Dolphins Day 2 free agency updates No Bosa; five strike deals, contract twist, Grier angle
Welcome to Day 2 of our live Dolphins free agent blog, which will be in operation very deep into Tuesday night.
Miami, since noon Monday, has added four players: starting right guard James Daniels, No. 3 offensive tackle Larry Borom (who can play guard in a pinch but isn’t expected to start there), No. 2 quarterback Zach Wilson and safety Ifeatu Melikonwu, who started 14 games in four years for Detroit, including during two postseasons and has a chance to win a starting spot here. Melikonwu likely would have started a lot more games last year if not for ankle and finger injuries that sidelined him most of the season.
They’ve also re-upped safety Elijah Campbell, who will have a chance to compete for a larger role after earning 76 defensive snaps down the stretch last season, as well as backup outside linebacker Quinton Bell.
So what’s left to do? A lot.
1). Miami needs another starting guard and could try to fill that with a combination a cheap veteran and a high draft pick, with Alabama’s Tyler Booker, Missouri’s Armand Membou and Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr. real options at No. 13. Liam Eichenberg and Isaiah Wynn remain unsigned. Former Dolphins starter Robert Jones committed to Dallas on Monday night.
2). A starting defensive tackle and a starting nose tackle. That could be as simple as re-signing Calais Campbell (Miami wants him back if he says yes) and Benito Jones (the sides have discussed a return). But at least one veteran likely will be added from a free agent class that wasn’t great to begin with and is even less impressive now.
3). An inside linebacker. After declining to go to Denver’s level in the bidding on Dre Greenlaw, Miami has maintained dialogue with free agent Tyrel Dodson while exploring others.
4). A starting cornerback. Twenty or so starters have committed elsewhere, but there’s a lot left. Among those unsigned as of 10 am Tuesday: the Asante Samuel Jr., Rasul Douglas, Jeff Okudah, Jonathan Jones, Stephon Gilmore, Mike Hilton, CJ Henderson, Shaquill Griffin, Tre’Devious White, Dane Jackson, Ronald Darby and Kristian Fulton. [Update: Fulton committed to the Chiefs at midday.]
5). A No. 3 or No. 4 receiver (whichever Malik Washington is not). The market is flooded with veterans; Miami would prefer someone with size.
6). A power running back to complete Devon Achane and Jaylen Wright. A veteran could be added, but this is a need that could be filled cheaply in the draft.
7). An in-line blocking tight end to challenge Julian Hill.
8). Backups at inside linebacker, cornerback, guard, defensive line (Da’Shawn Hand remains an option) and...
9). Resolution on Joey Bosa, the four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher who is mulling interest from Miami. The Athletic’s Mike Silver, who reported on Monday night that Bosa was considering similar offers (under $10 million) from Miami and San Francisco, then reported overnight that another source disputed that the 49ers have even made an offer.
10). Another safety. While Melikonwu and Campbell are a start, that and second-year player Patrick McMorris are not enough.
Miami - after the Melikonwu and Campbell agreements on Tuesday morning - is believed to have around $11 million in cap space.
Please check back for the next 15 hours for updates, which we will add at the top.
9 p.m. update: The Dolphins’ pursuit of five-time Pro Bowl edge player Nick Bosa ended Tuesday night when he agreed to a one-year, $12.6 million deal with Buffalo.
The Dolphins had pursued the former St. Thomas Aquinas product, who has 70 career sacks. Bosa, released by the Chargers earlier this month, has missed 22 games due to injuries over the past three season.
The Dolphins offered less than $10 million for Bosa, according to The Athletic.
Miami will move forward with edge players Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Chop Robinson, Quinton Bell, Mo Kamara and likely others to be added this offseason.
7 p.m. update: The NFL on Tuesday awarded the Dolphins four additional picks in April’s NFL draft as compensation for losing several free agents last offseason.
