Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Leon Hall.
Leon Hall could swap out a question mark on defense with an exclamation mark.
Leon Hall has been a very good Cornerback in this league for some time, and many football gambling fans consider him to be one of the top remaining players available on the free agent market. It isn’t much of a revelation that the Dolphins will have a lot of inexperienced players in their secondary in 2016. With this fact, and that new Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph was the defensive backs coach for Hall in Cincinnati, the Dolphins and Hall COULD be a perfect match for each other.
It was this relationship with Joseph that sparked the idea that the Dolphins were “very” interested in him at the beginning of Free Agency. However, a few weeks ago it was reported that the Dolphins interest in Hall had gone cold.
With the Dolphins now having completed their OTA’s, the speculation is that they may be back in the mix for Hall because the Dolphins only have one sure fire starter at CB in Byron Maxwell. With the other starting CB spot up for grabs, along with the nickel position, Miami maybe looking for some certainty over potential.
The Dolphins drafted Xavien Howard in the second round this year and it would seem they are hoping he wins the other starting corner position. However, according to many reports it appears that Tony Lippett had a slight lead over Howard during the OTA practices – which could mean very little come camp, if Howard steps up. Some Miami Dolphins News fans may see this as a bit of a disappointment for Howard. But, I would rather take a half-full approach and look it as a positive in regards to the development of Lippett.
Lippett is only entering his second season. His entrance into the NFL was made doubly tough with the difficult task of a position change of Wide Receiver to Cornerback, as well as adjusting to the pro game. Yet, even with the deck stacked against Lippett, he was able to play in 9 games last season and was quite effective towards the end of the season. So, even though Howard is a high draft pick, there is nothing wrong with having 6’3” Lippett EARN a starting spot.
Downside of a Leon Hall signing is it would suck up a roster spot for one of the young CB’s.
In terms of the nickel position, second year player Bobby McCain seems to be in the lead, but he seems to rely on athletic talent more than skill – and that could be trouble.
It’s a good sign that these second year Cornerbacks are in the running for a starting position. Although, with the NFL being a pass heavy league, there’s certainly some concern that their inexperience could be a liability throughout the early part of the season. This is the reason why the Dolphins are still being “reported” as having one eye on Hall.
Hall has also received some interest from the Cardinals, Giants, Falcons, and Bengals. Hall is likely a player looking for one last pay day and may just go with the best offer – meaning most cash. Miami does have two roster spots open since they just waived Logan Thomas and Charles Tuaau last week, and they still have around $17 million in cap space. So, they do have the ammunition to “pay to play” if they really, really want Hall. What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans thoughts about possibly signing Hall?