4:40pm: The Dolphins confirmed that they have terminated the contracts for Coples and McCain (Twitter link).
3:31pm: The Dolphins will soon release a former first-round pick, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is parting ways with defensive end Quinton Coples. Coples didn’t last long in Miami, with the Dolphins having claimed him off waivers from the Jets in November.
According to agent David Canter (Twitter link), the Dolphins are also releasing cornerback Brice McCain, who spent one season with the team.
Neither Coples nor McCain had more than one year remaining on his contract with the team, and cutting both players will create more than $10MM in cap savings for the Dolphins for the 2016 season. Coples’ $7.751MM salary, the amount of the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, isn’t fully guaranteed, so Miami will wipe that entire amount from its books. As for McCain, the team will eat $1MM in dead money, but clears his $2.5MM salary from the cap.
Coples, selected 16th overall in the 2012 draft, had his best year as a pro in 2014, but even that amounted to just 35 tackles and 6.5 sacks, modest totals for a first-round pass rusher. When Todd Bowles took over as the Jets’ head coach a year ago, Coples was further marginalized in New York. Due to his poor fit in Bowles’ defense – and perhaps an alleged incident on a team flight, though Bowles denied that – the 25-year-old was waived by the club in the fall, and has now been cut for a second time in the last three months.
As for McCain, the veteran cornerback signed with the Dolphins last March after spending five seasons in Houston and one in Pittsburgh. McCain started 10 games and played 735 defensive snaps for the Dolphins in 2015, picking up an interception to go along with 39 tackles. However, it appears he didn’t show the team enough to be brought back for the second year of his contract.
Coples and McCain were both among the potential Dolphins cap casualties mentioned by PFR’s Connor Byrne when he previewed the club’s offseason last weekend.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I still think Coples would do well in the right system, perhaps lined up in the interior of a 4-3 front. A team looking for DL depth from someone who can get to the passer up the middle could do a lot worse.
Wonder if the Steelers will get a compensatory pick for McCain now.