The Dolphins should re-sign who from their own free agents?

It will start here shortly, and with the new DC and new Oline Coach, who knows what is going to happen, but... There are a few "critical" free agents they need to re-sign IMHO.

Here is what I could find on Miami offensive free agents (that number is age and free agent status)

QB: Teddy Bridgewater (30 - UFA) - A hard No way Jose IMO, but they need a Vet with experience on the roster just in case. I would not be surprised to see Bridgewater back next season.

RB: Raheem Mostert (30 - UFA), Jeff Wilson (27 - UFA), Myles Gaskin (25 - UFA), Salvon Ahmed (24 - RFA) - I want either Mostert or Wilson back for sure, and would prefer both, but with the cap what it is and the draft looking to be full of good prospects in every round... Gaskin is unliked it seems, and Ahmed got some plays, so...

WR: Trent Sherfield (26 - UFA), River Cracraft (28 - /UFA) - Too bad C. Wilson's cap hit for cutting is too large to kick him to the curb. Sheffield is the Dolphins 3rd WR and I would like to see him back. Cracraft is sneaky good in this offense. But the Phins could survive without either. Especially is Ezukanma can ever be coached up to getting playing time, and I suspect Sanders might take a big step up, so...

TE: Mike Gesicki (27 - UFA), Adam Shaheen (28 - UFA) - Whatever happened to Shaheen? Didn't Grier sign him to a 3 yr contract? he was decent. Gesicki is gone. Hopefully to an NFC team.

OL: LT Eric Fisher (32 - UFA), G Michael Deiter (26 - RFA), T Greg Little (25 - UFA), T Brandon Shell (30 - UFA), T Geron Christian (26 - UFA) - I would take Dieter back at a minimum contract. But the only one who needs to be re-signed IMO is Shell. Thank goodness for Shell at RT this year or else the Phins would have been Jets-bad IMO.

So, Mostert/Wilson and Shell are need to signs, with Sheffield/Cracraft and Dieter nice to signs.

On defense is where things get more difficult.

DT: John Jenkins (33 - UFA) - No. Maybe for depth

DE: Trey Flowers (29 - UFA) - No, he will go somewhere else IMO.

OLB: Melvin Ingram (33 - UFA), Duke Riley (28 - UFA), Elandon Roberts (28 - UFA) - Ingram will not be re-signed until late if at all IMO. I suspect Riley or Roberts will get re-signed. Unless Fangio hates what he sees from them. Riley is better at coverage (I hear) and Roberts is better against the run.

LB: Sam Eguavoen (29 - UFA), Andrew Van Ginkel (27 - UFA) - I sincerely HOPE they re-sign AVG, but it might be Eguavoen.

S: Eric Rowe (30 - UFA), Clayton Fejedelem (29 - UFA), Elijah Campbell (27 - RFA) - The Phins have Holland, Jones, and McKinley at S but they usually carry six, so... They like Rowe but he will want more money than they want to pay I am thinking, so I might sign Fejedelem who is terrific on Special Teams as well. There are some REALLY good safeties in the draft with a few who have been available late but will rise up the draft board rankings IMO as the draft approaches.

CB: Nik Needham (26 - UFA), Justin Bethel (32 - UFA) - I suspect they will make an effort to sign Needham, but it will depend on how much moolah he wants. He might get a big offer elsewhere. The Phins may need to draft a CB with one of their top picks especially if they do end up kicking Jones to the curb. The cap hit situation there is not good. The best thing might be to have Jones come back for one more year and play, and then kick him to the curb.

A lot of things will be decided by Fangio IMO. His hybrid 4-3 or "6-1 Tilt" defense may need something else?
Are the LBs what he needs? Are LBs Channing Tindall and Cam Goode part of the plans going forward?
How about the D-line?

But I think I would rank the defensive re-signs like this:
Riley or Roberts - kinda sort between need to re-sign and nice to have.
AVG - Need to re-sign IMO, but who knows what Grier and Co think?
At Safety, Fejedelem is my pick, but if they can keep Campbell too...
CB - Needham is a solid CB who can play nickel or fill in outside. But may get an offer too big to match.

We have a ways to go before free agency, so who knows how the situation will change?

And we have to think, maybe HOPE FOR, some trades. I have seen a few NFL beat writers speculating that since Flores is in Minnesota, might he want to bring in a few of his former players to help him on defense. Trade Byron Jones, Jerome Baker and maybe Brandon Jones for a pick or two? It relieves the cap and garners more picks??

