Where’s the right fit?

Free agent Jermon Bushrod wants to put a difficult 2017 behind him

Jermon Bushrod, a free agent, hasn’t decided if he will be playing his 12th NFL season.

Plenty of factors — like which teams are interested, where they are located, how much they’re offering and the role envisioned for him – will come into play when he’s forced to make a decision in the coming weeks.

But the one thing that won’t be a factor in Bushrod’s mind is how the 2017 season ended with the Miami Dolphins. Bushrod struggled for most of the season before missing the final six games because of a foot injury.

“I’ve played for 11 years. I’ve played a lot of football, over 125 starts and over 140 games. That’s a lot of football,” Bushrod said. “Whether I play again, or whether I cut it off, I’m very happy with the way things have gone. I’d be okay with [retiring], but whenever I stop playing, it’s going to be a hard transition.”

In his absence, Jesse Davis, a practice-squad member in 2016, blossomed playing right guard and helped solidify the Dolphins’ struggling offensive

line for the final month of the season.

Davis played well enough to entrench himself as a starter at either right guard or right tackle next season, according to coach Adam Gase. That likely means if Bushrod continues to play for Miami, which he and his family now call home, it might be as a reserve because Ted Larsen is penciled in as the starting left guard.

“Put a question mark over my name,” said Bushrod, who last offseason signed a one-year deal worth $3 million a few weeks into free agency. “We’ll figure out what’s going to happen career-wise, and team-wise. I’ve got to get back healthy, and get back right.”

Bushrod, who has started 122 regular-season games during his time with the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears and Dolphins, had his right arm surgically repaired last month and is presently wearing a hard cast. He said he’ll be ready to train during the start of OTAs in the spring.

“I feel good,” said Bushrod, who turns 34 in August. “I had 45 days to take some time off and get my body underneath me.”

What is Bushrod looking for when the free-agency signing period begins on March 14?

“It has to be the right fit for me and the family,” Bushrod said.

WINSLOW TOWNSON/AP Offensive guard Jermon Bushrod struggled in 2017 with the Miami Dolphins, then missed the last six games because of a foot injury. As a free agent, he is looking for the best place, if he decides to continue playing.

LYNNE SLADKY/AP Jermon Bushrod has started 122 regular-season games during his time with the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears and Dolphins.