Dolphins’ Grier, Flores address cap space, offseason plans, Howard arrest
Dolphins coach Brian Flores indicated Monday that the team would be judicious in its use of $100 million in cap space and was non-committal about whether cornerback Xavien Howard will remain on the team after his arrest.
Flores was not ready to say whether the team would retain Howard, who was arrested on a domestic battery charge on Monday. It would be surprising if the Dolphins part ways with their highest-paid player, who’s due $11.9 million next season in the first year of a five-year extension.
But because Howard is at serious risk of an NFL suspension to start the season, the Dolphins might need to invest more resources at cornerback than they would have liked.
“We’re still gathering information on that,” Flores said. “We take situations like that very, very seriously. It’s unfortunate. How does it impact us? It does impact us. We will gather all the information and do what we feel is best for this organization.”
Asked if he expects Howard to be on the team next season, Flores said: “Look, we’re gathering. It’s too early to tell. I haven’t even talked to him. We will go through that process, talk through this [with Dolphins executives], have a conversation with X and make a decision once we get all the information.”
Meanwhile, Flores and general manager Chris Grier both discussed a looming offseason in which the team will have 14 draft choices and more than $100 million in cap space. But they cautioned against any expectation of a wild spending spree in free agency.
“Brian and I have had conversations,” Grier said of the team’s plans for its ample cap space. “We are going to be smart about it. We are going to build it the way we feel right. Yeah, we have money and cap space but that doesn’t mean we have to spend it all. We’re going to try and bring good players here and keep building the roster and we’ll be very smart in how we do it.”
Flores said: “Anyone who can help this team get better and win, we’ll take a look at. Everyone thinks we have all this money to spend and blow. We’re going to be judicious and responsible with our salary cap and make smart decisions. People see a number. They don’t understand there are draft picks part of that. You have to save some for injuries. Everyone says, ‘hey 100 million dollars, we’re going to spend all of it,’ but that’s not how it works.”
Asked about the need for a quarterback, Grier said: “We’ll look at everything. Every position is important. Quarterback we understand is the focus for everybody. We will go through the possess and make smart decisions and work through it and do what’s best for the organization.”
Is finding a franchise quarterback the priority? “It’s finding pieces everywhere,” Grier said. “We will investigate hard just like every position in the draft and free agency.”
Asked if he expects Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen to be on the team next season, Grier said: “Right now, yeah. Fitz did a great job for us. Josh worked hard. We see improvement every day in practice. We’re excited about both of them.”
But was the Rosen trade a success, considering he started only three games?
“I don’t know if you consider it a success or failure,” Grier said. “We took an opportunity with a young player who dealt with a lot of change in his college, pro career. Watching him improve every day has been good for us. We will always take chances if we think it makes sense for us to try and improve the roster.”
Asked if the offensive and defensive lines must be priorities, Grier said: “We want to get better everywhere, not just o-line, d-line, all positions.”
Neither Grier nor Flores answered directly when asked if it’s realistic to be a playoff contender next season in year two of a rebuild. “We’re just going to keep trying to bring as many good players here as possible and whatever happens happens,” Grier said.
Grier and Flores addressed other issues:
▪ Though Alabama junior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t mentioned (he hasn’t announced if he’s turning pro), Grier was asked his philosophy on drafting a player with an injury history.
“That’s always a tricky one because we’re so far away from having all the information,” Grier said. “You have to go through all the doctors. They all do a great job of getting us the medical stuff. We’ll investigate everything and if it gets to the point we have to make a decision, we’ll be well versed in what we have to do.”
▪ Flores’ postseason message to his players? “I told them I was proud of them, proud of the way they dealt with adversity throughout the course of the season. I love the way they worked in practice, meetings, walk-throughs, how they really started to trust in the process.”
Flores added: “Disappointment either breaks you or makes you stronger. This team got stronger. Early in the season, when a lot of people thought we were broken, we were actually building and strengthening as a team. That’s one thing I was very, very pleased with. I don’t think a lot of people knew that was happening. Only people in the building knew that.”
▪ Grier said Flores will be “heavily involved” in personnel evaluation this offseason. “Brian does a great job of talking about the players he wants,” Grier said. “I don’t think it works without the collaboration of working together.”
Flores made clear that “character” would be an important issue in evaluating what players to bring in.
“We’re going to try to build this thing in the right way, with good players who put the team first and love to compete.”
▪ Flores was non-committal about whether his coaching staff would return intact. “We’re evaluating everything,” he said. “I’m evaluating myself; I should have probably thrown a couple more red flags over the course of the season.”
▪ Grier, asked if the season was a success at 5-11: “Yes, absolutely. From day one, we talked about Brian coming in and creating a culture and setting expectations for the organization.
“We’re very excited for the future. Sunday was a culmination of the guys’ work throughout the season. Got better and better. Excited for the future.”
▪ Grier, asked about the team’s progress: “Very good. I talked about laying the groundwork and foundation of trying to build something that would win with sustained success. Brian and his staff have done a good job laying that foundation.”
▪ Asked if he’s comfortable with the fifth pick in the first round, Grier said: “We are very comfortable where we are. We made a lot of moves. We can do a lot of stuff in free agency and the draft. We’re excited to get going in the offseason process and upgrading the roster.”
▪ Grier said the team did not do any more than usual from a college scouting standpoint, despite having 14 draft picks. “It was [having] our scouts get our eyes on as many good players as they could around the country, having multiple looks.”
▪ Asked the turning point of the season, Flores cited “when we put Fitz in the game in the fourth quarter of the Washington game. We didn’t finish that game off.” Miami fell to 0-5 that day and lost the next two before winning five of its last nine games.
Here are my Monday Dolphins nuggets, with news on where the team’s 14 draft picks stand, the team’s impending free agents and personnel news.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 2:57 PM.
