Every NFL teams make every attempt to improve their teams in the off-season. Part of that requires teams to make major deals. However, sometimes those deals didn’t go as expected. The Miami Dolphins are certainly no exception to deals that didn’t go as planned. That often leaves fans wondering what if the team used the money for someone else. Over the past three seasons, the Dolphins made several deals with players that didn’t go the way the Dolphins wanted.
2020- Jordan Howard
In 2020, fans became excited that the Dolphins signed Jordan Howard. What wasn’t to be excited about the Jordan Howard signing? He had a great rookie season in 2016, having the second most rushing yards in the NFL behind Ezekiel Elliot and making the Pro Bowl. He had back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons (1313 and 1122 yards) and was just 65 yards short of 1,000 in his third season (935 yards). And even though his rushing yards dropped significantly in his fourth year (525 yards), he had 131 fewer attempts than the previous season and a higher yards-per-attempt average. So, a contract close to ten million dollars for two years and half of that guaranteed didn’t seem like a bad offer for a running back that would and should make a major impact for the Miami Dolphins.
Jordan Howard’s Miami Dolphins 2020 contract: $9,750,000 for two years. Guaranteed: $4,750,000.
Result of the Deal: Three games started, 28 attempts for 33 yards at 1.2 yards per carry, and six touchdowns. When receiving, there was one target for a loss of three yards.
2020-Byron Jones
Adding cornerback Byron Jones to the Miami Dolphins roster in 2020 seemed like a no-brainer at the time. Jones played well with the Dallas Cowboys and made the Pro Bowl in 2018. With a cornerback duo of Xavien Howard and Jones, it appeared the Dolphins would have a great secondary. His Dolphins tenure started well with two interceptions, four passes defended, a forced fumble, and 37 tackles. Although he didn’t have an interception in 2021, he had ten defended passes and 58 tackles. However, he had an Achilles surgery in March of 2022 and was never able to return to play for the Miami Dolphins after just two seasons.
Byron Jones’ Miami Dolphins 2020 contract: $82,500,000 for five years. Guaranteed: $54,375,000.
Result of the Deal: Two years played, two interceptions, 95 tackles, 14 passes defended. Has not played in the NFL since the 2021 season.
2021-Will Fuller
In 2020, Will Fuller had a career year. He was just 121 yards short of 1,000 receiving yards, which was only playing in 11 games. He had the sixth most yards per reception (16.6) in the NFL and the seventh-longest reception (77 yards) in 2020. Fuller was suspended for the last five games of the season and for the first game of the 2021 season for violating NFL’s PED policy. But he was fast, running a 4.32 40-time at the NFL combine. And that speed was what the Miami Dolphins needed. Everyone felt like, after his 2020 season, he was on the verge of a breakout year in 2021. So Dolphins fans were excited at the signing of Will Fuller in 2021. Unfortunately, an early season injury to his finger ended his season and potentially his NFL career.
Will Fuller’s Miami Dolphins 2021 contract: $10,625,011 for one year. Guaranteed: $10,000,000.
Result of the Deal: No games started, four receptions out of eight targets for a 50% reception percentage, 26 yards, and no touchdowns. He has not played in the NFL since the 2021 season.
2022-Chase Edmonds
In 2021, Chase Edmonds had a career year with the Arizona Cardinals. He was just 97 yards short of having 1,000 all-purpose yards. He had rushed for 592 yards with two touchdowns and had 311 receiving yards. His catch percentage was 81.1%, the highest since his rookie season. So, it was promising for Dolphins fans when the Dolphins signed him last off-season. He was supposed to be 2022’s starting all-purpose back. But things didn’t go as planned. Raheem Mostert beat him out as the starting running back, and he had the worst catch percentage of his career at 58.8%. His rushing totals weren’t good, and by November 1st, Edmonds was traded away from the Dolphins.
Chase Edmonds’ Miami Dolphins 2022 contract: $12,100,000 for two years. Guaranteed: $6,100,000.
Result of the Deal: Two games started, 120 yards in 4 attempts at 2.9 yards per attempt with two touchdowns. He caught ten out of 17 passes for 96 yards for a 58.8% catch percentage with no touchdowns. Traded away in November.
2022-Teddy Bridgewater
When the Dolphins signed Teddy Bridgewater in 2022, he was meant to be Tua Tagovailoa’s backup. Some fans mistakenly thought he would even compete with the NFL’s top-rated passing leader for the starting job. But the idea was to be Tagovailoa’s backup in case of an injury to Tagovailoa. Tua did get injured and missed four starts as a result. Unfortunately, the first game Bridgewater started in place of Tagovailoa resulted in him being removed early in the game due to a controversial concussion protocol. He also injured his finger in another game in the season. The final result for Bridgewater was only being able to start two games out of the four Tua missed and leaving the game early in one of those starts.
Teddy Bridgewater’s 2022 Miami Dolphins contract: $6,500,000 for one year. Guaranteed: $6,500,000.
Result of the Deal: Five games played, two games started in place of Tua’s four games missed. He had to leave the game early in the first game. Seventy-nine attempts for 683 yards with four touchdowns. He could not back up Tagovailoa’s start for the playoff game Tua missed against the Bills, leaving the third-string quarterback, rookie Skylar Thompson as the starting quarterback.
2022-Mike Gesicki
Mike Gesicki was coming off of one of his best seasons in 2021, and his rookie contract had expired. In 2021, he had 780 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He had become a top-ten receiving tight end in the NFL. So, fans were beating the drum to pay Gesicki so he would play another year with the Dolphins. Eventually, Gesicki did sign a franchise tag to play with the Dolphins one more year. But his receiving yards dropped significantly. He went from 780 yards in 2021 to 362 yards in 2022. But his drop-off wasn’t all his fault. Gesicki just wasn’t utilized the way he was in his previous years.
He had the lowest number of passes thrown to him since his rookie year. He went from 112 passes thrown to him to just 52 passes thrown to him in 2022. And he didn’t do bad with the passes thrown to him. His yards per reception were higher (11.3) last season than they were in 2021 (10.7). He did struggle some with catching the ball, as his catch percentage was the lowest since 2019. Gesicki wasn’t used much in the end because he wasn’t considered a good blocking tight end.
Mike Gesicki’s 2022 Miami Dolphins contract: $10,931,000 for one year. Guaranteed: $10,931,000.
Result of the Deal: Started one game, caught 32 out of 52 passes for 362 receiving yards with five touchdowns.
2022-Emmanuel Ogbah
Emmanuel Ogbah had a career year in 2021. He had nine sacks, 12 passes defended, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and 41 tackles. Fans were excited when signing Ogbah to a new contract was one of the first deals made in the 2022 off-season. The contract was a massive deal. Unfortunately, Ogbah suffered a season-ending torn triceps injury after playing only in nine games and starting only three. It was not how the Dolphins had planned for Ogbah’s 2022 season to go after giving him a massive contract.
Emmanuel Ogbah’s 2022 Miami Dolphins contract: $65,400,000 for four years. Guaranteed: $32,000,00
Result of the Deal: Three games started, one sack, and 11 tackles. Missed the remainder of 2022 due to injury.
There have been several deals with players that didn’t go as planned over the years. These are just a few listed here in the past three years. With the players listed in this article, that is a combined total of $124,656,000 guaranteed money in contracts that didn’t go as planned in the past three years.
