The sky is falling! The Dolphins lost major pieces to their team in the opening hours of tampering (it’s really the first day of Free Agency; who are we kidding? ). Wilkins and Hunt signed massive contracts with the Raiders and Panthers, respectively. Even Andrew Van Ginkel and Brandon Jones had a decent little market to open up. In total, the Dolphins have lost impactful players, homegrown talents, and fan favorites, all in the span of a few weeks.
I for one, was not happy with the developments. I knew for sure Wilkins and Hunt were out the door based on the money being thrown around at their respective positions days before tampering opened up. But, the Dolphins stood pat. Hours go by and nothing happened. Until we started to see a glimpse of what this “re-tooling” is going to look like.
Dolphins opened up by signing TE Jonnu Smith, who fills a massive need at tight end, a few days prior to the tampering window. The Dolphins then signed Anthony Walker, a LB with injury history but is a solid player overall when he is available. Next, Jordyn Brooks from Seattle (3 yr, 30M contract), who is a tackling machine, amounting to 513 in his four years with the Seahawks. He seems to be the guy taking over for Baker and helps depth at a position of need.
No, the Dolphins are not going after Patrick Queen. Going after Patrick Queen would have cost over 15M per season. And also negate, what could be 2 high compensatory picks (I will get to that in a minute).
It also looks like the Dolphins have moved on from Connor Williams. It’s not official as of yet because Williams hasn’t signed anywhere else, yet. But it seems logical he may not be playing Center for the Dolphins after they signed Aaron Brewer to a 3 year contract.
So, day one is in the books. On to day two with still massive needs at starting positions and depth:
Starting Defensive Tackle
Starting Offensive Guard
Starting Corner
Starting Wide Receiver 3/4
Starting Safety
Plenty of work to do. But don’t expect the Dolphins to go after big-name free agents who had their contracts expire. Focus more on the guys who were recently released/cut as cap casualties. Why, you ask? It’s the compensatory pick formula. At the time of this article, the Dolphins own the top two picks in the current compensatory pick formula.
Chris Grier knows this. He isn’t shy about making a big splashy trade, knowing he may get more ammunition after June 1st (which is when the comp pick formula gets thrown out of the window). As Dolphins fans, we want splashy names and difference-makers. Guys like Justin Simmons, Arik Armstead and others are available. They could help this team in 2024 and, at the same time, will not hurt anything in the long run. The sky isn’t falling, Dolphins fans. In fact, the future has a small glimmer of hope. It’s up to Chris Grier to fill the roster with talent; he will have the ammunition to do it.
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