While the Miami Dolphins consider what to do about Mike Wallace, they have made a decision in regards to Brian Hartline. The team is aiming to get quarterback Ryan Tannehill under a new contract before the 2015 season begins and needed to make several salary cap cuts in order to do so. Hartline has learned that the hard way after the team announced his departure Friday.
The Miami Dolphins have officially released Hartline 10 days before the start of the NFL offseason. The wide receiver had become a fan favorite thanks to his reliability on the field. However, under new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, Hartline struggled with some of his lowest numbers of his career. The wide receiver had just 474 yards in 2014 while playing in all 16 regular-season games. Prior to that he had surpassed 1,000 yards in the previous two seasons. Hartline had to go for money reasons. The receiver was set to earn $5.9 million this year in the middle of a five-year contract. He was a $4.2 million cap charge and one the team could not take on.
The Dolphins were forced to release Hartline as doubt surrounds Wallace. The Dolphins have been trying to get Wallace to take a pay cut with the team, but the Miami Sun-Sentinel reported those talks have stall and the receiver will not accept restructuring his contract. According to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, the Dolphins are trying to trade Wallace, but are not optimistic a team bites considering his heavy cap hit. The team could release him as a post-June 1 cut and save plenty of money in salary cap space, but that would leave huge holes on the roster.
If Wallace and Hartline were gone, that would leave Jarvis Landry and Brandon Gibson to pick up the slack. That is not exactly a receiving corps that screams potential as Tannehill seeks to improve in 2015. The release of Hartline likely ends the idea that Wallace is going anywhere. The team could simply target a receiver that is more affordable to help out with the rotation. With some defensive cuts in the future, the Dolphins are hoping to re-sign Charles Clay and potentially Knowshon Moreno to round out their offense.
