Miami Dolphins CB Siran Neal Overview
The Miami Dolphins added several free agents this offseason, including cornerback and special teamer Siran Neal. Formerly of the Buffalo Bills, Neal was drafted in the fifth round (154th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. He has spent all of his six NFL seasons in Buffalo.
Neal saw just 567 career snaps on defense, as opposed to his 1,714 in special teams’ coverage roles with the Bills. Since his rookie year, he has tallied 53 special team tackles, ranking him 12th in the league during this time. He has forced three fumbles on returns, the first in the NFL since 2018.
As a defensive back, Neal has 115 career tackles, four for loss, five passes defended and three quarterback hits with one sack.
Neal played in all 17 games for Buffalo and participated in 80% of the Bills special teams’ snaps. He saw very limited time as a defensive back, playing just 45 regular season snaps on defense. He finished the season with 13 total tackles.
As per teamrankings.com, Neal was ranked 48th in the NFL in 2023 with seven tackles made on special teams.
Contract/Cap Info
The Dolphins and Neal agreed to a one-year, $1.95 million contract, including a $350,000 signing bonus and $650,000 guaranteed.
Neal’s base salary in 2024 will be $1.12 million with a signing bonus of $350,000, carrying a cap hit of $1.95 million and a dead cap of $650,000 (per spotrac.com).
The Dolphins can use an “ace” on special teams, as veteran specialist Justin Bethel is no longer in Miami. Special teams coach Danny Crossman will look to seamlessly insert Neal in that role to help a mediocre Dolphins’ coverage game over the last several seasons.
Bethel played 695 special teams snaps over the last two seasons for Miami, so look for Neal to enter training camp with that ace job essentially his to lose.
