Decisions loom on several veterans. And what offensive tendencies could follow McDaniel
New coach Mike McDaniel retained six Dolphins assistant coaches, and he and general manager Chris Grier assuredly will keep many of the players acquired during Brian Flores’ three seasons as coach.
McDaniel is flexible, smart and open-minded enough to know to keep good employees, regardless of whether the former coach was the one who initially hired them.
But there are several players whose futures I wonder about — veterans trusted by Flores.
It’s not that McDaniel would have anything against these players, and Grier and McDaniel could decide to keep them. But their futures here are certainly in question.
Start with Elandon Roberts, who was re-signed last spring following a serious knee injury. Roberts rewarded the Dolphins with a solid season, grading out well against the run and ranking 44th among 87 linebackers, per Pro Football Focus.
But Roberts is again a free agent, and the Dolphins need to find a long-term solution alongside Jerome Baker, ideally a player who’s as forceful as Roberts against the run but more nimble in pass coverage. (Credit Roberts for his interception return for a touchdown against Las Vegas last season.)
Safety Eric Rowe was also a player trusted during Flores’ three years as coach, a delightful human being, team guy, hard worker and a helpful player in this defense. But Rowe is coming off his worst season with the Dolphins from a coverage metrics standpoint.
What’s more, none of his $2.5 million salary next season is guaranteed, and his $5.1 million cap hit shrinks to $525,000 if he’s released. He has value now as a third safety. But the contract leaves him at risk.
Jesse Davis has been a Flores guy for three years, a team-first, selfless person who struggled in pass protection but remained a starter all season, even while allowing eight sacks and 39 pressures.
It’s worth noting that none of Davis’ $3.1 million salary for 2022 is guaranteed, and his $4.6 million cap hit shrinks to $1 million if he’s cut.
Flores remained committed to him as a starter throughout 2021, despite the uneven play. If the Dolphins find a new starter, Davis would still have value as a top backup off the bench, perhaps with a reworked contract, because of his versatility and willingness to help younger teammates.
Then there’s defensive lineman Adam Butler, a skilled pass rusher for New England whose pass rush metrics inexplicably plunged in his first year as a Dolphin. He wasn’t a liability, but he wasn’t impactful enough to automatically bring him back next season without at least discussing the matter. None of his $2.5 million salary next season is guaranteed.
At that reasonable rate, he has value. But the Dolphins would need to hope that his pass rush numbers resume being what they were in his four years in New England.
Flores was eager to add a Patriots defensive lineman last March, offering a deal to Lawrence Guy (who declined the financial package and later re-signed with New England) and then Butler.
That’s not to say that Grier didn’t want any of these players; that would be inaccurate. (Jesse Davis’ tenure here predated Flores.’)
There were a bunch of other players that could be deemed Flores guys whose futures here are seemingly secure, such as Jerome Baker and Raekwon Davis.
But the players trusted by Flores who are borderline to return? It will be interesting to see what happens with them.
One thing is clear: McDaniel isn’t going to dump anyone because he was associated with his predecessor. If a player can help the Dolphins and the contract is deemed good value, that player likely would stick around.
KITTLE ON McDANIEL
49ers Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle, speaking about McDaniel on Colin Cowherd’s show last week: “He loves football; you can feel that vibe off him. Everyone’s going to feel his heart and love for the game of football and how he loves his team.
“He’s always thinking about how he can get better and make his team more efficient.”
And ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III, who played for McDaniel and other coaches in Washington, tweeted: “Mike McDaniel is a mad genius, plain and simple. Knows the game. Grew up in it. He is thoughtful and will let that show to his players and the media.”
THIS AND THAT
On Twitter, Pro Football Focus’ Ryan Smith recently pointed out some differences between the offense that McDaniel helped coach in San Francisco and the Dolphins’ offense last season.
Some notable points to consider:
▪ Expect the Dolphins to add a fullback.
The 49ers utilized a lead blocker on 40.3 percent of their running plays in 2021, by far the most in the NFL. The Dolphins did that 6.5 percent of the time, which was 18th. The league average was 11.7 percent.
The 49ers had two running backs in the backfield 25.1 percent of the time, the Dolphins 6.2 percent.
▪ The 49ers used motion or shifts on 81.7 percent of their plays in 2021, most in the NFL. The Dolphins did it 57.4 percent, which was 10th.
▪ Outside zone is the most frequently used run scheme in the NFL. The 49ers used it the sixth-most often in the league last season. The Dolphins were 27th.
Smith also mentioned that expected new offensive line coach Matt Applebaum has considerable experience running the zone blocking scheme that McDaniel is expected to implement with the Dolphins.
Check out Ryan’s Twitter account for more.
Here’s my Tuesday piece with 10 interesting comments made by McDaniel in one-on-one interviews in the past week.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 3:28 PM.
