Dolphins’ Cam Smith hoping for a chance. Could Fangio departure unlock that opportunity?
When the Dolphins selected cornerback Cam Smith in the second round 10 months ago, the hope was that he would be ready to step in whenever Miami and Xavien Howard eventually parted ways.
Howard’s future for 2024 remains very much in question because of an astronomical cap number, but the Dolphins certainly cannot assume that Smith is ready for a major role after defensive coordinator Vic Fangio seemingly played everyone except your mailman ahead of him last season.
So now Smith’s future is wrapped in a series of interlocking questions: Can he do enough from April through August to earn more trust from new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver than he ever earned from Fangio?
Will the front office nudge Weaver toward giving Smith a fresh, fair look?
And will the Dolphins -- with their free agency moves - create a realistic path for Smith to earn playing time?
It was notable that on the afternoon that the Dolphins and Fangio parted ways, Smith - on the social platform X - posted a picture of a lock being unlocked.
And who can blame him?
Smith showed flashes throughout training camp and the offseason program, making several pass breakups and displaying the ball skills and instincts that motivated the Dolphins to select him 51st overall out of South Carolina last April.
“A really talented player,” general manager Chris Grier said of Smith after the draft. “Versatile. Instinctive. Where he was in the draft, we couldn’t pass.”
But Smith was beaten for a touchdown in a preseason game against Jacksonville and never seemed to earn Fangio’s trust.
He played 210 snaps on special teams but just 20 on defense as a rookie. He permitted three completions in three targets for 24 yards in that limited playing time. Not only did Eli Apple and Kader Kohou play ahead of him, but Smith suffered the indignity of being surpassed by undrafted rookie Ethan Bonner late in the season and for the playoff game.
Asked what Smith must do to get on the field, Fangio - before his departure to the Philadelphia Eagles - said: “Just improve in all areas. Assignment, technique, execution, know how. Improve in all areas.”
During a conversation at his locker in January, Smith didn’t leave the impression that he was simmering about lack of usage. He seemed to handle the situation maturely.
“You can’t dwell on it,” he said of barely playing any defensive snaps this past season. “That’s the hard part about it. I’ve embraced the role of making sure that everybody is good and straight and uplifting everybody and making sure nobody is down about a play and telling them what I see from the sideline, so they can be well prepared for the next drive.”
Did he ever watch games this past season and think he could help defensively?
“Of course,” he said. “As a competitor, you definitely want to say you could have come out there and helped in some of those big games. [But] it’s not my time right now.”
In what areas has cornerbacks coach Sam Madison told him he needs to improve?
“Staying consistent in every day football life,” Smith said. “Making sure I know what this formation is doing, and making sure in certain formations I know what I’m going to get and certain game plans, what teams are going to do to get their players open against our defense. Knowing all of that stuff.”
Smith said he wants to bulk up a bit so that “I can sustain” a full season.
Smith said he never had a heart-to-heart talk about the situation with Fangio, who clearly trusted Apple’s experience over Smith’s upside.
Outside of Jalen Ramsey, the Dolphins enter the offseason with many questions at cornerback. Miami must decide whether to ask Howard to take a pay cut; releasing him, post June 1, would result in a $7.4 million dead money hit compared with a $25.9 million hit if he’s on the team with his current contract.
The Dolphins must determine whether to project Kader Kohou as their starting nickel cornerback after the passer rating in his coverage area ballooned from 80.7 as a rookie to 132.6 this past season.
And they must figure out what to do with Nik Needham, an impending free agent, and whether they can go into next season banking on Smith as their top boundary backup.
And they must give Smith a chance to prove that Fangio gave him the short-shrift and that he’s capable of far more than what he had the opportunity to show as a rookie.
This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 3:23 PM.