Or how about the possibility of tricking Jerry Jones into taking Byron Jones back into Dallas? Seems like a tall task, but... I have heard talk that Jones was a tried and true deep to the core Flores guy and was upset about how Flores got treated. If the rumors are even halfway true that Jones could have played and decided not to, I would dump his sorry arse for a moldy Krispy Kreme in a heartbeat!

Great job, FF. Nice work!

Here's my take, player by player:

QB: Teddy Bridgewater – No. I would make Skylar the #2 and bring in another young developmental prospect.

RB: Raheem Mostert – Yes. Priority signing for me.

RB: Jeff Wilson – Yes, if possible. I’d be OK if we move on and replace him with a high-upside rookie.

RB: Myles Gaskin – No. Time to move on.

RB: Salvon Ahmed – Yes. Cheap, young and fits the system. May not make the final roster depending on what else we do at the position.

WR: Trent Sherfield – Yes. Priority signing for me.

WR: River Cracraft – Maybe. Cheap, good blocker, has a knack for making big plays and key special teamer. But - easily replaceable.

TE: Mike Gesicki – No. One of my favorite players, but given his role in this offense he’ll be much too expensive.

TE: Adam Shaheen – No, we can do better.

OL: Eric Fisher – Yes, if healthy. Should be cheap and may even win the starting RT job and backup Armstead at LT.

OL: Michael Deiter – Maybe. He’s our only backup center and should be dirt cheap, so I’d be OK bringing him back but I’m fine losing him too.

OL: Greg Little – No. Too inconsistent and can’t stay healthy.

OL: Brandon Shell – Maybe. Decent RT, but not a must-keep. Depends on what we do with Eric Fisher.

OL: Geron Christian - No

DT: John Jenkins - No. Maybe for depth.

LB: Trey Flowers – Maybe. If the price is right, I’m interested.

LB: Melvin Ingram – Maybe. Not a must-sign, but I’d like to see what he could do in a Fangio D.

LB: Duke Riley – Yes. Cheap quality depth and good on STs. He was a pleasant surprise this season.

LB: Elandon Roberts – Yes, but only if we can get him cheap. I think he may have priced himself out of Miami’s plans after a breakout season. He’s approaching elite status as a run defender IMO, and he’s a team leader.

LB: Sam Eguavoen – Maybe. Cheap and good on STs. Worth at least a camp invite.

LB: Andrew Van Ginkel – No. I’d LOVE to keep him, but IMO he’ll leave for a starting job elsewhere.

DB: Eric Rowe – Maybe. I’d like to keep him if the price is right, but I have a feeling he’s gone.

DB: Clayton Fejedelem – Yes, if the price is right. Excellent special teamer and a decent enough reserve DB.

DB: Elijah Campbell - Yes. Cheap and versatile.

DB: Nik Needham – Maybe. I think he may be redundant with the emergence of Kader Kohou – do we need two slot corners that can play boundary but shouldn't? But I like Needham a lot and would like to keep him if possible.

DB: Justin Bethel – Maybe. He is a top STs player and played well on defense when called upon. But he's older (33 in June), so we can probably replace him with a younger, cheaper player.

finfanatic wrote:

And we have to think, maybe HOPE FOR, some trades. I have seen a few NFL beat writers speculating that since Flores is in Minnesota, might he want to bring in a few of his former players to help him on defense. Trade Byron Jones, Jerome Baker and maybe Brandon Jones for a pick or two? It relieves the cap and garners more picks??  

I don't think we have much to trade.

Byron Jones will most likely get cut at some point, but he'll be designated a post-June 1 cut to maximize cap relief - so no need to hurry to do anything with him. No team is trading for that contract, not after Jones missed an entire season.

Brandon Jones is on the fast-track to becoming a star IMO. Unless Fangio doesn't think he's a fit, which seems highly unlikely to me, there's no way I'd trade him.

Cedric Wilson's name comes up a lot when trades are mentioned, but I still think he's going to play a role on this team - and like Byron Jones, no team is trading for that contract.

Jerome Baker is our best LB by far and is much better than he gets credit for IMO. I think it would be foolish to trade him and create a huge hole for no real reason.

Depending on Fangio, maybe we could trade Raekwon Davis? But he wouldn't bring more than a 5th IMO, so it doesn't really make sense.

