Retirement can wait as lineman signs deal
DAVIE — The Miami Dolphins re-signed veteran Jermon Bushrod on Thursday, retaining one of last year’s starting offensive linemen.
Bushrod, who started all 16 games at right guard last season in his first year with Miami, was considering retirement, but he decided to play an 11th NFL season. The terms of his deal were not disclosed.
Bushrod, 32, has started 112 of the 124 regular-season games he has played in the league. Most of his snaps prior to joining the Dolphins came at left tackle; last season was Bushrod’s first year at guard. He’s projected to remain as an interior lineman.
Whether he’ll be a starter in 2017 depends on how the training-camp competition goes.
With last year’s top pick, Laremy Tunsil, moving to left tackle to replace Branden Albert, the starting leftguard spot is vacant. Albert was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Ja’Wuan James is expected to remain Miami’s starter at right tackle for a fourth straight season, and the Dolphins are hopeful Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey will make a full recovery from the hip injury that has slowed him for the past few years.
The Dolphins signed Ted Larsen to a three-year contract for $5.6 million last week, and he’s expected to compete for a guard spot, along with Bushrod, Kraig Urbik (who started six games last season) and Anthony Steen.
It’s also likely that the Dolphins will address the offensive line in the NFL Draft, infusing younger players into the unit.
Free-agent defensive tackle Dontari Poe, who visited the Dolphins on Wednesday, agreed to terms with Atlanta on a one-year contract Thursday, the Falcons announced.
Terms were not disclosed, but multiple media outlets have reported it’s a one-year deal for $8 million with incentives that could earn Poe as much as $10 million.
That price was apparently too high for the Dolphins, who have made it clear they don’t plan to overpay for veteran free agents.
Poe, a two-time Pro Bowl selection who spent his first five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, also visited with the Indianapolis Colts and Jaguars.
The Dolphins are seeking to upgrade their defensive line, which struggled against the run and rushing the passer last season. Poe, 26, was regarded among the NFL’s best pass-rushing interior linemen for the first three years of his career.
Poe (6-3, 346) has battled back problems the past two seasons — which may be a factor in the decline of his pass-rushing production — but he has missed only two games in his career.
The Dolphins return starting defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh, a Pro Bowl selection, and Jordan Phillips, a 2015 secondround pick. Defensive tackle Earl Mitchell signed with San Francisco after being released by Miami.