Dolphins doing fine without 3 players they failed to acquire
The Dolphins usually are able to conceal unsuccessful attempts to add players, but three player pursuits that came up short did leak out in the past 17 months.
And in all three cases, Miami has no reason to bemoan what never materialized.
Reflecting on three moves the Dolphins tried to make but couldn’t:
Bidding for running back Le’Veon Bell after the Jets released him in October: As it turns out, the production from Salvon Ahmed — and Myles Gaskin on Saturday — has been very comparable to what Bell has done for the Chiefs.
Bell has 63 rushes for 254 yards, a 4.0 average, in nine games, including two starts, for Kansas City, plus 13 receptions for 99 yards.
Ahmed, who has received all of his playing time since Bell picked the Chiefs, has 69 rushes for 290 yards, a 4.2 average, in five games, including four starts, plus eight catches for 42 yards.
And Gaskin’s 169 yards from scrimmage against Las Vegas in his first game back from the COVID-19 list is barely less than half of Bell’s yards from scrimmage in nine games for the Chiefs.
So while Bell would have helped, a case could be made that Miami was better off finding out what it had in Ahmed, who could be a long-term piece.
Trying to acquire Jadeveon Clowney from Houston in August 2019 and (depending on who you believe) attempting to sign him in March:
Clowney declined to join the Dolphins after meeting with team officials before the Laremy Tunsil trade. Clowney was instead traded Aug. 31, 2019 to Seattle, where he had just three sacks in 11 games.
The Dolphins denied a report by the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson that Miami discussed a deal with Clowney this past March that would have averaged $17 million a year.
Whether that was true,
Miami got better value with Shaq Lawson — the player pursued as an alternative to Clowney. Lawson signed for three years and $30 million and has four sacks and graded out well against the run.
The Dolphins seemingly planned to sign Emmanuel Ogbah regardless of any discussions with Clowney.
Clowney — unhappy with his offers — ultimately waited until Sept. 8 to sign anywhere, joining Tennessee on a one-year deal worth $12 million. But he had a negligible impact (19 tackles, four for loss, no sacks) in eight games for the Titans, all starts, then sustained a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 21.
Wanting to sign safety Devin McCourty in March:
McCourty has been very good (56 tackles, two interceptions in 14 starts), but Bobby McCain and
Eric Rowe (the Las Vegas game aside) also have had good seasons.
McCourty — who signed a two-year, $23 million deal to stay with the Patriots before free agency officially started — is ranked 29th among safeties by PFF, McCain 46th and Rowe 59th of 91.
THIS AND THAT
Buffalo Bills coach ●
Sean McDermott said he hasn’t decided if he will rest starters on Sunday against the Dolphins. The Bills are battling with Pittsburgh for the second seed in the AFC playoffs.
But under the new playoff format — with seven teams making the postseason in each conference — only the AFC’s top seed (Kansas City) gets a bye. In past years, the top two teams in each conference received a first-weekend bye.
So the question for McDermott is this: Is it more valuable to get his key players rest or more important to secure homefield advantage in a potential AFC semifinal with Pittsburgh?
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is starting Mason Rudolph instead of Ben Roethlisberger against Cleveland on Sunday. A Browns loss would put the Dolphins in the playoffs, regardless of whether Miami beats Buffalo. The Dolphins can make the playoffs (without help) if they beat the Bills.
With Buffalo beating New England on Monday, that means Houston has clinched the strength of schedule draft tiebreaker with Atlanta.
The upshot is that the Houston first-round pick owed the Dolphins will be third in April’s NFL Draft
if Houston loses at home to Tennessee. It could be as low as ninth if the Texans win and six other teams lose.
Tight end Mike Gesicki admits he’s not 100 percent after missing only one game with a shoulder injury. He contributed two big catches late in the Las Vegas game and finished with four catches for 54 yards.
“For the shoulder, when I first hit the ground, I just thought I had a dead arm because I couldn’t really feel it,” he said of the injury sustained against Kansas City. “So I was like, ‘all right, it’ll come back.’ And then I tried moving and it wouldn’t come.
“Obviously at that point, I’m just trying to get out of pain. ... I lived to tell the story. Once you agree to go out there and play, it doesn’t matter what percentage you’re at or how you’re feeling or whatever it is. Nobody cares.”
Gesicki’s 656 receiving yards — on 48 receptions — are fourth among all NFL tight ends this season and the most by a Dolphins tight end since Randy McMichael set the franchise record in 2004 (791).