The Dolphins were awarded a third-round pick for losing Robert Hunt to Carolina, a fourth-round pick for losing Christian Wilkins to Las Vegas and two seventh-round picks, which were given to Miami as part of a complicated formula that rewards teams for losing more players than they sign in free agency.
Miami lost seven “compensatory free agents” last offseason --- Wilkins, Hunt, DeShon Elliott, Andrew Van Ginkel, Raekwon Davis, Brandon Jones and Cedric Wilson Jr.
The pick for losing Wilkins was originally expected to be a third-rounder but instead became a fourth after Wilkins sustained a season ending injury that limited him to five games and 247 snaps.
Those four picks leave the Dolphins with 11 draft picks.
The third-round pick will be 98th overall and the fourth round pick will be 135th.
The seventh-round picks will be 253rd and 256th.
Miami also has its own pick in the first round (13th), second round (48th), fourth round (114th), fifth round (151st) and seventh round (No. 232).
From previous trades, the Dolphins have a fifth-round pick from Denver (No. 156 overall) and a seventh-round pick from Chicago (No. 226).
The Dolphins traded their own third-round pick to Philadelphia during a draft-day trade up for running back Jaylen Wright last April.
Baltimore, Dallas and the Dolphins were the three teams that received four compensatory picks.
6:35 p.m. update: The Dolphins added former Jets safety Ashtyn Davis, who has appeared in 69 games with 22 starts for the Jets in five seasons. He has eight interceptions, including two last season, and three career forced fumbles, as well as 175 tackles and nine for loss.
He appeared in 15 games with one start last season and played 26 percent of the Jets’ defensive snaps (261).
Davis agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with another $500,000 in incentives.
6:30 p.m. update: The Dolphins added veteran wide received Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, giving them a 6-2 receiver in an otherwise diminutive receiver room.
Westbrook agreed to a two-year, $6.5 million deal, which includes $3.2 million guaranteed, according to a league source. Westbrook-Ikhine had several suitors this week but liked the opportunity presented to him in Miami.
Westbrook-Ikhine, 6-2, caught a career-high nine touchdowns for Tennessee, finishing with 32 receptions for 497 yards, including a 98-yard TD against Minnesota, which was the league’s longest reception of the season.
His nine touchdowns last season tied for ninth most in the league.
He has played five seasons, all for the Titans, and has 126 catches for 1,773 yards, a sterling 14.1 average per reception, with 19 touchdowns. He had appeared in 78 games and started 39, including nine starts each of the past two seasons.
Eighty seven of his 126 career receptions have gone for first downs.
He began last season as backup behind 2022 first round draft pick Treylon Burks but become a starter in Week 6 after Burks sustained a season-ending injury. Westbrook-Ikhine then scored touchdowns in four consecutive games.
He was born in Lake Mary and went undrafted out of Indiana, where he had 144 receptions for 2,226 yards and 16 touchdowns in 52 games and 36 starts. He signed with Tennessee as an undrafted free agent on April 26, 2000.
The Dolphins signed him with the intent of making him their No. 3 receiver, according to a source.
The Dolphins’ top four receivers likely will be Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Westbrook-Ikhine and Malik Washington. Of those, only Westbrook-Ikhine is taller than 5-11. Erik Ezukanma also remains under contract.
4 p.m. update: The biggest story of Dolphins’ free agency so far is general manager Chris Grier’s restraint, and his reluctance to spend big money on several glaring need areas. Depending on your perspective, you can call Grier’s self-discipline admirable or you can call it objectionable; a case could be made either way.
Admirable in the sense that he’s not overpaying for players; guard James Daniels is comparable to Aaron Banks and Will Fries, who received three times as much money as Daniels.
Objectionable in the sense that Miami has allowed all of the top defensive tackles (except Calais Campbell) and nearly all of the top safeties and cornerbacks to come off the board. The Dolphins, at the moment, lack good enough starters at six positions.
What’s fascinating to me is this: Grier’s actions since last October do not reflect a man who worries about losing his job, even with the team’s owner saying that the results last season aren’t good enough.
