Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Finding success outside Miami tough
Ex-players struggle with new teams
DAVIE — No one regards the Miami Dolphins among the NFL teams that know just the right time to get rid of players. That honor goes to New England and Pittsburgh, among others. But with free agency beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday, maybe we should re-consider.
Anecdotal evidence among 25 players who left the Dolphins in the past five years shows most have been the same or worse after leaving.
It should be noted for these purposes a player’s career before the Dolphins wasn’t considered. This is strictly a comparison between their career with the Dolphins and afterward.
Four departed players earned a Pro Bowl or All Pro selection since leaving – wide receiver Brandon Marshall, cornerback Vontae Davis, linebacker Karlos Dansby and guard Richie Incognito. Marshall and Incognito each earned three Pro Bowl berths since leaving the Dolphins, while Davis earned two. Dansby is the only one to earn All Pro.
It’s too soon to draw definitive conclusions on recently-departed players such as running backs Jay Ajayi and Lamar Miller, defensive end Olivier Vernon and tight end Dion Sims.
And there’s another group that includes Marshall, tight end Charles Clay and guard John Jerry in which it was a close call whether they’ve fared better or have been the same since departing Miami.
But for the most part, the Dolphins haven’t been burned badly by a departed player who went on to stardom with another team.
Incognito probably comes closest to that claim.
Better (7)
These players have done better since departing the Dolphins than they did with the Dolphins.
DE Olivier Vernon: Totaled 29.0 sacks, 196 tackles, three forced fumbles in four seasons with Miami (2012-15); has 15.5 sacks, 101 tackles, three forced fumbles in two years with the New York Giants. WR Rishard Matthews: Made 17 starts in 49 games with 107 receptions for 1,396 yards and 8 TDs in four years with Miami (2012-15); has 21 starts in 30 games with 118 receptions for 1,740 yards and 13 TDs in two seasons with Tennessee.
CB Jamar Taylor: Played in 33 games with 9 starts, 0 INTs and 69 tackles in three years (2013-15) with Miami; played in 31 games with 29 starts, 3 INTs, 94 tackles in two years with Cleveland
CB Vontae Davis: Had 9 INTs in three seasons with Dolphins (2009-11); injury-slowed recently but had 13 INTs and made two Pro Bowls with Indianapolis (2012-17).
G Richie Incognito: Made 55 starts in 55 games with one Pro Bowl berth in four seasons with the Dolphins (2010-13); made 51 starts in 51 games and three Pro Bowl appearances in three seasons with Buffalo (2015-17).
LB Karlos Dansby: Had 332 tackles and 1 INT in three years with the Dolphins (2010-12); named All Pro (2013) and totaled 532 tackles, 9 INTs, 4 TDs with Arizona (2013, 2017), Cleveland (2014-15) and Cincinnati (2016). WR Brandon Marshall: One Pro Bowl, 167 receptions for 2,228 yards, 9 TDs in two seasons with Dolphins (2010-11); three Pro Bowls, 465 receptions for 5,968 yards, 48 TDs in six seasons Chicago (2012-14), New York Jets (2015-16) and New York Giants (2017).
Same or worse (18)
These players have been the
same, or worse, since departing the Dolphins.
CB Brent Grimes: Made three Pro Bowls and had 13 INTs, 166 tackles in three seasons with Miami (2013-15); has 7 INTs, 106 tackles in two seasons with Tampa Bay (2016-17).
RB Lamar Miller: Totaled 638 carries, 2,930 yards and 19 TDs in four years with Miami (2012-15); has 506 carries, 1,961 yards and 8 TDs in two years with Houston (2016-17).
RB Jay Ajayi: Made one Pro Bowl, had 19 starts in 31 games with 447 carries, 1,924 yards (4.3 ypc) and 9 TDs in two-plus seasons with Miami; won Super Bowl and made one start in seven games with 70 carries, 408 yards (5.8 ypc) and 1 TD in a half season with Philadelphia.
DT Jared Odrick: Made 41 starts in 65 games, totaled 129 tackles, 16.5 sacks in five seasons with Miami (2010-14); made 22 starts in 22 games, totaled 41 tackles, 6.5 sacks in two seasons with Jacksonville (2015-16).
OT Branden Albert: Made one Pro Bowl with 35 starts in 35 games in three years (2014-16) with Miami; traded to Jacksonville but hasn’t played since the trade. WR Mike Wallace: Had 140 receptions, 1,792 yards, 15 TDs in two seasons with the Dolphins (2013-14); 39 receptions, 473 yards, 2 TDs with Minnesota (2015); 124 receptions, 1,765 yards, 8 TDs in two seasons with Baltimore (2016-17). TE Charles Clay: Had 161 receptions,
1,809 yards, 14 TDs in four seasons with the Dolphins (2011-14); 157 receptions, 1,638 yards, 9 TDs in three seasons with Buffalo (2015-17).
DE Mario Williams: Made five starts in 13 games, had 1.5 sacks in one season with Miami (2016); retired after the 2016 season.
CB Sean Smith: Posted 5 INTs and 211 tackles in four seasons with Dolphins (2009-12); 9 INTs and 216 tackles in five seasons with Kansas City (2013-15) and Oakland (2016-17).
G John Jerry: Made 45 starts in 57 games with the Dolphins (2010-13); 56 starts in 64 games with the New York Giants (2014-17).
DE Derrick Shelby: Made 10 starts in 63 games, totaled 105 tackles, 9.0 sacks in four seasons with Miami (2012-15); made 18 starts in 22 games, totaled 38 tackles, 1.0 sacks in two seasons with Atlanta (2016-17).
LB Jelani Jenkins: Made 27 starts in 44 games, totaled 163 tackles, 3.5 sacks in four seasons with Miami (2013-16); made one start in seven games, totaled 11 tackles, 0 sacks with Buffalo and Houston (2017).
TE Dion Sims: Made 22 starts in 56 games, had 74 receptions, 699 yards and 8 TDs in four seasons with Miami (2013-16); made 14 starts in 14 games, had 15 receptions, 180 yards and 1 TD in one season with Chicago (2017).
G Jamil Douglas: Made six starts in 17 games in two seasons with Miami (2015-16); made no starts with Atlanta (2017).
DT Randy Starks: Two Pro Bowls, 282 tackles and 30.5 sacks in seven seasons with the Dolphins (2008-14); 29 tackles, 1.0 sack with Cleveland (2015).
DT Paul Soliai: One Pro Bowl berth, 160 tackles, 4.5 sacks in seven seasons with the Dolphins (2007-13); 59 tackles, 1.0 sack in three seasons with Atlanta (2014-15) and Carolina (2016).
LT Jake Long: Made four Pro Bowls and one All Pro berth with 74 starts in five years with the Dolphins (2008-12); 25 starts in four seasons with St. Louis (2013-14), Atlanta (2015) and Minnesota (2016).
RB Reggie Bush: Rushed for 2,072 yards, 12 TDs, and had 78 receptions, 588 yards, 3 TDs in two seasons with the Dolphins (2011-12); rushed for 1,328 yards rushing, 7 TDs, and had 105 receptions, 868 yards, 3 TDs in three seasons with Detroit (2013-14), San Francisco (2015) and Buffalo (2016).