members of the Miami Dolphins coaching staff and personnel department started traveling the country to see college players perform at their pro days, the club understood it probably had unsettled business at home.

Players already on the Dolphins roster were waiting, and in some cases eagerly hoping, for the club to put a priority on their individual situations before moving on to free agency and the draft.

Specifically:

Cornerback Xavien Howard wanted a pay raise.

Players such as cornerback Byron Jones and linebacker Kyle Van Noy wanted to know if the club intended to restructure their contracts -- a move that would save salary cap space in 2021 and give each a sizable signing bonus immediately.

And tight end Mike Gesicki, linebacker Jerome Baker, tight end Durham Smythe and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah -- all about to begin their final contract year and all in line for an extension -- were waiting to see if the team was moving toward doing those new deals.

Well, here we are about two months later, with free agency mostly in the rear view mirror and the draft just ahead, and so far ... nothing.

Well, not nothing exactly.

Van Noy, for one, got his answer on a restructure. The club released him and he’s now a member of the New England Patriots.

But the other players must continue to play a waiting game for now.

That doesn’t mean no business has been conducted.

The Dolphins are now fully apprised that Howard, their best player, would like that pay increase.

And the club is aware Baker and Gesicki and others would all welcome negotiated extensions.

Those messages have been relayed to the team by the players’ respective agents, according to a source.

The agents involved all declined to speak about these matters.

But the conversations between the team and player representatives have nonetheless happened.

And in those conversations, the source said, the Dolphins have been “attentive” and “amicable” in acknowledging what their veteran players would like. But also “noncommittal” in several instances.

There has not been a definitive answer either way on several fronts.

The Dolphins haven’t told Howard, Baker or Gesicki or others that their concerns are unimportant. The club is said to be open to continuing discussions on their various situations.

But, again, no one has signed a new deal as of this writing.

It’s all in the cue, so to speak.

So what’s up?

How is it the Dolphins have signed or traded for a dozen players since February, made decisions to move on from multiple players, and signed kicker Jason Sanders to an extension, but other contributors apparently in the team’s plans for 2021 have not been addressed?

Well, one supposes, there is a timing for everything.

And it obviously hasn’t been the right time for the team quite yet.

So when?

Barring a departure from the current course, we’re looking at after the draft as one marker for more work to be done on most of the fronts. And perhaps later than that.

Because, here’s a shocker, this is all mostly about money.

And with $8,109,714 in salary cap space, according the NFL Players Association Monday report, the Dolphins simply cannot conduct all their necessary business -- sign all their draft picks this summer, have enough to add a practice squad, have operating room for the regular-season -- and offer extensions, too.

That’s where the Jones restructure, which would save the team $9,757,500 in cap space, could come into play.

An Ogbah extension might also help in lowering his scheduled $7.5 million cap hit for this year, which suggests it could be higher on the priority list than other business.

The draft also could offer the Dolphins more clarity on which direction is most prudent on other fronts.

Say, for example, the club selects Florida tight end Kyle Pitts with the No. 6 selection in the draft. Such a move could make the Dolphins reconsider how or even if they extend both Smythe and Gesicki.

Another example: If the club selects multiple wide receivers in the draft that might cause the team to reconsider the status of some players currently making up that position group. And releasing or trading anyone would have cap ramifications.

And if we’re talking cap savings, that again could allow the team to address a pending issue with another veteran.