Free-agent cornerback Logan Ryan reuniting with Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is an intriguing situation.
Flores coached Ryan during their days on the New England Patriots (2013-2016) where Ryan had much success. His play earned him a substantial deal with the Tennessee Titans during the 2017 offseason.
Since then, Ryan has played well for the Titans.
In 3 seasons as a Titan, Ryan recorded a total of 251 tackles, 8.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, and four interceptions. Opposing quarterbacks threw for five touchdowns and had an 88.7 passer rating targeting Ryan in 2019, a bounce-back year after Ryan allowed signal-callers targeting him to post a 102.0 rating.
This past season, in 2019, Ryan played in 16 games, recorded a career-high 113 combined tackles, 18 passes defended and 4 interceptions.
Ryan was expected to find a team during the first major wave of the 2020 free agency period, but his asking price may be too high for his interested buyers.
Some time ago, during a podcast, Ryan commented that he would be willing to return to the Titans on a 1-year deal at the same salary he was on during the 2019 season.
Well, that base salary was $9.5 million, according to Spotrac.
A little high for a player who would be playing nickel cornerback on the Dolphins, yes?
— DolphinsTalk.com (@DolphinsTalk) May 14, 2020
But since then, the cornerback has ruled out returning to the Titans. But left his door open to the rest of the NFL.
For the Dolphins, they would like Ryan’s services. But they don’t really need his services.
Brian Flores comes from a philosophy of having as many versatile defensive backs as possible, and he believes in stacking depth at every position (see Dolphins offensive line). But with two stud boundary corners in Xavien Howard and Byron Jones, and capable slot defenders in Noah Igbinoghene, Nik Needham, and Brandon Jones… the Dolphins aren’t desperate enough to pay Logan Ryan roughly $10 million per season.
But if Ryan lowers his price to a number the Dolphins are comfortable with, then having the former Titan would be a great addition to an already loaded cornerback unit. (Maybe his past affiliation with Flores lowers his price…maybe.)
However, if Ryan does join the Dolphins, how would this affect rookie Igbinoghene and his future duty at nickel cornerback?
Igbinoghene is a highly-talented man-to-man press-coverage cornerback with lots of potential. The Dolphins used a 1st-round selection on the raw Auburn product in this past 2020 draft.
— DolphinsTalk.com (@DolphinsTalk) May 15, 2020
Ryan is 29 years old, and presumably would be paid more than Igbinoghene on a 1-year deal. Dolphins are wary of players approaching 30 years of age, which is why quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is the only player on the roster past this mark. And if Ryan is approaching the magic-30 number, then Dolphins would be inclined to play him over their 1st-round selection. That way, they can get the most out of Ryan before his contract is up, and before he turns 30.
But playing Ryan over Igbinoghene would also look odd, seeing as how 1st-round selections usually become starters that can make an immediate impact for the team. Igbinoghene was known for being somewhat raw at the cornerback position coming out of the draft and could use some development. Does that mean the Dolphins don’t think their rookie would be up to the task of starting Game 1 of the regular season, or would the signing be more of a comment of being a precautionary measure in order to secure a guarantee of quality play by a veteran of the nickel position in an odd offseason?
My guess would be the latter.
Either way, it’s nice to have depth at the cornerback position. Especially if it’s on a team-friendly deal. And sitting or splitting snaps at the nickel position between Igbinoghene and Ryan isn’t some unreasonable request. Especially when the team has Igbinoghene on a rookie deal for the upcoming 4 seasons.
Signing Logan Ryan would also be a testament by the Dolphins to winning in 2020.
The Dolphins have made upgrades at almost every area of need on their roster during 1 offseason. They want to make progress in the win column compared to their previous 5-11 season, and they are making sure they do it. They are committed to taking a step up in 2020.
Adding Logan Ryan would just reinforce that.
Depends on Miami’s goals for 2020. If Miami is thinking long term developing young players in the defensive backfield, offensive line and Josh Rosen are best choices. Get 2 high draft picks next year and trade rehabilitated Rosen for multiple picks over years to come.
Looking at the schedule I have Miami the favorite in only two games Jacksonville and Cincinnati. Six more games I see as competitive, leading to an 8-8 season best case.
Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields would be worth 6 or more #1s. Those ones fix our team and keep it fixed. Of coarse we have to get the Texans to co-operate by stinking really badly for our benefit. Bill O’Brien seems like a nice guy and is making all the right moves for Miami.
If they see Ryan I could see Byron Jones going back to Safety and Ryan playing Corner as well.
Stingy defense allows offence to ground an pound other defense’s. More ball control.