Andrew Van Ginkel is about to find himself in the same scenario as this same time last year, and he now has made it clear he's hoping for the same resolution.
The Miami Dolphins linebacker is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent with the start of the new league year March 13 after re-signing on a one-year deal last offseason.
Van Ginkel has done good work for the Dolphins since arriving as a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, but he might be more valuable than ever after stepping up in a big way at outside linebacker last year after Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb were sidelined by injuries.
He proved a major bargain while playing for $2.65 million in 2023, and one would think his price tag would be clearly higher this upcoming season.
And how much Van Ginkel can get on the open market could wind up playing a role in whether he's back with the Dolphins, though he told The Joe Rose Show on South Florida radio station WQAM that clearly would be his preference.
"If everything works out, I love it here, our family loves it here and spent the past five years and I'd love to be a Miami Dolphins for a long time," Van Ginkel said. "But at the end of the day, it's a business and if it doesn't work out and we've got to go our separate ways .... but that's the goal (to stay in Miami)."
VAN GINKEL ON THE MEND
Like Chubb and Phillips, Van Ginkel ended the season on injured reserve after sustained a foot injury in the Week 18 loss against the Buffalo Bills.
While he didn't go into specifics when asked about his health, Van Ginkel said he felt great.
Van Ginkel made 11 starts for the Dolphins in 2023 and recorded a career-high six sacks to go along with a pick-six in the 45-15 victory at Washington in Week 13.
After that performance, Van Ginkel said he already was looking forward to next season.
The first order of business will be addressing his contract status and determining waht team he'll play for in 2024.
If anything, though, he's even more important to the Dolphins now than he was last season because of Chubb and Phillips coming back from significant injuries.
"I I knew the Dolphins liked me and I knew they wanted me back," said Van Ginkel, who visited with the Patriots and Raiders last offseason before re-signing with Miami. "But obviously I thought there'd be other opportunities out there. And at the end of the day, (Vic Fangio) just had a high regard for me and obviously saw something in me. So it's very clear to me where I needed to be and the rest is history."
The question now is whether Van Ginkel history will repeat itself.
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