Dolphins have more time to make decisions on three key veterans. Where things stand.
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Thursday:
▪ Last year, the Dolphins had to make quick decisions on several veterans because of snug salary cap space (Miami had less than $6 million in early March of 2019) and contract stipulations that called for DeVante Parker, Danny Amendola, Robert Quinn, Josh Sitton and Kiko Alonso to be guaranteed more money if they were on the team by certain dates by mid March.
This season, there are no such deadlines for the three most prominent Dolphins veterans on the bubble, and that - combined with the Dolphins already having substantial cap room - gives Miami some flexibility with the timing.
With receiver Albert Wilson, none of his $9.5 million salary is guaranteed and that money only becomes guaranteed if he’s on the roster Week 1 of the regular season. The Dolphins are likely to discuss a restructuring in the weeks ahead. If he’s simply cut, there’s $1.3 million in dead money but $9.5 million in cap savings.
With safety Reshad Jones, $2 million of his $11.5 million base salary is already guaranteed, and Miami is under no looming deadline to decide when or whether to keep him, knowing that if he’s cut, the dead money will be $8.1 million and the cap savings $7.5 million. That holds true up until Week 1.
And the Dolphins have the perfect contractual situation with center Daniel Kilgore. None of his $3.1 million salary is guaranteed and his $3.6 million cap hit completely disappears if he’s cut. What’s more, the Dolphins can hold off on that decision all the way until Week 1 of the season with absolutely no consequences, as is the case with Wilson and Jones.
So could the Dolphins hold onto all three into training camp before deciding? I would doubt that, because that’s generally not their approach.
But with Kilgore and to a lesser extent Jones, it would behoove Miami to see if it lands replacements before moving on.
We expect the Dolphins to try to find an upgrade on Kilgore, and general manager Chris Grier stopped short of saying that Kilgore would definitely be back next season.
“Daniel is a tremendous locker room presence, leadership, veteran presence that our team needed last year,” Grier said. “I think he did a tremendous job along with Fitz on steadying the ship early on when things were rocky. We have tremendous respect for him. I love the guy and his energy in the building. For us, we expect him to be here, but we’ll see. We love him and he was great for our team.”
Pro Football Focus rated Kilgore 21st among 38 qualifying centers. New England’s Ted Karras, an impending unrestricted free agent, is one name to keep in mind; PFF rated him only one spot ahead of Kilgore (20th) but he’s six years younger at 26 and more durable.
While Jones returning under his current contract is inconceivable, a restructured deal isn’t entirely out of the question. For now, the plan is to pair Bobby McCain with Eric Rowe at safety.
The Dolphins are expected to seek four or so starting-caliber offensive linemen or legitimate starting contenders. The Dolphins haven’t told Jesse Davis whether they see him staying at right tackle or moving back to guard, and input will be solicited from new offensive line coach Steve Marshall and others. Either way, Davis will very likely be a starter next season.
▪ Though Tua Tagovailoa remains the betting favorite to be a Dolphin (the Dolphins love the skill set), Dolphins people are watching Jordan Love (we’ve reported he intrigues them) and Justin Herbert closely and with an open mind this week and are expected to meet with both in Mobile or at the NFL Combine in Indy or both.
As colleague Adam Beasley reported today, the Dolphins were impressed by Love in his interview this week.
Here’s how ESPN’s Todd McShay assesses their work this week:
On Love: “Some scouts still think he might have Round 1 potential, and he performed well in Day 1 workouts. I’m not sure I see the consistency of a Round 1 quarterback yet, and he needs some work keeping his feet in balance, but he has upside and needs just a little development. He needs to land in the right place with the right coach. He moves well, extending plays and effectively throwing on the run. And he certainly has a good arm and isn’t afraid to use it. I’d like to see him work on consistency and protecting the football, though. He takes risks.”
On Herbert, McShay said: “Herbert is clearly the most talented quarterback on the field, and that’s going to work in his favor. The Senior Bowl is a great opportunity for him to stand out and firmly entrench himself as a first-rounder. On Tuesday, he looked natural with his footwork, showcased some athleticism and was consistently accurate.”
▪ I would be surprised if the Dolphins’ first QB pick is someone other than Tua (the favorite), Love or perhaps Herbert.
On Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, McShay said of his Senior Bowl work this week: “Hurts is smart, possesses a good arm and is super athletic. But he just has to be more accurate. His ball placement was very inconsistent Tuesday -- as it was during the season -- and frankly, it’s a difficult area to improve. The accuracy problems were in play again [Wednesday], but I did like the way he got the ball out on a few timing throws Wednesday.”
Incidentally, there’s still seems to be some level of concern inside the Dolphins about a run-heavy quarterback.
“It’s been really effective for some players,” Grier said. “But it’s such a violent game. And you always worry about injuries. Especially if it’s your franchise guy. But there are some exciting players. That skill set is for that team, teams that use it, it’s springboarded winning. Quarterbacks that can run just add another dimension that’s hard for defenses to account for.”
▪ Among players at Dolphins need positions who are said to have helped themselves at Senior Bowl practices this week: Wisconsin edge rusher Zach Baun and Alabama linebacker Terrell Lewis (may or may not be there with the first of the Dolphins’ two second-round picks), Notre Dame cornerback Troy Pride Jr. (third or fourth-rounder), North Carolina defensive end Jason Strowbridge (potential fourth rounder) and Arizona State running back Eno Benjamin (day 3 possibility; hopefully better than former Sun Devil Kalen Ballage).
The Dolphins already have two Wisconsin edge rushers with Vince Biegel and Andrew Van Ginkel. And Wisconsin’s Baun, who had 12.5 sacks last season, “is a guy who reminds me of [former] New England [Patriot] and ESPN’s Tedy Bruschi,” ESPN analyst and former Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum tweeted. “They have similar body types and paths that could lead [Baun to] having a similar pro career.”
▪ The Dolphins really like what they saw in cornerback Tae Hayes late in the season and want to give him a long look this offseason… Receiver Isaiah Ford helped himself as much as any player in the final weeks. Brian Flores personally thanked him for helping line up players correctly in one December game, and Ryan Fitzpatrick said he can always be trusted to do the right thing…. Former Dolphins quarterbacks coach David Lee, who smartly suggested Tony Sparano try the Wildcat in Week 3 of the 2008 season, has been working as a Dolphins consultant since August.
▪ Pro Football Focus rated the Dolphins’ rookies only 28th among 32 rookie classes. Keep in mind that Miami traded its second-round pick for Josh Rosen, and Van Ginkel missed an extended period.
PFF offered this analysis: “The ragtag roster that the Dolphins threw out onto the field saw 21 different rookies play at some point, but that group for the most part didn’t consist of players who have a career as NFL starters. With four picks in the first two rounds of the 2020 draft, they have the ammo to get more production from their next class.
“Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (No. 13 overall) didn’t have a bad season by any means (64.4 overall grade), but he also didn’t produce like the dominant interior defender we saw in 2018 at Clemson, when he had six sacks and 15 total tackles for loss.... Up until his injury in Week 9, undrafted wide receiver Preston Williams was leading all Dolphins’ wide receivers in receptions (32) and receiving yards (428). He flashed his contested catch ability over that stretch with 10 receptions on 21 contested targets.”
Please click here for my six-pack of Thursday Marlins nuggets.
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 6:44 PM.
