\u201cIf you keep kicking the can down the road, you\u2019ll never get healthy,\u201d Sullivan said Monday. \u201cThere\u2019s two philosophies that you subscribe to in the National Football League: you pay as you go or you\u2019re living on credit. If we keep living on credit, we\u2019re never [going to] get healthy. We want the flexibility that paying as you go provides. We can\u2019t get there unless we kind of take it on the chin this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Dolphins, as Sullivan described, happen to be in a very different place than in recent years. Although Sullivan hates the term \u201crebuild,\u201d that\u2019s essentially where Miami is \u2014 albeit in a much healthier way as they do have a quarterback in Malik Willis that they feel can take the franchise to the next level. Tagovailoa\u2019s ousting, in addition to that of wide receiver Tyreek Hill and edge rusher Bradley Chubb, put the Dolphins on a different timeline as they continue to claw themselves up from cap hell.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to live like this every year,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cBut this year we had to move like this to get back to within a healthy salary cap.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was just a few years ago when the Dolphins opted to push all their chips to the center, trading draft picks for Hill, Chubb and cornerback Jalen Ramsey as they attempted to cash in on what they believed to be their title window. That time is over and Sullivan deemed a reset necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time that you\u2019re talking about giving up significant draft capital, like we did in Green Bay with Micah [Parsons], I think you do those kind of things when you\u2019re close as a team,\u201d Sullivan said, later adding that \u201cyou can\u2019t leverage the future if you\u2019re not in a championship spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shift in philosophy also somewhat explains the Jaylen Waddle trade<\/a>, which Sullivan similarly described as important the next area of Dolphins success.<\/p>\n \u201cWaddle is 27 years old,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cWe\u2019re in an era where the market for receivers is through the roof. And eventually, the chickens are going to come to roost with that. So when we hit our stride, I\u2019m not sure that that all meshed the way that we needed to mesh. We\u2019re in a position with our roster where we need to get younger and cheaper. I just thought that it was in the best interest of the Miami Dolphins to get two rookie players \u2013 if we do our job right as a personnel staff \u2013 that\u2019ll be on rookie contracts that can grow with Malik.\u201d<\/p>\n Miami now finds itself in an unenviable position as they must pay more for players not on the roster<\/a> than those that will actually don the aqua and orange on Sundays. That means they couldn\u2019t sign a lot of high-profile names, especially after Willis\u2019 deal. Sullivan acknowledged that yet hoped his free agent additions would take advantage of the opportunity<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThese guys are chasing the carrot,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cMost of these players believe they\u2019re a better player than being on a one-year minimum contract so they\u2019re out to prove something.\u201d<\/p>\n Time will tell whether this strategy ultimately works. For now, fans can rest assured that there\u2019s a larger plan in the works.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, two years from now, three years from now when we have multiple draft classes under us, and we\u2019ve been able to be a little more active in free agency, you can draw your own conclusions,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cBut we\u2019re here to be comeptitive, day in and day out, and we\u2019re here to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
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