Miami lost some stars but also added some intriguing players too
The Miami Dolphins were gutted on the first day of Free Agency losing 4 key players with Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt, Brandon Jones, and Andrew Van Ginkel all moving on to other teams. It wasn’t a feel-good day for me, even though it was expected. It was quite clear once they cut players such as Xavien Howard, Jerome Baker, and Emmanuel Ogbah and still not cap-compliant that we weren’t going the usual ‘big FA splash moves’ or even competing in the open market to keep our key free agents. But, the Phins didn’t make some smart moves late in Day 1, so there is some hope to hold onto.
Phins 2024 roster will look very different
Each of our 4 biggest free agents was paid handsomely, and the Dolphins didn’t didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell to keep them. Sure, it doesn’t take the Best Football Software to know that every offseason teams lose and gain players, but this hurt a bit more because all 4 players were drafted by the Dolphins, including Wilkins being a former first-round pick. It’s hard enough for teams to draft well, especially the Dolphins, but losing quality players that we drafted stings a bit more because Van Ginkel, Wilkins, and Hunt were the type of players you want to be around for the long term. When you add the Howard and Baker cuts, we lost 6 former draft picks in one offseason. That isn’t what the elite franchises do!
Now the Dolphins have even more holes to fill than when they started free agency, and with limited cap room, it will be hard to upgrade the roster over last year. That doesn’t mean the Dolphins won’t try, because they have already begun trying to plug the holes with recent signings such as Linebacker Jordyn Brooks, Defensive End Shaq Barrett, and Center Aaron Brewer.
The best signing of this group on paper is LB Brooks from the Seattle Seahawks, who has been a tackling machine in his 4 years with over 100 plus tackles in each of his last 3 seasons. Brooks appears to have the potential to be an upgrade over Baker!
Barrett is a veteran edge player who is a former two-time pro bowler and led the league in 2019 with 19.5 sacks! However, in his last two seasons, he only had a total of 7.5 sacks and he’s almost 32 years old. I wouldn’t expect him to put up double-digit sacks, he’s at least a quality depth player who can also add veteran leadership.
Miami has started to sure up their offensive line
The Dolphins will likely end up moving off Center Connor Williams with the signing of Titans’ former Center Aaron Brewer. He was a left guard his first three seasons in the NFL, so there is a chance Miami puts him back at Guard. Last year when he was moved to center, he allowed 6 sacks which was second most among players at that position, and was called for 5 penalties in 17 games. Sorry to say it, but Brewer doesn’t appear to be an upgrade over Williams. However, the Dolphins have their eye on one of the top two rated centers in the draft, Christian Haynes and Jackson Power-Johnson. If they select one of those two, they could move Brewer back to guard or one of the draft picks to guard. There’s a bunch of options if they land Haynes or Power-Johnson.
The Dolphins still have plenty of work to do with a decent amount of ammo remaining to start making up for what they already lost in free agency and cuts. A little silver lining in losing Hunt, Wilkins, and Van Ginkel is Miami will get 1 or 2 compensatory picks in next year’s draft. Something is better than nothing, I guess.
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins News fans’ thoughts about how the Dolphins have fared so far with the start of free agency?