The Dolphins have re-signed wide receiver and return man Braxton Berrios to another one-year contract. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Berrios is back on a deal that could pay him up to $3M in 2024.
Berrios returns to a wide receivers room that was utterly dominated by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in 2023. While both receivers surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving mark and combined for 17 touchdowns, with Hill absolutely dominating his share of the statistics with 1,799 yards and 13 touchdowns, the next closest receivers on the field didn’t nearly sniff the success of those two.
Despite only catching 27 passes for 238 yards, those numbers were good for third in the receivers room for receptions and fourth in receiving yards, just falling short of Cedrick Wilson‘s 296 yards. Berrios’ bigger impact came in the return game, where he served as the team’s primary option for both punt and kickoff returns. While not quite posting the averages of his first-team All-Pro season with the Jets, Berrios put up the second-best kickoff return average in his career (24.5 yards per return) while still delivering a reliable 10+ yards per return average on punts.
He’ll slide right back into his returner role in 2024 and may even get a chance at more receiving opportunities. Wilson is currently sitting on the free agent market, and Miami signed a pass-catching tight end in Jonnu Smith to supplement the receiving game. Affordable free agents or late-round draft options may join the fray, but Berrios should stand to see more looks from Tua Tagovailoa in 2024. It also helps Berrios that he already has a year of experience working under wide receivers coach Wes Welker, the former Patriots legend whom Berrios changed his number from 83 to 8 in college to avoid being compared to.
Under his new deal, Berrios stays close to his alma mater, playing in his college homefield for another season. He gives the Dolphins security in the return game and a solid WR3 option.
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