The Miami Dolphins and Good Free Agent Fits on Offense
The 2022 free agent market once again will feature plenty of big names, and that’s not even including players who have been placed on the trading block and might end up getting released.
With the free agent negotiation period — and with it the start of reports of players agreeing to terms with a new team — arriving Monday at noon, ET, there were countless players who had been tied to the Miami Dolphins in some form or fashion.
Some were more realistic possibilities than others, as we break it down by position in terms of what to expect the Dolphins might do in free agency.
In this installment, we look at the offensive market:
QUARTERBACK
There’s been a lot of news and speculation at this position around the NFL over the past week, but for the Miami Dolphins it’s full speed ahead with Tua Tagovailoa as the starter. They will, however, need a veteran backup because Jacoby Brissett will become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday. Brisett fit the mold of what the Dolphins would want in a backup, somebody with starting experience but also fully understanding he’d come in as the No. 2 guy. UFAs who fit that mold would include somebody like Blaine Gabbert or Tyrod Taylor or maybe Teddy Bridgewater if he comes to the conclusion he won’t be able to find a starting job anywhere. Nick Mullens is another name to remember because he started eight games for the 49ers twice during Mike McDaniel’s time there, and lastly we wouldn’t necessarily eliminate the possibility of Brissett being brought back.
RUNNING BACK
The Dolphins have used a back-by-committee approach in recent years, and it’s pretty much been the same thing with the 49ers during McDaniel’s time there. That would lead one to believe the Dolphins will stay away from a big-ticket free agent running back like Melvin Gordon. Two free agents on the market played for McDaniel in San Francisco, so we necessarily should keep an eye on Jeff Wilson and Raheem Mostert, who’s coming off a severe knee injury, though his agent (Brett Tessler) says he’s on track to be ready for the start of training camp. Justin Jackson did some good work as a backup to Austin Ekeler with the Chargers, where he worked last season under new Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith. Lastly, the Dolphins have three UFAs at running back, and it says here it’s a lot more likely that the team would re-sign Duke Johnson than either Phillip Lindsay or Malcolm Brown.
FULLBACK
Yes, the Dolphins are back in the fullback business with McDaniel as their new head coach, and they’ll have plenty of options, particularly with news Sunday that the Patriots will not be tendering RFA Jakob Johnson. So given the new need on the roster and the availability of fullback, it would be a big surprise if the Dolphins didn’t end up with either Johnson, Patrick Ricard (UFA from the Ravens), Andy Janovich (UFA from the Browns) or Alec Ingold (not tendered as an RFA by the Raiders).
WIDE RECEIVER
This was the major area of focus entering free agency last offseason and the Dolphins might make a splash at this position this year, though four big names already have come off the board — Mike Williams, Chris Godwin, Davante Adams and most recently Amari Cooper, who was traded from Dallas to Cleveland in a move that will become official Wednesday. There remain a lot of interesting wide receivers available, even not including Dolphins record-holder Jarvis Landry, who has been granted permission by the Browns to seek a trade. While the Dolphins were linked to big-ticket free agent WRs like Kenny Golladay last year, we would not expect them to chase Allen Robinson from the Bears this year. Interesting names on the market would include JuJu Smith-Schuster from the Steelers, Jamison Crowder from the Jets, Miami native Isaiah McKenzie from the Bills and multi-dimensional Cordarrelle Patterson, who can catch, run and return kicks.
TIGHT END
While we never would say never, it certainly would be surprising to see the Dolphins go after a free agent tight end after they placed the franchise tag on Mike Gesicki. The only question mark is whether the team will re-sign pending FA Durham Smythe to run it back with the same five tight ends as last year — Gesicki, Smythe, Adam Shaheen, Cethan Carter and 2021 third-round pick Hunter Long.
OFFENSIVE LINE
This is where there should be the most anticipation for what the Dolphins might do in free agency because, as we’ve started before, the most logical plan to bring up the offensive line a notch or two is to complement the young players they have (hoping they develop) with one or two proven veteran free agents. The obvious name here is guard Laken Tomlinson because he’s coming off a Pro Bowl season and he played for Mike McDaniel in San Francisco. Veteran Saints tackle Terron Armstead has frequently been mentioned as a potential target, though we do need to point out he has yet to play a full season in the NFL and he missed eight games last year because of a knee injury. Tampa Bay center Ryan Jensen is yet another possibility. The new name on the market is Dallas starting right tackle La’el Collins, who the team reportedly is shopping. Collins is very reasonably priced at $10 million a year over the final three years of his contract (Dallas will be on the books for the proration of his signing bonus) and one would think the Cowboys aren’t going to be lacking for trade offers. While taking on Amari Cooper’s $20 million annual salary probably wasn’t the best move, trying to land Collins makes a lot of sense.
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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 as an editor for Dolphin Digest, writer for miamidolphins.com and now publisher of SI Fan Nation All Dolphins. You can follow him on Twitter at @PoupartNFL.
