Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. agreed to terms with the New Orleans Saints.
Beyond Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, the Miami Dolphins’ anticipated wide receiver corps for 2024 was a major question going into the offseason. However, we now know that Cedrick Wilson Jr. won’t be in it.
Wilson is departing via free agency, as was to be expected, and on Thursday night he agreed to terms with the New Orleans Saints.
Due to a change in the original three-year contract Wilson signed when he joined the team from the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, his contract lapsed last month, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Wilson was signed by the Dolphins that offseason to a three-year, $21 million contract that seemed to indicate he would play a big part for the team. However, that didn’t happen in his first season after Wilson was passed over for the third receiver position by fellow free agent Trent Sherfield and the Dolphins acquired Hill in the massive trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Wilson’s output jumped dramatically last year as his snap more than quadrupled, partly because to the injuries that slowed down Hill and Waddle. Prior to that, Wilson caught just 12 receptions in that 2022 season.
Wilson scored three touchdowns in three different games: against New England in Week 8, Kansas City in Week 9, and Baltimore in Week 16. Wilson caught 22 catches, ranking fourth among the team’s wide receivers behind Hill, Waddle, and Braxton Berrios.
After his contract was changed the previous year, turning his income into a restructure bonus, 2024 was declared a vacant year, effectively announcing his departure this offseason.
No matter what other moves the Dolphins make this month or later in the offseason, Wilson will not be taken into account in the formula because he became a free agent after his contract was terminated and was therefore ineligible to become a compensating free agent.
WHERE THE RECEIVER CORPS DOLPHINS WIDE STANDS
Wilson, Berrios, River Cracraft, Robbie Chosen, and Chase Claypool were the five wide receivers who were free agents as of Wednesday.
Other than Hill and Waddle, the Dolphins have four receivers on the roster: 2022 fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma, who missed nearly the entire previous season due to a neck injury that head coach Mike McDaniel claimed stemmed from his time in college at Texas Tech; Braylon Sanders, Anthony Schwartz, and Matthew Sexton were all signed to future contracts earlier this year.
Since only Cracraft joined the team prior to the previous season out of the four free agents still available, it stands to reason that he would be the most likely to be re-signed. Berrios would likely be the next person on the list due to his capacity to return.
When the Dolphins acquired Claypool from the Chicago Bears in October of last year in exchange for late-round picks, it was thought to be a low-risk, high-reward move. However, in his final six games of 2023, he only saw 22 offensive snaps.
Wilson Jr. put in his terms with the Saints of New Orleans.
GET MORE NEWS ON:
Leave a Reply