All the rebuilding and losing done by Dolphins in 2019 for this option? Tell us it isn’t so. | Opinion
The Miami Dolphins didn’t strip their team down to the studs and trade two former first-round picks who were good players, pay for other players to go to other teams in exchange for draft picks and accept losing a lot in 2019, to draft, say, a linebacker.
Or a defensive end.
Or an offensive tackle.
That was never the plan.
That would be the most absurd plan ever in NFL history. Tanking for anything other than a potential franchise-defining quarterback is the stuff of idiocy. And one assumes the Dolphins know this because that was never the intention of their painful 2019 undertaking.
The intention was getting the quarterback. Drafting the quarterback.
Solving ... the quarterback.
Answering a riddle that has stumped this franchise this entire century.
That being the goal, the Dolphins have acted all season long like they are focused on accomplishing the mission.
They resisted the urge to sign a high-salary veteran in free agency and instead welcomed Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had no other offers, to be a starter. They resisted “reaching” for a potential starter in the draft, bypassing Dwayne Haskins and Drew Lock, because those prospects obviously didn’t meet Miami’s standard of elite.
Yes, they traded for Josh Rosen. But the Dolphins thought that a bargain, giving up a second- and fifth-round pick for a player who had been a first-round pick in 2018. And the Dolphins hedged their bet, telling everyone the transaction was merely “an opportunity to add a good, young football player that has a lot of potential in this league.”
The words franchise quarterback were never uttered in reference to Rosen.
So this whole time the plan has been rightly pointed to the 2020 draft. This whole ugly season has been authored to provide a big payoff on draft day 2020 and beyond.
That was the plan.
Except the plan might need to change after this season is over. Because life happened and circumstances the Dolphins obviously did not anticipate have muddied the 2020 quarterback pool. And threatened how the Dolphins might dive into it.
The original plan, as stated to the Miami Herald by multiple Dolphins sources, was to have a very high draft pick that would put the Dolphins in position to take the best quarterback available in 2020. That plan included the idea the Dolphins could trade up, using some of their extra picks in the 2020 or 2021, if necessary.
But the Dolphins currently are not projected to pick quite high enough to land Louisiana State quarterback Joe Burrow. And choices beyond Burrow come with significant questions — Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa with health concerns, and Oregon’s Justin Herbert with personality (he’s an introvert and something of a loner) and consistency concerns.
So the plan blew up.
And what now?
There are only three options.
One: The Dolphins reboot — again. General manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores somehow convince owner Stephen Ross that waiting one more year for that selection of the prized franchise quarterback is the best move. (Would love to hear that conversation).
Two: The Dolphins push forward on picking a first-round quarterback regardless of red flags. Look, it’s going to be easy to sell people on picking, say, Herbert. He’s 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds so he looks the part. He has a great arm, so that’s good. And maybe coaching will develop his accuracy issues and maturity will develop his personality and, voila, he will be an NFL star.
Or perhaps the Dolphins select a lesser developmental quarterback such as Jordan Love (if he declares for the draft) or they gamble with a pick of Tagovailoa (if he declares for the draft).
Friends, option No. 2 is very dangerous for the men taking it because they would be placing their reputations on a bet that has greater odds of failing than succeeding.
Three: Go with a veteran. The Dolphins could decide to pay Teddy Bridgewater or throw caution to the wind and chase looming free agents Cam Newton or Tom Brady. (Cannot believe I just wrote that sentence).
This is another dangerous option with little chance of significant success. Last offseason, the Dolphins wisely decided this was not the way to address their quarterback need. They wanted to draft their guy, not pay a guy someone else discarded.
That is why the Dolphins wisely did not consider Nick Foles. That is why they declined to make a commitment to Bridgewater in the form of a long-term contract with legitimate veteran starter money.
The Dolphins have stated they want to build a young team that competes for championships consistently in the future. It’s hard to convince anyone signing an older quarterback, an idea previously dismissed as bad, would be the way to secure the future.
None of the options feel optimal. And so, lately, the idea the Dolphins could pick another position with their highest draft pick and select a hope-for-the-best quarterback sometime later has gained traction.
And you know what this is?
It’s not the reason the Dolphins did all this rebuilding and losing this season.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 1:26 PM.
