The Dolphins know that they still have some more holes to fill on their roster, so they are not yet finished scouring the free-agent market to find players that can upgrade their roster. Last off-season the Dolphins did an entire makeover of their offensive line, and it was evident that the offensive line was markedly improved from the 2013 season. Even though the offensive line improved, there is still plenty of work to be done, because of how disastrously bad they were 2 seasons ago. The Dolphins still need at least 1 guard, and probably 2 so Billy Turner has some healthy competition.
One player that the Dolphins are very interested in, that is still on the market is 32-year-old Dan Connolly who played guard for the rival New England Patriots last season. Since 2012 he has started all 43 regular-season games and has the versatility to play guard or center. Not only has Connolly been consistently good and healthy for the last 3 seasons, but he would kill two birds with one stone. The first bird would be filling a major need at guard, and most pay per head review sites would say that he would be an upgrade over all of the guards Miami had playing for them last season. The second bird would be that the division rival New England Patriots would be losing a solid starter, who protects their precious Tom Brady. Every other team in the division has signed a player from another team in the division, so there is no reason why Miami should not, considering that this player in question would fill a major need.
There are a couple of other teams that are also interested in Connolly’s services such as the Seahawks, Buccaneers, Bears, and the Patriots. Miami has announced that they have decided to not match the Bills contract for Clay, but even if they kept him Tannehill does not have time to throw the ball to him because he is constantly running for his life or spending his time throwing from his back, then it does not matter who is catching passes. This means getting a solid offensive lineman on the squad then I would say that passing on Clay is the right decision and that the Dolphins should immediately sign Connolly, which would be a major upgrade on the offensive line, and as a result, it would help Tannehill, the passing game and the running game.
So basically I would say that Connolly is someone the Dolphins need more than Clay. What does the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans think about closing a deal with Connolly and the decision to let go of Clay? Which would you choose if you were Hickey?