NFL free agency live blog: Miami’s moves and transactions impacting the Dolphins
The frenzy of NFL free agency is here.
Beginning at noon on Monday, teams were permitted to begin speaking with other teams’ free agents and agree to terms on contracts, as long as nothing is in writing.
Deals cannot be signed until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
We’ll be presenting a Dolphins-flavored free agent blog all week, with notes on anything that impacts Miami. We’ll add updates to the bottom several times, so keep checking back for more.
11:55 a.m.: The Dolphins kept a key piece of their defense on Monday when they agreed to terms with defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah on a four-year, $65 million deal. The contract has $32 million guaranteed, per agent Drew Rosenhaus.
He had nine sacks last season and nine other tackles for loss.
Also, he he batted away 11 passes (most in the league - four more than runner-up T.J. Watt). And his 61 quarterback pressures ranked 15th among edge players in 2021.
Over the past two seasons, his 126 quarterback pressures are sixth most among edge players, just three behind Joey Bosa. PFF rated him 20th among 113 edge players this past season.
Noon: The Dolphins have found their new starting running back, signing Arizona’s Chase Edmonds to a two-year, $12.6 million deal, per agent Drew Rosenhaus.
The contract includes $6.1 million in guaranteed money.
Edmonds carried 116 times for 592 yards last season, a 5.1 average, and two touchdowns. He has a 4.7 career average on 333 career carries.
Among players with at least 100 carries last season, his 5.1 yard average was sixth-best.
He also caught 43 passes for 311 yards last season, a 7.2 average.
Edmonds, 25, was a fourth-round pick out of Fordham in 2018.
He has appeared in 57 games and started 15 in his NFL career.
The Dolphins averaged just 3.5 per carry last season, second-worst in the NFL. Upgrading the running game was a priority.
Edmonds forced 15 missed tackles, had 18 runs of 10 yards or more and had one fumble.
He will join Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed and Gerrid Doaks as running backs under contract.
Duke Johnson, Philip Lindsay and Malcolm Brown are free agents.
Arizona had two free agent backs with Edmonds and James Connor and opted to keep Connor on a three-year, $21 million deal.
1 p.m.: Wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who played four seasons for Miami and still lives in South Florida, is officially a free agent after getting released by the Cleveland Browns on Monday.
The Dolphins, however, have not been seriously linked to Landry as the Browns have looked for a trade partner for him and the $16 million he was owed next season. The New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans are two potential suitors, ESPN reported.
1:40 p.m. update: The Dolphins are seeking offensive line help, and two players have come off the board in the past 24 hours -- center Ryan Jensen late Sunday night and guard Brandon Scherff on Monday. Jensen re-signed with Tampa Bay; Scherff is joining Jacksonville, according to ESPN.
2 p.m. update: And another interior lineman is off the board; former 49ers standout Laken Tomlinson is joining the Jets, per ESPN and NFL Network. The deal is three years and $40 million. Chicago’s James Daniels remains among the top interior linemen available.
2:20 p.m. update: A South Florida reunion for receiver/returner Braxton Berrios isn’t happening. The former UM standout agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the Jets on Monday.
His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said on his weekly WSVN-Channel 7 TV segment on Sunday night that Berrios was one of his clients who would make sense for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins continue to seek wide receiver help, with Allen Robinson and DJ Chark among those available.
The Dolphins called about Arizona free agent receiver Christian Kirk. But he’s going to sign with Jacksonville, per NFL Network.
3:15 p.m. update: Per OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald, Ogbah’s cap number this season will be just $7.6 million, then jump to $18.6 million in 2023, $19 million in 2024 and $20.1 million in 2025. He received a $13 million signing bonus, which is prorated.
His entire $4 million base salary for 2022 is guaranteed. He is due $15 million in fully guaranteed salary for 2023. And $4 million of his $14.9 million salary in 2024 is guaranteed if he’s injured.
So the Dolphins - after agreeing to deals with Edmonds and Ogbah - have more than $35 million in cap space at this hour, and can easily clear out $21 million more if they release Cethan Carter, Clayton Fejedelem, Adam Butler, Eric Rowe, Greg Little, Allen Hurns and Jesse Davis.
3:40 p.m. update: The Dolphins need an inside linebacker to play alongside Jerome Baker, but it won’t be the best one available. Green Bay is re-signing De’Vondre Campbell, per NFL Network.
4 p.m. update: The Dolphin are are signing Dallas free agent receiver Cedric Wilson Jr. to a three-year contract. He’s gets three years and $22.8 million, with $12.75 million fully guaranteed, according to a source.
Wilson caught 45 passes for 602 yards and six touchdowns for Dallas last season in 16 games and four starts. The former sixth-round pick out of Boise State has appeared in 38 NFL games, with four starts.
He caught five passes for 46 yards as a rookie in 2019, 17 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns in 2020 and then the 45 for 602 and the six touchdowns last season, when he blossomed backing up Cooper and Michael Gallup.k. He will back up Tua Tagovailoa and return to South Florida, where he played high school football
4:55 p.m. update: The Dolphins are signing Teddy Bridgewater as their new backup quarterback. He will make at least $6.5 million guaranteed, with incentives that could raise his salary higher than that.
The former Miami Northwestern High standout started 14 games for Denver last season, went 7-7 and finished with 18 touchdown, 7 interceptions and 3052 yards passing and a 94.9 rating. He has a 90.7 career passer rating.
5:05 p.m. update: Tight end Mike Gesicki has signed his franchise tag tender, per ESPN’s Field Yates. He will make $10.8 million this season.
7:45 p.m.: The Dolphins - who spend millions on special teams players every March - did it again on Monday, agreeing to terms with Keion Crossen on a three-year, $10.5 million contract, per NFL writer Aaron Wilson.
Crossen is a cornerback but plays primarily special teams. Last season, he played 76 percent of the Giants’ special teams snaps but just two percent of their defensive snaps (23 total). He had eight special teams tackles last season, which would have been the most had he played for the Dolphins.
He began his career with New England in 2019, playing 39 defensive snaps but 113 special teams snaps.
He then spent two seasons in Houston. In 2019, he played 132 defensive snaps and 253 defensive snaps.
He received the most defensive playing time of his career in 2020, starting four games at cornerback for the Texans (the only four starts of his career) and playing 307 defensive snaps (28 percent of the Texans’ defensive snaps) on a Houston defense that struggled.
Crossen negotiated his own deal. New England selected him in the seventh round of the 2018 draft, out of Western Carolina. Houston traded him to the Giants last August in exchange for a 2023 sixth-round pick. He has 86 NFL tackles and a sack.
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 11:58 AM.
