Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier acknowledged Wednesday that his club is in the midst of a financial reset after big-time spending the last several seasons.
"Every year is different," he said, via the team's official transcript. "We've had years here where it's been all draft focus for a couple years and then at some point you have to reset. When you go and you make aggressive moves like we had made for a few years, you have to reset again and start it over."
Grier said the directive didn't come from owner Stephen Ross, but rather was in response to the spending of the past several seasons.
This offseason, following years of high spending, the Dolphins traded high-priced star cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith, who was seeking a raise, to Pittsburgh for Minkah Fitzpatrick. During the most recent free agency period, Miami stayed quiet, watching safety Jevon Holland sign in New York. Over the past several years, they've also lost Robert Hunt, Christian Wilkins, Andrew Van Ginkel and others as they've gone younger, particularly in the secondary.
"It's just not sustainable the way the contracts are with players and what they're making now," Grier continued. "So in terms of directive, no; for us, it was just good business sense working through it and trying to find value, but we also had to get younger, so we added younger players. Like a year ago, we were one of a couple teams with all the one-year vet contracts and stuff, so we're in a different spot now, adding the young players. That's the direction we're going right now, and we've been very happy so far."
The Dolphins' financial reboot is not dissimilar to the one the San Francisco 49ers underwent this offseason -- albeit Miami garnered less attention for its "reset."
When GMs speak of resets and getting younger, it's often associated with rebuilds. Grier insisted that his "reset" was simply from a business aspect, and he still expected the club to compete to break a playoff winless streak that stretches back to 2000.
"In terms of reset, it was just talking about the money philosophy and spending and stuff, but like I told you, we were always going to try to win this season. It's all about winning in 2025," he said.
Entering coach Mike McDaniel's fourth season at the helm, there is pressure for Miami to get over the playoff hump, or another change could be in order. The coach's task is more challenging after an offseason where the front office spent less to reset the operation.
