Live updates: Dolphins lose pick, add tight end. Day 5 free agency news and cornerback news
.JPG "El gerente general de los Miami Dolphins, Chris Grier, a la izquierda, y el entrenador en jefe, Mike McDaniel, a la derecha, responden preguntas durante una conferencia de prensa en las instalaciones de entrenamiento del equipo de fútbol de la NFL, el lunes 16 de enero de 2023 en Miami Gardens, Florida.")
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 5 on Friday, Miami had deals with eight external free agents: quarterback Zach Wilson, receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, safeties Ifeatu Melikonwu and Ashtyn Davis, guard James Daniels, tackle/guard Larry Borom, linebacker K.J. Britt and running back Alexander Mattison.
Please check back for updates throughout the day Friday, with the latest added to the top:
2 p.m.: The Dolphins added an executive to their front office this week, hiring Champ Kelly as a senior personnel executive, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted. Kelly worked for the Raiders the past three seasons and was the Raiders’ interim general manager late in 2023.
Jacksonville interviewed Kelly for their general manager this offseason. He previously worked for Denver and Chicago.
The Dolphins lost one front office executive this offseason. Reggie McKenzie, who had been a senior personnel executive, became a vice president/football advisor with the Tennessee Titans in January.
Kelly is expected to work in pro and college scouting.
1 p.m.: The Dolphins officially signed running back Alexander Mattison. Here’s what Miami is getting with him.
11:20 am: Miami agreed to terms with veteran tight end Pharoah Brown to a one-year deal, according to a league source. A skilled-in blocker, Brown likely will compete with Julian Hill for snaps to be Miami’s primary blocking tight end.
Jonnu Smith will be Miami’s primary tight end after setting team records at the position in receptions and yards in 2024.
Brown essentially replaces Durham Smythe, who was released by Miami and signed with Chicago.
Brown appeared in 15 games and started seven for Seattle last season and has made 87 NFL appearances with 54 starts. Brown has played for Cleveland twice, as well as the Raiders, Browns and New England.
He had eight receptions for 65 yards last season and has 72 for 751 yards (10.4 average) and three touchdowns in his career.
He played 264 snaps on offense last season (27 percent of Seattle’s snaps) and 191 (47 percent) on special teams.
Brown, 30, signed with the Raiders after going undrafted out of Oregon in 2016.
Hill had some good moments as a blocker last season, but PFF rated him the worst tight end in the league and the fifth-worst run blocker.
1:30 p.m.: The Dolphins officially announced the signing of running back Alexander Mattison. Here’s what Miami is getting.
11:15 a.m.: The NFL informed teams that 2025 compensatory picks have been recalculated and the Dolphins lost one of their three seventh round picks as a result. So Miami will now have 10 picks in April’s draft, not 11.
The Saints were awarded a seventh round pick.
11 a.m.: Biggest shock of free agency so far? The fact the Dolphins haven’t added a cornerback, a position where they have only two established players (Jalen Ramsey, Kader Kohou) and a handful of largely unproven ones, led by Cam Smith and Storm Duck, plus Ethan Bonnor and developmental players Isaiah Johnson, Ryan Cooper Jr. and Jason Maitre.
Thirty two free agent cornerbacks, including most of the best starters, are off the board.
Here’s the passer rating against and a few notes on the most established starting corners who remained unsigned as of Friday morning:
Asante Samuel (visited Arizona this week; 89.6 passer rating against last season; limited to four games by injury last year)... Rasul Douglas (started 15 games for Bills but allowed 72 percent of passes thrown in his area to be caught, with a poor 122 passer rating against)....
James Bradberry (missed all of last season with a torn Achilles; was second team All Pro in 2022) ... Stephon Gilmore (made 15 starts for Minnesota, at age 34, and had a 94.1 passer rating against).. Mike Hilton (skilled 5-9 nickel corner made 10 starts for the Bengals and had a 92 passer rating against); CJ Henderson (the former ninth overall pick played in 12 games and started seven for Carolina and had a 106.8 passer rating against).
Ronald Darby (12 starts for Jacksonville; 120 passer rating against) and Daryl Worley (made seven starts for Tennessee and had a poor 125.6 passer rating against).
There’s also Jalen Mills, the former cornerback who played a lot of safety last year and allowed a 51.8 passer rating against in eight starts for the Jets.
There are also a handful of veteran corners who have been starters before but not last year, including Cam Sutton, Akhello Witherspoon, Dane Jackson and Fabian Moreau. [Update: Jackson re-signed with Buffalo at midday Friday.]
That group also includes two bigger names:
Jeff Okudah (the former first-rounder played just six games for Houston last season, as a reserve, with a dismal 140.7 passer rating against, after starting nine games for Atlanta in 2023) and Tre’Davious White (the former Bills starter had a 122.8 passer rating against in four starts for the Chargers and seven games off the bench for Buffalo).
It’s not a deep group of remaining corners. And the fact Miami hasn’t signed anyone should be at least somewhat concerning. Hilton might be the best option of the aforementioned group.
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 10:51 AM.
