Dolphins retain edge player and young offensive lineman who Grier speaks very highly of
The Dolphins began the process of addressing more than 30 of their own free agents on Wednesday by tendering two exclusive rights free agents — offensive tackle Kion Smith and outside linebacker Cameron Goode.
That means the Dolphins have essentially re-signed those two veterans, because exclusive rights free agents cannot negotiate with other teams after being tendered. Both will earn about $1 million next season and can become restricted free agents after next season.
Receiver Grant DuBose also can become an exclusive rights free agent next week; his status has not yet been addressed publicly by the team.
Smith missed all of last season with a knee injury sustained in training camp after playing 70 snaps on offense and 45 on special teams in 2023.
“I think people forget Kion Smith was a huge loss for us,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said after the season. “We had high expectations. We had teams trying to trade for Kion and we were excited about him, and he got hurt in preseason” when he tore an ACL.
This will be Smith’s fifth year with the Dolphins; he spent 2021 and 2022 on the Dolphins practice squad and 2023 on the active roster, before spending last season on injured reserve. Smith initially signed with Atlanta after going undrafted out of Fayetteville State.
Goode, a seventh-round pick in 2022, played 12 snaps on defense and 51 on special teams last season after returning for three games in December from a serious knee injury sustained in a January 2024 Week 18 game against Buffalo. He has six tackles in 20 career games for Miami; he logged 76 defensive snaps and 309 special teams snaps in 2023.
“I didn’t know much about Cam coming in, and I knew he was battling through the injury,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said in December. “You watch some limited snaps from a year ago and you saw something there, but you knew he was still a fairly young player, particularly as an edge defender.
“But man, he has a skill set and he works so hard that you can easily see how that will translate to success in this league. I think particularly once he gets a full offseason of just training his body and getting bigger, he can be even more impactful.”
In addition to more than 20 unrestricted free agents, the Dolphins have three restricted free agents — cornerback Kader Kohou, linebacker Quinton Bell and receiver Anthony Schwartz. Kohou will assuredly be tendered by next Wednesday’s deadline, which would give Miami the right to match outside offers.
NFL teams can begin negotiating with free agents from other teams on Monday.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 12:41 PM.
