Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier proclaimed in an interview the other day that the team would be aggressive when free agency starts. The Dolphins should be aggressive because they have the most money to spend under the salary of any team in the NFL right now with $60 million. They can create more room by releasing players or restructuring some contracts. The Dolphins should be aggressive but not go overboard in their spending. The first week of free agency typically sees teams spend outrageous contracts on players that aren’t worth the money spent. The Dolphins are no exception to that.
The Dolphins have been down this road before having the most money under the cap and have gotten burned. In 2013, the Dolphins had a huge need at wide receiver and gave a lucrative contract to speedy Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace. That move didn’t work out because Wallace wasn’t a number one receiver and he wouldn’t run routes well it caused issues with his quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Wallace was traded after two and the Dolphins were tied with a lot of his guaranteed money. That same year the Dolphins gave big contracts to linebackers Dannelle Ellerbe and Phillip Wheeler. In the process, the Dolphins released veterans Karlos Dansby and Kevin Burnett, two good players but had issues with then-coach Joe Philbin. Ellerbe and Wheeler were both nonproductive and gone within 2-3 years. If only Philbin could have found a way to make things work with Dansby and Burnett, they could have stayed, and the Dolphins don’t waste money on lesser players.
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Two years ago, the Dolphins again had the most money to spend under the salary cap. They have cornerback Byron Jones the new highest contract for a defensive back and gave big contracts to offensive guard Erek Flowers and linebacker Kyle Van Noy. All players made contributions in the 2020 season as the Dolphins went 10-6 and just missed the playoffs. However, after the season, the Dolphins decided after one year to cut Van Noy and trade Flowers. I didn’t understand the reason why because the Dolphins weren’t over the cap and each player had pretty good seasons. There was the COVID pandemic in 2020 and the salary cap was flat last year. Plus, the Dolphins had some younger players in place so decided to part way with both players and eat the remaining guaranteed money on their contracts. Those weren’t great business decisions, especially after giving them contracts a year prior. Plus, the Dolphins replacements for Flowers at left guard played horribly last year and it might have been best to keep him around. The Dolphins also faced another dilemma after giving Jones the biggest guaranteed contract at the time at his position because Xavien Howard, who was given the highest contract the year before Jones, had a career year in 2020 and wanted a new contract. Howard is a better player than Jones, and the Dolphins are still trying to resolve his contract after coming to a compromise last season. It was an unintended consequence from the Jones deal, but it’s something Grier should have thought of. Howard is an elite cornerback. Jones is a solid player, but he is nowhere near the player Howard is.
The Dolphins also have to factor in a player durability. Last year, they gave wide receiver Will Fuller a one-year $10 million dollars guaranteed contract, and that’s despite not playing a full 16 game season in his short 5-year career. He’s a talented big-play receiver but gets hit with the injury bug every year. On top of that, Fuller was finishing his 6 games suspension for PEDs and would miss the first game of the season. Fuller wasn’t healthy after the first day of training camp and then, after finishing his suspension, missed the second game with a personal issue. He then played 2 games, but broke his finger in the 1st half of the second and didn’t play again this past season. I think there was something else up with him because I have seen countless players play with fractured and dislocated fingers, and he couldn’t even play in any of the final 14 games of the season. It was a waste of money spent by the Dolphins that could have been used elsewhere. The Dolphins shouldn’t have given him a fully guaranteed contract with Fuller’s durability concerns, even if it was for one year. I bring this example up because Brandon Scherff and Terron Armstead are two of the top free-agent offensive linemen this year. The Dolphins have big needs on the offensive line and both players are very good and would be upgrades, but they haven’t played an entire season in a number of years if at all in their careers. I would be uncomfortable giving a big contract to either of these players, knowing their injury history. Armstead missed half of the season this past year, and there is no doubt he would be an upgrade, but you have to figure in the risk vs. the rewards.
Look, no general manager in the NFL is perfect in signing free agents. Grier’s history makes it very uncomfortable for me as a fan to believe he will get this right. Now Grier to his credit did say in an interview the other day, that he takes blame for some of the failures of this rebuild. He should take the blame because he has the final say on all football decisions. Now he does defer to his coaches, so that’s why I don’t give former head coaches Brian Flores or Adam Gase a pass, but ultimately, it’s Grier who signs off. Grier did a great job fixing the team’s salary cap a few years ago with Reggie McKenzie and Marvin Allen. Now they have to be smart on who they target and how much they spend. The Dolphins can’t afford to be repeating themselves with their bad free agent spending and getting little in return.