A GM worried about losing his job wouldn’t have been open to trading Campbell midway through last season for merely a fifth-round pick.
A GM worried about losing his job would be spending freely on Miami’s myriad needs - cornerback, inside linebacker, safety, defensive line - and not looking on the bargain rack.
A GM worried about losing job would have restructured Tua Tagovailoa’s contract -- future cap consequences be damned -- to free up $19 million in cap space.
A GM worried about losing his job would have gone with a safer choice at backup quarterback (Marcus Mariota? Gardner Minshew?) rather than taking the ultimate risk with Zach Wilson, a Jets bust who has the second-worst passer rating among qualifying active quarterbacks.
So does Grier know something that nobody else knows except Ross and president Tom Garfinkel?
Does Grier believe he’s safe no matter the outcome of the 2025 season?
Or is he taking this approach in free agency because he doesn’t want to shackle the franchise’s salary cap later in the decade because he views that as the responsible thing to do and he’s confident he can snag free agent bargains in the weeks and months ahead?
Over the past day, I’ve spoken to agents of multiple quality free agents who signed elsewhere who said the Dolphins called to express interest but didn’t want to pass a certain point with spending and thus couldn’t compete with what they got. (Ross spends whatever is asked; this is more cap management thing.)
Whatever the reason, Grier isn’t behaving like a man desperate to save his job after surviving four previous regime changes.
3 p.m. update: Former Dolphins receiver Braxton Berrios, who committed to join the Houston Texans, posted this farewell to the Dolphins on Instagram:
“These 2 years were special to me. The little kid in me was so proud to live out his childhood dreams, and the adult in me cherished it as well. I want to thank this incredible organization for having me, the coaching staff for bettering me, and my teammates for all the memories. Miami is home and will always have a special place in my heart…but the show goes on.Beyond excited to get this next chapter started in Houston!”
Noon update: The Dolphins have structured guard James Daniels’ contract in a way that lowers his cap hit this season and gives them an out next season if it doesn’t work out.
Daniels, who has a agreed to a three-year, 24 million deal, will have a cap hit of only $3.4 million this season, per overthecap.com. That will jump to $9.8 million in 2026 and $9.87 million in 2027, if he’s on the team.
But here’s the catch: None of his money in 2026 or 2027 is guaranteed.
If the Dolphins release him after next season, they would owe him nothing but would have a $4 million cap hit.
Of the $24 million, $10.7 million is guaranteed with $7.255 million fully guaranteed at signing including a $6 million signing bonus.
If he’s on the roster on the third day of the 2026 league year next March, $3.5 million will be fully guaranteed. There are up to $1 million in per game bonuses in 2025 and up to $1.375 million in per game bonuses in 2026 and 2027, per overthecap.com.
Zach Wilson, meanwhile, has a $6 million cap hit, which is his fully guaranteed 2025 salary on his one-year deal. He has another $4 million in incentives.
New safety Ifeatu Melikonwu has a $4 million salary and $4 million cap hit in a one-year deal.
11 a.m. update: Outside linebacker Bell re-signed with the Dolphins, on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. He played 257 defensive snaps and 352 special teams snaps last season.
9 am update: In Melikonwu, the Dolphins are getting a player who flashed at times but was limted to three games by injury last season. He started all three of those games after starting six of 17 appearances in 2023. He has two passes intercepted, 13 passes defended and two fumble recoveries in four years, which have included 37 games and 14 starts.
At 6-3, he also can play boudary cornerback.
He had a solid 90.2 passer rating in his coverage area last season and 93.7 in his career, per Pro Football Reference.
Miami made at least one decent offer to Jevon Holland, who agreed to terms with the Giants on a three-year, $45.3 million offer.
8:45 a.m. update: Miami is keeping Campbell on a one-year, $1.9 million deal. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver warned early in the season not to “sleep on” Campbell, who also has been a core special teams player.
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 10:42 AM.
