Sieler Sizes Up His Contract Situation

Zach Sieler continued to be a full participant at Miami Dolphins practice Thursday despite seeking a new contract, with his situation the biggest storyline around the team these days.

After reaching double digits in sacks each of the past two seasons, Sieler stands as one of the most underpaid defensive tackles in the NFL, maybe among all defensive players, maybe among all players, period.

The Dolphins traded tight end Jonnu Smith coming off a Pro Bowl season because they weren't willing to meet his financial demands, but the Dolphins can ill afford to lose Sieler, who's their best defensive player and the one established veteran on their defensive front.

Sieler spoke to the media after practice Thursday, and here's everything he said regarding his contract, which calls for him to make a bit north of $7 million in 2025 with no guaranteed money left.

WHAT ZACH SIELER SAID ABOUT HIS SITUATION

Q. Do you feel you've outplayed that contract that you signed two years ago now?

“Yeah, I mean, so God's blessed me with amazing seasons here in Miami. I'm so fortunate to have the time I've had here and continue to have here. Obviously all that stuff is between me and the team. What I really care about is getting out there on the field with the guys and building that camaraderie and the leadership with them. Getting to play next to KG (Kenneth Grant), JP (Jaelan Phillips) again, (Bradley) Chubb, Chop (Robinson), all those guys, it's so good to be out there with those guys. I mean, summer's great and all, but after a while you kind of start going crazy. And it's so nice to get here, get in a routine again and really start to build that camaraderie and be with the guys again. So it's been a blessing. Obviously guys have their own decision-making when they handle their business.”

Q. We saw how Jonnu handled how his situation happened earlier, sitting out before the trade. Why did you take the route?

“So I'm not gonna talk on anybody else’s decision. I think everyone's decisions, their own path, their own journey, I have my path and my journey. And I think that, prayed about it a bunch, talked to my wife, talked to my family. And end of the day, I'm gonna be me. What got me to this point, what's got me here so far and that's what I'm gonna do every day. So that's how I take this approach.

Q. We saw that you were limited obviously in the spring, but now you're out here. Why the change and do you foresee that continuing throughout training camp?

“So the change, OTAs is obviously voluntary, training camp is not, and that really didn't have much to do with any of this. It really came down to being able to get here, season's right around the corner, four or five weeks away, and I want to be out here and be with the guys, like I talked about earlier, and build that culture to have a fast start to the season, and carry that on all the way to the winter.”

Q. Zach, will your participation level in practice change once the pass come on, or the drills that you do?

“We're not there yet, I'm not gonna speculate. Right now I'm out there with these guys. I'm gonna keep being out there with these guys and we're gonna keep growing as a unit.”

Q. With you, the team has come to the table early and gotten the deal done twice previously. Obviously it's a show of respect, but now you're kind of one of the lowest-paid defensive tackles in the league. Do you feel like this is a critical point for you in terms of turning 30 and making sure that your finances?

“Yeah, so we have more than we ever imagined. I'm beyond blessed from these last seven years alone. My wife and I love how our life has turned out and it's just been awesome. Now I do feel like I want to get the, I do feel that respect coming and I I feel like I've earned it. I know I've earned it. And I think something we always joke about, my wife and I, is I played at D2. Christian (Wilkins) likes to tell me that all the time. He still does. He told me that before we started camp. I was cut twice. All that stuff. I think I have, I know I have the best years ahead of me. I didn't play for a half in college. So you really think about it, like I got less years under my belt than some rookies do. So I really feel like my best years are ahead of me and I have all that knowledge and experience from the last seven years. So I'm really excited to see what this next few years have in store for me.”

Q. Zach, you mentioned Christian. Has he given you any sort of advice, feedback in terms of your contract situation something like this himself three years ago?

“So when he went through that, obviously we were together on the team and we unspokenly kind of just said, we just, cause we're both ... we're obviously I got extended that year as well, or I got extended that year. We keep that to ourselves. Every man has a different way of going about it. Everyone's got their own strategies as you guys have hinted at earlier. And that's kind of how it's been. But whenever we do talk and keep up with each other, it's really checking in each other's mental, see how we're doing.”

Q. What's that message you think you're sending to the young guys by coming out, you're working every day despite the contract situation?

“Man, so again, everyone's their own human. They can handle things how they want. That's how I choose to handle it. But I hope the message that it puts out there is that, end of the day, we're here to play football. Now, obviously, that stuff's very important. That stuff's very important to me. The respect and the money that my family gets and makes from this game, we give it all on the line every single day. And I'm gonna continue to do that every day. But to be able to go out there and play your best ball and still work through stuff without having a piece of compartmentalize things.”

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