I guess Noah Igbinoghene is a trade possibility, but given his contract it's much more likely that he'll get cut. No team wants to pay him $2 million for 2023.

Bridgewater? HELL no!!! He'd already mentally checked out in preseason when he realized he wasn't starting over Tua.

Mostert? No. He'll be 31 in less than 2 months. Speed's the first thing to go in players his age. I have nothing against Gaskin or Ahmed, but  to me they're a package deal and should both go. It just wouldn't be right to keep one and not the other. Wilson should be kept, especially since he was traded for. Re-sign him, bring in Devin Singletary, draft another RB, and call it a day with the 4th guy being some undrafted rookie.

Sherfield and Cracraft? Meh. Sherfield's 30 catches and 2 TDs were both career highs, as was Cracraft's 9 receptions. What exactly would we be missing there? Let 'em both walk so Ced Wilson and Ezukanma earn their keep, it's not as if any WR's going to be fed the ball with the Big Two around anyway.

Gesicki was as good as gone the moment Grier drafted Long, and I said so from that start. Oh, and Shaheen too.

Dieter? The guy who couldn't see the field even with all the O-line injuries last season? No. Ditto for Little and Christian, who I didn't even know was on the team. I'd re-up Fisher and Shell for a year each. This O-line needs 2 new starters regardless.

Jenkins is tied with Ingram for the second oldest Fin at 33 so...no. My plan to draft Brodric Martin makes more sense now.

Flowers? Nope. I'm amazed Ingram hasn't retired already. If he doesn't, I'd actually bring him back for another year as a purely situational rusher.

I would LOVE to re-sign Riley, Roberts and Van Ginkel. Losing all three would be an utter disaster. Eguavoen turns 30 in less than a week and doesn't do much of anything so he goes.

Rowe and Fedejelem? No. Too expensive for what they bring to the table. Bethel? Maybe, just to see if he makes the roster again. Campbell and Needham? Absolutely.

By my count that's 8 of 26 FAs I'd re-sign. Hardly breaking the bank to run it back.

316 wrote:Gesicki was as good as gone the moment Grier drafted Long, and I said so from that start.

That may have been the plan at the time, but Long has not shown any evidence that he belongs on an NFL roster. If it was up to me, I'd trade or cut Long and just start over. Keep Smythe and Conner, sign a vet and draft someone (Payne Durham!!)

I'm so done with Long...he's just taking up space at this point. He's got no value as a receiver, and he's a mediocre blocker at best.

FA tight ends that I like include Hayden Hurst, Foster Moreau and Josh Oliver.

DolFan 316 wrote:

Sherfield and Cracraft? Meh. Sherfield's 30 catches and 2 TDs were both career highs, as was Cracraft's 9 receptions. What exactly would we be missing there? Let 'em both walk so Ced Wilson and Ezukanma earn their keep, it's not as if any WR's going to be fed the ball with the Big Two around anyway.

To me, Sherfield is a must-keep. He's got good chemistry with Tua, knows the offense well, can block, and has a knack for making key catches. He'll never be a star, but he brings a lot to the table as a valuable role player in this offense.

JMP wrote:

DolFan 316 wrote:

Sherfield and Cracraft? Meh. Sherfield's 30 catches and 2 TDs were both career highs, as was Cracraft's 9 receptions. What exactly would we be missing there? Let 'em both walk so Ced Wilson and Ezukanma earn their keep, it's not as if any WR's going to be fed the ball with the Big Two around anyway.

To me, Sherfield is a must-keep.  He's got good chemistry with Tua, knows the offense well, can block, and has a knack for making key catches.  He'll never be a star, but he brings a lot to the table as a valuable role player in this offense.

Well, they do have Ezukanma and Sanders already signed... along with Wilson, so.... And as DF316 says.... They do have the BIG TWO.

They might decide to go with what they have and add a WR late if they need additional help or it looks like Sanders and/or Ezukanma ain't gonna work out.

finfanatic wrote:
Well, they do have Ezukanma and Sanders already signed... along with Wilson, so....  And as DF316 says.... They do have the BIG TWO.

They might decide to go with what they have and add a WR late if they need additional help or it looks like Sanders and/or Ezukanma ain't gonna work out.

EZ and Sanders are non-factors at this point. You hope they develop, but right now both are far behind Sherfield. Sherfield's contract will be cheap - he's an easy re-sign and it makes no sense to let him walk.