Chargers center Mike Pouncey: Release by Dolphins in 2018 was ‘blessing in disguise’

Mike Pouncey admits he held a grudge against the Miami Dolphins for at least “a little while” when they released him ahead of the 2018 season. The center played his first seven seasons for the Dolphins and made three Pro Bowls before Miami released him in a move made partially for cost-cutting purposes, and partially because of health concerns.

Less than two years later, Pouncey is now a four-time Pro Bowler and won a playoff game for the first time in January. On Sunday, he returned to Hard Rock Stadium for the first time since his release to help the Los Angeles Chargers beat his former team 30-10. Now he calls the release “a blessing in disguise.”

“It’s a great feeling,” Pouncey said when asked what it’s like to be part of a contending team. “The way we prepare throughout the week, the way we go into games — it’s just a different feeling. You just feel like you’ve got a chance each and every time you step on the football field, so I’ve been thankful for this opportunity to be out here and play with this team. It was just a blessing in disguise for me to get released and be able to sign with these guys, and be able to play some meaningful football, especially toward the end of the season.”

Pouncey said his chance to return to Miami Gardens this weekend wasn’t any extra meaningful. He was excited to see the family he has in South Florida, reunite with some of his former teammates — “about six, seven guys that I played with,” he said — and to play in front of the fans who rooted him for nearly a decade. The Lakeland native said he plans to live in the Miami metropolitan area when his career ends and he still considers himself a Dolphins fan.

Two things, however, still upset Pouncey about the way his time in Miami ended. The first was at the crux of the entire reason it ended: Pouncey was painted as injury-prone and the offensive lineman doesn’t feel the label was deserved.

Pouncey had surgery on both hips while with the Dolphins (0-4) and was limited to only five games in 2016, but he played all 16 games for Miami in 2017 and has played in 20 straight since signing with the Chargers (2-2) ahead of the 2018 season. He played 96 percent of Los Angeles’ offensive snaps last season — his most in a season since he played every snap for the Dolphins as a rookie in 2012.

“I feel like any time I was injured with the Dolphins, I forced myself to come back early and I went out there, and I played every single time and at the end of the day it turned out the way it turned out,” Pouncey said. “That was the only thing I was pissed about is that I played through a lot of injuries down here and then when it came down to it they just released me, so it is what it is at this point. I’m on a really good football team and I’m excited for the rest of the year we have ahead of us.”

The second pain point is the specific way the release happened.

Pouncey said he only found out about his release when his agent called him to let him know. Pouncey then tried calling just about everyone involved with the decision. He only ever heard back from CEO Tom Garfinkel and Mike Tannenbaum, who was executive vice president at the time.

“Both those guys,” Pouncey said. “I respect them and love them to death.”

He never heard from general manager Chris Grier and said the two still haven’t spoken since the transaction happened.

“He could’ve called me and talked to me after I was released,” Pouncey said. “Me and him worked for seven years together. He didn’t call me, so I was pissed about that and outside of that, who else can I be mad about?”

Now the self-professed Miami fan has to watch the Dolphins’ latest rebuild — their most extensive yet — from afar.

He got an up-close look Sunday and the result wasn’t pretty. The Chargers shut out Miami in the second half and piled up 390 total yards to keep the Dolphins winless.

“For the young players, I don’t think it’s much of an issue because it’s their first time being in the NFL. They just want to get out there and make a name for themselves,” Pouncey said. “I just feel bad for guys like Reshad Jones, Xavien Howard — Pro Bowl football players — that have got to kind of deal with these tough times that this team is going through.

“I’m a Dolphin fan. I’ll be one for the rest of my life. I’ll be excited to see who they draft in the Draft this year with all those draft picks and hopefully they can turn this thing around, man. I’m going to live in South Florida for the rest of my life and support the Dolphins, so I want to see a winning product on the football field.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2019 at 5:59 PM.