Examining the Phins Players Hitting Free Agency

The Phins Free Agents aren’t big names, but some make the roster better

The Phins have a bunch of their 2019 players heading into the 2020 Offseason as Free Agents. While none of these players are elite, a couple of them would make the roster better if retained. The good news is the majority of Miami’s best FAs are Restricted Free Agents. This gives the Dolphins options if they want to keep them.

For those who don’t know about the different tender options on Free Agents or would like a refresher course, here’s the scoop on the different tenders.

Free Agent tenders: UFA, RFA, ERFA

UFA: Unrestricted Free Agent has zero ties to the former team. They hit the market free to play for any team that wants them.

It gets a little more sticky with RFAs and ERFAs.

Taken from Inside the Pylon’s glossary page.

RFA: Restricted Free Agent

ERFA: Exclusive Rights Free Agent

From the 2017 SBNation.com free agency explainer article:

Teams have four different tender options they can place on their restricted free agent that usually keeps those players from leaving.

1. First-round tender: Free agent can negotiate with other teams, but original team has option to match any deal and will receive a first-round selection if it opts not to match the deal.

2. Second-round tender: Free agent can negotiate with other teams, but original team has option to match any deal and will receive a second-round selection if it opts not to match the deal.

3. Original-round tender: Free agent can negotiate with other teams, but original team has option to match any deal and will receive a selection equal to the round the player was originally selected in if it opts not to match the deal.

4. Right of first refusal: Free agent can negotiate with other teams, but original team has option to match any deal. The team will not receive any compensation if it opts not to match another deal.

The option prices will be a bit inflated from the ones above

Okay, with all that jazz out of the way, let’s go over which 2019 Phins are Free Agents.

Miami’s notable Free Agents

RFA Vince Biegel OLB: PFF Grade 69.8, 59 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 int. Biegel has a ‘Rob Ninkovich’ feel to him and I expect there’s an excellent chance he returns. The Dolphins will likely give him at least an original round tender (4th).
ERFA Isaiah Ford WR: PFF Grade 68.9, 23 rec 244 10.6 ypc. Ford showed much at the end of the season both in his play and leadership. Smart, big, and good hands make Ford a receiver worth keeping. But, because he is a 7th RD pick, young, and talented Miami would need to put the 2nd RD tender on him or set up a long-term deal to keep him. Many teams would quickly pay a 7th RD pick to acquire Ford.
RFA Matt Haack P: PFF Grade 60.6, 45.0 ypp. At only a low 20’s rank in his major stats, it’s likely Miami will look elsewhere for a punter rather than pay a premium for Haack.
ERFA Trent Harris DE: PFF Grade 50.1, 22 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble. Harris flashed at times to close the season but was inconsistent. It’s hard to say if this staff will bring Harris back or not. If so, it won’t be with a major tender.
ERFA Evan Brown C: PFF Grade 60.6. Brown showed a little, but I doubt it will be enough to bring him back except at a dirt-cheap price.
UFA John Jenkins DE: PFF Grade 70.8, 34 tackles, 1 sack. Jenkins was dominant until midseason when he began to tail off even on limited snaps. He can still play, but at 32 heading into the 2020 Season, I don’t expect him to return unless it’s on the cheap.
ERFA Adrian Colbert FS: PFF Grade 64.9, 22 tackles, 2 passes defended. Colbert is big and has some movement skills, I could see him returning down the road or if he is willing to play for Miami on the cheap. Steven Parker played excellently and Miami signed Eric Rowe to a sizable contract, so they will look towards the draft and UDFAs to find their “Cheung”.

The Dolphins do have some other notables that will create interesting storylines.

Aqib Talib, Evan Boehm, Walt Aikens, J’Marcus Webb, and Mike Hull round out the Phins notable FAs. Aikens was disciplined by Flores and failed to flourish outside of special teams, so he won’t be back. Webb was a stop-gap and won’t return as well. Boehm moved people in the run game but lacked too much in pass protection. Miami must upgrade the O-line and Boehm isn’t that upgrade.

Hull and Talib are the only ones I could see returning. Well, for Talib it would be to actually play fro the first time. Talib and Flores have a history, so if he plays on the cheap, he could help Miami with their thin corner group. Hull is a smart player who plays excellent on special teams. Still, considering all the draft picks and UDFA that will be on the team next year, the better bet with the sports betting software is that neither are on the team in 2020.

There is one thing that’s certain for the Miami Dolphins 2020 Season… lots of new faces. Go Phins!!!

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