Miami Dolphins bolster offensive line, re-sign four players on second day of free agency
It took nearly 24 hours into free agency, but the Dolphins finally began to address their biggest shortcoming - offensive line - on Tuesday, while also deciding to move ahead with their 2021 cast of inside linebackers.
After addressing receiver, running back, defensive end and backup quarterback on Monday, Miami augmented the interior of its line by agreeing to a two-year, $14 million contract with Dallas Cowboys left guard Connor Williams. The deal includes $7.5 million in guaranteed money, per agent Drew Rosenhaus.
The Dolphins also re-signed four of their own free agents: receiver Preston Williams (one year that could be worth as much as $1.99 million with incentives) and linebackers Duke Riley (one year, $3 million), Elandon Roberts (one year, $3.25 million) and linebacker Sam Eguavoen (one year, $2 million).
In a free agent market flooded with starting inside linebackers, the Dolphins ultimately decided to stick with last year’s trio of Jerome Baker, Roberts and Riley. Baker received a three-year, $39 million extension last June.
But the big news of the day was the addition of Connor Williams, who was rated by Pro Football Focus as the 11st best guard among 83 qualifiers last season.
The former Cowboys second-round pick out of Texas has started 10, 11, 16 and 14 games for Dallas the past four years. According to NFL Network, the Dolphins haven’t ruled out using him at tackle; he was a tackle at Texas but has been exclusively a guard in his four seasons with the Cowboys since being drafted 50th overall in 2018.
PFF rated him the 11st-best run-blocking guard last season. And he allowed just two sacks and 15 hurries in 624 pass blocking snaps; those 15 hurries were the fewest permitted by any guard who logged that many snaps in pass protection.
Conversely, Austin Jackson permitted 29 pressures in 551 pass blocking snaps at left guard for the Dolphins last season after moving over from left tackle.
One big negative: Williams was called for 17 penalties last season (most in the league), including 11 for holding, after being whistled for that infraction only 10 times in his first three seasons combined.
Those penalties resulted in Williams being benched for four games beginning in mid-November, a stretch when he played a total of 18 snaps before regaining his starting job for the final four games of the season.
If Williams plays left guard and Robert Hunt stays at right guard, the Dolphins appear set at guard. But the Dolphins could opt to move Hunt to right tackle, where he played the final half of the 2020 season.
The Dolphins continue to explore upgrades at tackle, where Liam Eichenberg and Jesse Davis were the starters last season.
Free agents Terron Armstead, Eric Fisher, Morgan Moses and Trent Brown remained available as of late Tuesday afternoon, and the Dolphins have spoken to the Cowboys about right tackle La’el Collins, who might be released.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins re-signed four veterans on Tuesday:
▪ Roberts, who appeared in 17 games with 14 starts. He had 83 tackles, a sack, two forced fumbles and an interception return for a touchdown against Las Vegas.
Roberts remains an above-average run defender (rated 38th as a run-defender, among 87 linebackers, by PFF). But he also missed 32 tackles the past two years and pass coverage isn’t considered a strength.
▪ Riley, who started three games last season, appeared in 16 and finished with 26 tackles.
He played 21 percent of the defensive snaps (227) and 59 percent of the team’s special teams snaps (260) in his first year as a Dolphin. He blocked a punt against Carolina, leading to an ensuing touchdown.
The Dolphins like his speed, versatility, coverage ability and special teams contributions.
▪ Williams, the receiver who flashed his first two seasons but played only 175 snaps on offense last season, after logging 404 snaps as a rookie in 2019 and 336 in 2020.
Williams has 56 catches for 787 yards and seven touchdowns in 24 games and 17 starts for the Dolphins over three seasons. He has played exactly eight games each of his first three seasons; season-ending injuries short-circuited his first two seasons.
The Dolphins hope to get him back to the form he displayed in his first two seasons, when he had seven touchdown catches in 14 games.
He had just six receptions for 71 yards in eight games and three starts last season.
Williams was a restricted free agent and the team worked out a new deal before the 4 p.m. tender deadline. The lowest tender would have been for $2.4 million, so the Dolphins and Williams agreed on a contract below that in value.
▪ Eguavoen, who got a one-year, $2 million deal with $800,000 guaranteed. He had 16 tackles, playing 16 percent of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps and 60 percent of their special teams snaps.
Teams could begin striking deals with other teams’ free agents at noon on Monday but the contracts cannot be signed until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
At that point, the Dolphins will finalize deals with Connor Williams, new backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, former Cowboys receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr., running back Chase Edmonds and ex-Giants special teams player/cornerback Keion Crossen.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 8:44 PM.
