After one of the craziest first days of free agency in NFL history, some people thought most of the action was over, but they were wrong. The second day was almost as exciting and, for some teams, even more exciting than the first one, the Dolphins included.
Although the Dolphins did sign some good players on the first day of free agency, it was overshadowed because they also lost many key players like Christian Wilkins, Andrew Van Ginkel, Robert Hunt, and others. But on the second day, the Dolphins got two amazing players on, Shaq Barrett and Jordan Poyer, and only lost Raekwon Davis, who wasn’t such an integral player, and his departure was expected.
The Shaquille Barrett signing is very important, considering that the Dolphins’ top pass rushers are all injured, and we don’t know if they will be ready for the beginning of the season. He also brings a lot of experience and veteran leadership to a defense that will need it. Indeed, he might not be in his prime anymore. Still, he could easily make a big impact, especially with the Dolphins’ new defensive coordinator, Anthony Weaver, who likes blitzing much more than Vic Fangio.
The Jordan Poyer news is amazing; everyone has been praying for him to come to Miami, and he finally has. It’s also amazing that the Dolphins could sign him for only $2M for one year, considering how tight the Dolphins are regarding the salary cap. He and Jevon Holland will be one of the best safety duos in the league, and his signing also directly addresses the departure of Brandon Jones, who was a decent safety, so it’s actually a cheap upgrade.
Now, I have to admit, when the Wilkins news broke, I was really upset at the Dolphins GM Chris Grier, and I was even more upset when the Andrew Van Ginkel news broke, but now I can confidently say that I just overreacted. Chris Grier deserves much credit for repeatedly proving us wrong and showing us that he was secretly cooking when we thought it was all lost.
I am sure he isn’t done yet, and I am sure he will have an amazing draft that will fill out the rest of the Dolphins’ needs. The Dolphins’ biggest remaining needs are probably at Guard, Corner Back, and a WR3. Because of the cap issues, the Dolphins probably won’t be able to sign that many more free agents, so the draft will have to do.
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