Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Guard Josh Sitton agrees to terms; 2 vets to re-sign
The Miami Dolphins have agreed to contract terms with offensive lineman Josh Sitton, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, who will likely serve as one of the team’s starting guards.
Sitton, a 31-year-old, 10-year veteran who has played left guard and right guard for Green Bay and Chicago, played left guard for the Bears last year.
The Dolphins hired his former offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn this offseason, which means the transition to Miami’s scheme shouldn’t be too complicated.
Sitton is regarded as a skilled pass blocker. He missed the final three games with the Bears last season, the last two due to an ankle injury, but has been fairly durable over his career. From 2009-15 he only missed two games.
Sitton would join four returning starters — left tackle Laremy Tunsil, right tackle Ja’Wuan James, left guard Ted Larsen and right guard Jesse Davis — on the offensive line.
The Dolphins traded for 49ers center Daniel Kilgore to replace Mike Pouncey, who was released Thursday in a move that clears $7 million in cap space. Kilgore was acquired, along with a 2018 seventh-round pick (227th overall), in exchange for a 2018 seventh-round pick (223rd overall).
Sitton spent the last two years with Chicago after spending his first four seasons with Green Bay. He made the Pro Bowl after the 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons.
The Dolphins brought Sitton in for a free-agent visit Thursday, and his acquisition would represent a measure of success for Miami as it tries to recover from highprofile losses such as Pouncey, receiver Jarvis Landry and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
Sitton’s signing wasn’t made official by the team, but the Dolphins did announce the signing of receivers Albert Wilson and Danny Amendola. Wilson and Amendola were signed to ease the departure of Jarvis Landry, who was traded to Cleveland for a 2018 fourth-round pick, and a 2019 seventh-round selection.
Miami also signed long snapper John Denney and quarterback David Fales to one-year deals that should pay each the NFL minimum.
Fales played in two games last season after being re-signed, and replaced Jay Cutler after one series in Miami’s season-ending 22-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills. In that game Fales completed 29 of 42 passes for 265 yards and threw one touchdown and one interception. He also gained 8 yards and ran for a touchdown on his two carries against the Bills.
Fales, a former San Jose State standout, has a 79.1 passer rating for the four seasons he’s spent in the NFL. He joins Ryan Tannehill, the Dolphins’ starter who missed last season with a knee injury, and Brandon Doughty, a 2016 seventhround pick who has spent the past two seasons on the practice squad, as the quarterbacks under contract in Miami.
Denney, who recently turned 38, has not missed a game in his 13 NFL seasons. He ranks No. 1 in franchise history having played in 208 consecutive regular-season games.
Denney, who is the only Dolphins player born in the 1970s, is a two-time Pro Bowl selection, and has served as Miami’s NFLPA player representative for the past few seasons.