Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Increased performance expected from Phillips
Jordan Phillips is a man of few words when it comes to the media, and his disdain for the press could stem from criticism that started when the Miami Dolphins picked him in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft.
Phillips was projected as a possible firstround pick when he left the University of Oklahoma early, but he slid in the draft to No. 52 because of concerns about his work ethic, which earned him the “questionable motor” label by draft experts.
Three seasons later the same label haunts the 25-year-old, but Phillips is optimistic that he can play better than he has in past seasons.
“My production wasn’t what I wanted it to be,” said Phillips, who contributed 16 tackles, two sacks and three pass deflections in the 13 games he played last season. “The good games I played, I still did really well. So, I’ve got to keep it moving forward.”
Even though he’ll likely be part of a fourdefensive-tackle rotation, Phillips knows more will be placed on his shoulders this season because of the departure of Ndamukong Suh, a perrenial Pro Bowl pick who was waived this spring to create $17 million in salary cap space that Dolphins won’t get until next week.
Suh has since signed a one-year, $14 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams, where he’ll be on the same line with fellow Pro Bowl player Aaron Donald. The only veteran defensive tackle Miami added was Akeem Spence, whom the Dolphins acquired from the Detroit Lions earlier this month for a 2019 seventh-round pick.
“It’s hard to replace a man like Suh, but we don’t have an option to do it. It needs to get done, so we’re going to do what it takes to get [it done],” said Phillips, who has contributed 58 total tackles, 4.5 sacks and one interception in his three NFL seasons.
That’s the type of production Suh would produce in one, not three seasons.
Phillips, who is earning $1,029,942 in the final year of his rookie contract, has started 26 games, which makes him the secondmost-experienced starter on the roster. Spence, a five-year veteran who has started 41 of the 72 games he’s played, is the mostexperienced defensive tackle, and is competing for one of two starting spots.
Two second-year players — Davone Godchaux and Vincent Taylor – could become the others in the four-player rotation.
Godchaux started five games last season and contributed 40 tackles and forced one fumble. Taylor played in 13 games, contributing 18 tackles and one pass deflection before ending the year on injured reserve because of a leg injury.
The Dolphins also plan to experiment with defensive end Williams Hayes, a runstuffing specialist, moving inside to defensive tackles on obvious passing downs, and Miami’s front office hasn’t ruled out adding another veteran defensive tackle, possibly closer to the start of training camp in late July.
Miami doesn’t expect one man to replace Suh. The Dolphins plan to take a strengthin-numbers approach.
The hope is that limiting the workload for all these 300-pounders will keep the defensive tackles fresher in games, and that will help them become more productive when it comes to stopping the run, owning the line of scrimmage and keeping linebackers clean from would-be blockers.
However, a source tied to Ross’ business interests claims the report is false, backing up a previous denial Ross made during March’s NFL owner’s meeting when asked about potentially purchasing AC Milan.
Ross went as far as laughing at the prospects of him investing in AC Milan two months ago.
“My interest is in growing sports in Miami, and bringing events to Miami,” said Ross, who bought the Dolphins for $1.1 billion and has poured more than $500 million into renovating the stadium he owns.
According to a Forbes magazine estimate, the Dolphins franchise is worth $2.35 billion, but it is possible that Ross could get more for the Dolphins based on this week’s sale of the Carolina Panthers, which was sold to for $2.2 billion.
The Dolphins would likely sell for more because the franchise is in a major sports market, and Ross owns Hard Rock Stadium, while the Panthers lease their stadium. AC Milan current co-owner,
has been deemed untrustworthy by the European governing body, with the Chinese businessman finding himself incapable of refinancing the club’s loan.
According to Forbes, Li has failed to pay interest on debt taken on when the club was acquired in August 2017.
Ross, a real estate mogul who is reportedly worth $12 billion, admitted that every time there’s a sports team up for sale his people get a call from individuals interested in selling, or investment groups interested in putting together stakeholders.
Ross, whose NFL franchise has a 76-84 record in the decade he’s owned the Dolphins, does have a high level of interest in European soccer. He’s founded the International Champions Cup with the intent of bringing major international club friendlies to the United States. This culminated last July with the El Clasico Miami between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Hard Rock Stadium.
“We’re involved in European soccer and expanding that in this country because that’s what we believe the fans around this country want to see,” Ross said. “I love sports, love participating in it, and growing it in this country.
“What we’re doing at Hard Rock and the events we’re bringing, we recognize the importance of what it does for the community,” said Ross, who is reportedly investing $60 million in an upgrade of Hard Rock Stadium’s grounds to move the Miami Open tennis tournament from Key Biscayne to Miami Gardens in 2019. “That’s our focus.” Ross
Yonghong David Tepper Li