Pat Kirwan: Dolphins should move on from $8.5M guarantee for Ndamukong Suh

Pat Kirwan sees no way the Miami Dolphins can afford to pay the $8.5 million guaranteed roster bonus defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is scheduled to receive if he’s on their roster on March 19th.

The former NFL player-personnel executive and co-host of Movin’ The Chains thinks the Dolphins have two ways to go: Convince Suh to sacrifice the guarantee or release him. Otherwise, the Dolphins would be stuck with a $26.1-million cap hit.

‘You’ve got to get rid of the guy, unless you want to just completely go under’

“You can’t get involved with that,” Kirwan told co-host Jim Miller. “You’ve got to get rid of the guy, unless you want to just completely go under, because they’re trying to do other things here.”

Neither Kirwan nor Miller see Suh as the player whose play has matched his pay.

‘He’s a defensive tackle and, ultimately, you can double-team him’

“He didn’t put Detroit or Miami over the top,” Kirwan said. “And he’s been playing on quarterback money for years now. I like Suh a lot. He’s an interesting guy, plays really hard, but he’s a defensive tackle and, ultimately, you can double-team him and then, all of a sudden, nothing happens.”

As far as Kirwan is concerned, the Dolphins shouldn’t expect first-round compensation for wide receiver Jarvis Landry, to whom they applied a franchise tag with the intention of trading him.

‘If you knew that they needed cap space, would you offer them two ones?’

“They are vulnerable with Jarvis Landry,” Kirwan said. “I don’t think they can get full compensation for him. Every team knows that they need cap space. If you knew that they needed cap space, would you offer them two ones? I’d offer them a second and say, ‘Here, we like your player. We’ll take him off your hands for a second.’ What are they going to say?

“It’s tough for the Dolphins right now. I hope they get more than that, but you’ve got to start thinking from the other side. Why would I give you what you think you deserve when I know you have to do something? When you need money, cap space, you’re going to do things just to bail them out. It’s called a fire sale, and there are fire sales in the NFL.”