Live updates: Dolphins add linebacker, running back, keep Eichenberg, sign five others
Welcome back to The Miami Herald’s Week 1 free agency blog, your one-stop shop for every move the Dolphins are making.
Entering Day 4 on Thursday, Miami had deals with six external free agents: quarterback Zach Wilson, receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, safeties Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis, guard James Daniels and tackle/guard Larry Borom.
Please check back for updates throughout the day Thursday, with the latest added to the top:
6 p.m. update: Guard Liam Eichenberg is re-signing with the Dolphins on a one-year deal and is expected to compete with whoever is added this offseason for a starting guard job opposite new starter James Daniels.
Eichenberg started 14 games at right guard last season and has 52 starts during four years with the Dolphins.
PFF ranked Eichenberg 69th among 77 qualifying guards last season: 51st as a run blocker and 67th as a pass blocker.
But contrary to what the PFF grades suggest, Eichenberg’s run blocking was the bigger issue, especially during the second half of the season when the Dolphins’ interior running game was consistently stuffed.
PFF said Eichenberg permitted only two sacks, but his 29 pressures were 21st most allowed.
The Dolphins signed Pittsburgh’s James Daniels to be one of their starting guards. He played only right guard (Eichenberg’s spot) for three years with the Steelers after playing only left guard and center in four years with the Bears.
Eichenberg has played 702 career snaps at left guard (mostly in 2022) and 1182 at right guard (mostly last season). He also played 964 snaps at left tackle (nearly all as a rookie in 2021) and 164 at right tackle (all as a rookie). He also played 653 snaps as a center in 2023.
Several interior offensive linemen are projected to go in Miami’s draft range at 13, including Texas guard/tackle Kelvin Banks and Alabama guard Tyler Booker. Eichenberg figures to compete with additional players added for the one open guard spot and serve as the team’s backup center.
Eichenberg allowed 9, 2, 5 and 2 sacks in his four seasons at Miami, initially playing tackle before moving to guard.
Among Dolphins free agent guards, Robert Jones signed with Dallas and Isaiah Wynn remains an unsigned free agent.
5:30 p.m. update: Linebacker Tyrel Dodson officially re-signed, the team announced. He had three interceptions and played generally well after joining the Dolphins last season following his midseason release by Seattle.
5 p.m. update: The Dolphins formally announced the signing of safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, who appeared in 37 games with 14 starts for Detroit the past four years. He missed 14 games last season because of ankle and hand injuries.
4:20 pm: The Dolphins formally announced the signing of safety Ashtyn Davis, who has eight interceptions in five years and 22 starts for the Jets.
4 p.m. update: The Dolphins added a bulkier body to their running back room on Thursday when they agreed to terms with 5-11, 220-pound Alexander Mattison, who spent last season with the Raiders after five with the Vikings.
Mattison played in 14 games and started seven for Las Vegas last season, running 132 times for 420 yards (3.2 per carry) and scoring four touchdowns. Earlier in the day, the Raiders essentially replaced him with Raheem Mostert, who was cut by the Dolphins last month.
For his career, Mattison has averaged 3.9 yards per carry on 716 attempts, with 15 touchdowns.
He also has 136 career receptions for 1012 yards (7.4 per catch) with seven touchdowns.
He averaged 4.6 and 4.5 yards in his first two seasons but has been below 4.0 per carry in three seasons since.
Per PFF, he averaged 2.39 yards after contact in 2024, which was 49th in the league of 50 backs who attempted at least 88 carries last season.
On the plus side, Mattison has converted 23 of 26 chances on 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1.
Mattison has appeared in 89 games and started 26 of them.
The Vikings selected him in the third round, 102nd overall, in 2019 out of Boise State. He joined the Raiders last March, 14 days after the Vikings released him one year into a two-year, $7 million extension.
