Dolphins re-sign journeyman defensive lineman
The Miami Dolphins started the roster rebuild for the 2025 season by signing a veteran defensive lineman who worked his way up from the team’s practice squad last season.
Miami re-signed Matt Dickerson to a contract Monday, and even though the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, it’s expected to be a short-term contract that’s probably for the NFL minimum - or slightly above that - and includes some level of guaranteed money.
Dickerson, who entered the NFL as an undrafted player from the UCLA, joined the Dolphins last season as a practice squad member, and played in four games late last season after being elevated to the 53-man roster. He didn’t contribute a single defensive stat in the four games and 15 defensive snaps he played for Miami.
In his six NFL seasons Dickerson has contributed 42 tackles in the 580 defensive snaps he’s played in 40 NFL regular season games.
While his Monday signing might be viewed as a move to facilitate roster depth for training camp, the Dolphins had similar success last season with Da’Shawn Hand, who signed a one-year deal for the NFL minimum last offseason, and was paid $167,000 as a signing bonus.
Hand, who happens to be a free agent, started two of the 17 games he played for the Dolphns last year, a season where he contributed 31 tackle, one sack, forced one fumble and recovered one in his 563 defensive snaps.
With Dickerson re-signing, Zach Sieler and Neil Farrell Jr. make up the three defensive linemen under contract because Hand and Calais Campbell, a team captain in 2024, are free agents.
The Dolphins held opponents to 3.8 yards per carry and set a franchise record with 56 sacks in 2023. The yards-per-carry average ballooned up to 4.4 yards per attempt, and Miami produced 35 sacks last season.
The drastic decline can be attributed to lackluster defensive line play, especially when Sieler and Campbell weren’t on the field.
The Dolphins patched the unit with one-year deals last year, but it’s critical that Miami replaces those band-aids with long-term solutions either through free agency or the 2025 NFL Draft, which is supposedly stocked with solid defensive linemen.
Drafting one early, even as high as pick No. 13, would give the Dolphins a younger presence on the interior of the defensive front.
This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM.
