Before the Miami Dolphins officially lost one of their best special team contributors to the Las Vegas Raiders in Mack Hollins, they made the decision to go after former New York Giants defensive back Keion Crossen to fill the role.
While the Dolphins’ three-year deal with Crossen was agreed to prior to the start of the new league year, the deal was made official at the end of the week. According to Over the Cap, the contract will pay the 25-year-old $9.45 million over three seasons with the potential to pay an additional $1.05 million in playtime incentives.
In 2022, Crossen has a cap hit of $3.035 million, as his $1.035 million salary and $2 million roster bonus are guaranteed in the first year.
In 2023 and 2024, he has cap hits of $3.17 million ($2.865 million in salary, $255,000 in per-game roster bonuses and $50,000 in workout bonuses) and $3.245 million ($2.94 million in salary, $255,000 in per-game roster bonuses and $50,000 in workout bonuses), respectively. However, there’s no guaranteed money in either of those years.
This means that the Dolphins could move on from Crossen after the first year with no repercussions if they wanted to. Paying a special teamer over $3 million is a bit pricey, so there’s a real chance that happens, especially if he doesn’t perform.
Considering the money that Hollins received from the Raiders, the choice to sign Crossen instead of the captain is a puzzling one.