The Miami Dolphins will indubitably look into veteran options on the offensive line and at running back, wide receiver and inside linebacker in free agency, which begins next week.
The choices available ahead of Monday, before the official start of free agency next Wednesday, increased between developments on Thursday and Wednesday night.
If the Dolphins go the way of a guard in free agency, the Tennessee Titans’ Rodger Saffold III and Buffalo Bills’ Jonathan Feliciano were recently released and now are available in the free-agent market.
If they want to address a more glaring hole at tackle, beyond the options in free agency, an said the Dallas Cowboys are actively having trade conversations surrounding tackle La’el Collins, who is due $10 million next season and has been a mainstay on Dallas’ line since 2015.
This after last week’s news that the Cowboys are likely to release wide receiver and Miami native Amari Cooper and Tuesday night’s development that the Seattle Seahawks released eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker Bobby Wagner.
Saffold (6 feet 5, 325 pounds) would be 34 next season, presenting an experienced voice on the line with 157 starts over a 12-year NFL career. Don’t confuse his age for an imminent downfall either. He’s coming off his first Pro Bowl season in 2021. Saffold has spent most of his career as a guard after initially entering the league with the St. Louis Rams as a left tackle.
Feliciano, 30, is a Broward County product out of Western High and the University of Miami. The 6-4, 325-pounder started 31 of his 34 games played with the Bills over the past three seasons after starting his career with the Oakland Raiders.
After originally finding his professional footing in Buffalo beginning in 2019, Feliciano had a forgettable 2021. He missed a game with a concussion, went on injured reserve due to a calf injury that cost him five games, returned in a reserve role and tested positive for COVID-19, missing two more games and getting treated at a hospital. Signing a three-year, $14.4 million contract extension last March, his release saved the Bills nearly $3.5 million.
Among other guards available in free agency is San Francisco’s Laken Tomlinson, who played in McDaniel’s offense with the 49ers, just turned 30 last month and, like Saffold, was a Pro Bowl selection for the first time in 2021.
Miami could benefit from going after one of the top veteran tackles in free agency, with that being the biggest hole in pass protection. Top free agents in Terron Armstead of the New Orleans Saints and Trent Brown of the New England Patriots will carry a large price tag. The same applies to Eric Fisher, the former No. 1 draft pick in 2013 who hits the market after not re-signing with the Indianapolis Colts.
The Dolphins could also opt to either give left tackle Liam Eichenberg, a rookie in 2021, another chance there or, if the guard market appears more feasible financially, new coach Mike McDaniel and his staff could decipher if they want to kick Robert Hunt back out to right tackle in his third year. Hunt was solid there as a rookie in 2020 before easily being Miami’s best blocker in 2021 at right guard.
Before the new offensive line options became available, they were also trimmed, specifically at tackle, at Tuesday’s franchise tag deadline. The Kansas City Chiefs tagged Orlando Brown and the Jacksonville Jaguars did the same with Cam Robinson, although both were unlikely to reach free agency. The same goes for wide receivers that were tagged in Davante Adams of the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Chris Godwin.
Cooper, if pursued, could provide a prime target for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to have alongside Jaylen Waddle and tight end Mike Gesicki, who was given the franchise tag on Tuesday. Wagner, while likely pricy, could be the piece in the middle that sets the Dolphins’ defense over the top with everything else constant.
The Dolphins wouldn’t be in the market for a high-priced defensive end if they are able to bring back Emmanuel Ogbah on a multi-year deal, but should he land elsewhere, the Detroit Lions informed Trey Flowers he will be released at the start of the new league year on Wednesday, a from the Detroit Free Press said.
Also becoming available on Thursday due to a split from his team but unlikely to receive interest from the Dolphins is former Pro Bowl and All-Pro safety Landon Collins. Collins and the Washington Commanders are expected to part ways after he was reportedly asked to take a pay cut following the Commanders’ acquisition of quarterback Carson Wentz, but the Dolphins appear set at safety with the young tandem of Jevon Holland and Brandon Jones.
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