Former Dolphins teammate goes to bat for Zach Sieler as deserving of a raise as the anchor of Miami’s defensive front

"If he was a first round draft pick or if he was paid based on his production he woudl be making over $20M/yr." 

- Former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on Zach Sieler

Sieler has been an absolute workhorse for Miami in the middle of the defense. It could have been argued that he was benefitting from a talented cast around him when he posted his first 10-sack season in 2023, as Christian Wilkins, Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips and others all helped to bolster his one-on-one opportunities as the Dolphins set a franchise-record for sacks in a single season. 

But Sieler was arguably even better in 2024 without Wilkins or Chubb in the picture at all and Phillips failing to make it out of the first month of the season. He has two years remaining on his current contract and is scheduled to earn just short of $16 million across those two seasons combined. 

Fitzpatrick played with Sieler from 2019-2020 in Miami, as the Dolphins claimed the defensive tackle off of waivers during 2019 from Baltimore and saw him progressively develop into the cornerstone talent he's proven himself to be over the last two seasons. And Fitzpatrick is right, too. Sieler, on a market contract, is probably pushing $22M+ per season, which would put his pay in line with names like Leonard Williams in Seattle, Nnamdi Madubuike in Baltimore, DaRon Payne in Washington, and DeForest Buckner in Indianapolis. 

We'll have to wait and see whether or not the Dolphins will ultimately buckle on this outstanding item with training camp right around the corner. Miami did secure new business with Ramsey and wide receiver Tyreek Hill before camp closed last season — both players had multiple years remaining on their current contracts. 

But for now, Sieler will continue to be one of the best values in all of football. And it's cool to see his former teammate offer him some flowers as we get ready to watch Sieler go for his third consecutive double-digit sack season with the Dolphins in 2025.