Mattison, 26, gives the Dolphins a bigger back to complement the 5-9, 188-pound De’Von Achane and the 5-10, 209-pound Jaylen Wright. Miami is expected to add an additional running back or two in the draft process.
3:35 p.m.: Add receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to the list of players who formally signed their Dolphins contracts today. Read more about him here.
3 p.m. update: Some of the newest Dolphins players have been at the team facility signing their contracts today. Guard James Daniels and tackle Larry Borom were the first two; their signings were just announced by the team.
Here’s more on what the Dolphins are getting with each player.
2 p.m. update: Defensive linemen Da’Shawn Hand, a key reserve on the Dolphins last season, on Thursday agreed to a one-year with the Chargers. The contract could be worth as much as $3.5 million, per NFL Network.
Hand had 31 tackles (including five for loss) and one sack, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble in 17 games and two starts in 2024, his second season with Miami.
He played 563 snaps -- 53 percent of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps last season.
The Dolphins are very much hoping that Calais Campbell returns, but he hadn’t given them an answer by Thursday morning. Besides signing Campbell or another starter to play opposite Zach Sieler, the Dolphins also now need a top backup at the position.
Elsewhere on the defensive line, the Dolphins either need to re-sign Benito Jones or sign another nose tackle.
1:20 p.m. update: Running back Raheem Mostert, who was released by the Dolphins last month, is signing with Las Vegas, per Fox.
Mostert ran 475 times for 2181 yards (4.6 per carry) and 23 touchdowns in his three seasons as a Dolphin, while catching 75 passes for 538 yards and five touchdowns.
Mostert had a history with Mike McDaniel in San Francisco and the Dolphins signed him several weeks after McDaniel was named Dolphins coach early in 2022. He averaged 4.9 yards and 4.8 yards in his first two seasons as a Dolphin, and his 21 combined touchdowns (18 running, three receiving) led the league in 2023. His 1012 rushing yards in 2023 ranked 10th.
But Mostert lost his starting job to De’Von Achane and his playing time diminished after two costly fumbles, including one in a loss at Indianapolis. He played only one snap in the season finale against the Jets and finished the season averaging just 3.3 per rush on 85 carries.
He started 14 and 15 games in his first two seasons in Miami but had just one start in 2024. Mostert’s 5.0 career per carry average is fifth among active players and 11th all time.
The Dolphins are expected to add multiple running backs this offseason to complement De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright. At least one of those pickups is expected to be a back with good size. [Update: Alexander Mattison agreed to terms later in the day.] Dolphins free agent Jeff Wilson Jr. remains unsigned; it’s expected that he is hoping to find a place where he will get playing time.
10 a.m update: Though both players signed as free agents, the Dolphins and Tampa Bay essentially swapped inside linebackers on Thursday, with K.J. Britt joining Miami and Anthony Walker Jr. signing with Tampa Bay. Agent Drew Rosenhaus represents both players and confirmed the news.
Britt, 25, appeared in 14 games and started 11 for Tampa last season and had 72 tackles (two for loss) and half a sack. He played 65 percent of Tampa’s defensive snaps last season, after logging three percent, six percent and 15 percent the previous three seasons.
Selected by Tampa Bay in the fifth round out of Auburn in 2021, Britt has appeared in 59 games over four years in Tampa and has made 15 starts (all in the last two years), compiling 126 tackles (four for loss).
Britt gives the Dolphins a veteran third inside linebacker behind starters Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson, who agreed to a new deal with Miami on Wednesday. Channing Tindall is the Dolphins’ fourth veteran inside linebacker under contract. Duke Riley remains an unsigned free agent.
Britt, listed at 6 feet and 230 pounds, has played between 114 and 324 special teams snaps each of his four seasons in Tampa.
For last season, Pro Football Focus ranked Britt 83rd of 84 qualifying linebackers, ahead of only David Long Jr., who was released and then joined Detroit. Walker was 81st.
Brooks was 24th, Dodson 34th.
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 10:12 AM.
