Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Team free agents eager to be part of rebuilding
Bonds were developed in Miami despite a 5-11 record
AVENTURA — Last season’s Miami Dolphins roster was composed of mostly journeymen, NFL long shots, practice squad call-ups and waiver-wire finds.
Miami claimed and signed more players than any other team in NFL history in 2019. And even though players were churning in and out of the team’s Davie practice facility as if they were on a conveyor belt, that doesn’t mean chemistry and bonds weren’t developed during Miami’s surprising 5-11 season, which concluded with the Dolphins winning five of the final nine games.
That’s one of the reasons defensive tackle John Jenkins, who contributed 34 tackles and one sack in the 16 games he played, wants to return.
Jenkins, a seven-year veteran who calls South Florida his permanent home, wants to be part of what coach Brian Flores and the Dolphins are building.
Jenkins, who is slated to be an unrestricted free agent, said his goal is “to build, and start a foundation with these guys.”
He’s referring to the Dolphins, who signed the 30-year-old the week before the regular season began to a one-year deal worth $805,000 last year to serve as a teammate, and mentor to Davon Godchaux and Christian Wilkins, the two young defensive tackles he platooned with all season.
“Everybody needs leadership,” said Jenkins, who started five of his 16 games in 2019. “They bring me in. I already know my role. I knew my role from last season, and I was thankful and blessed to be a part of it.
“I know I’m going to be ready. I been doing this for quite a long time,” said Jenkins, who is one of the seven unrestricted free agents Miami must made a decision on this offseason. “I’m blessed and we’ll see what happens. But I’ll be ready.”
Jenkins, cornerback Aqib Talib, offensive guard Evan Boehm, special teams ace Walt Aikens, offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb, tight end Clive Walford, and receiver Trevor Davis are Miami’s unrestricted free agents.
Those players can re-sign at any time, but will more than likely wait until the free agent negotiating period begins on March 16 to finalize deals.
Safety Adrian Colbert, punter Matt Haack, linebackers Vince Biegel, Deon Lacey and Chase Allen are the Dolphins’ restricted free agents, which means they must offer the original round tenders worth $2.3 million to retain their rights for another season. It is possible Miami could let some of these restricted free agents become unrestricted free agents by not making an offer by the March 18 deadline and then try to re-sign them to lower salaries.
Receiver Isaiah Ford, defensive tackle Zach Sieler, and linebacker Trent Harris are exclusive rights free agents, which means Miami can lock them up for another year by simply offering the NFL minimum salary.
Harris, a former University of Miami standout who contributed 22 tackles, 1.5 sacks and forced one fumble in the 11 games he played last season, doesn’t have a problem with that. Especially since he’s still trying to create a lane for himself as a NFL contributor.
“It’s not what I wanted,” Harris said of his 2019 season, which included three starts. “I’m just going to continue to get better, and see what I can do.”
Harris said his goal is to get “faster, stronger, understand the defense better, and master [Miami’s] techniques.”
Re-signing with the Dolphins doesn’t guarantee anyone is safe considering Miami has roughly $94 million in cap space to spend this offseason, and should have 14 picks in the 2020 NFL draft. But many players are excited about possibly beginning year two of the Dolphins’ rebuild.
“I think it’s exciting to see what new players we bring in, and that we can kind of start fresh and build a camaraderie,” Harris said. “We’re going to go out there to compete in camp and see what happens.”
Dolphins Cancer Challenge on the way: The Dolphins Cancer Challenge kicked off on Friday with the team’s Golf Challenge, which was held at the Miami Turnberry Resorts golf course. The fundraiser, which is in its 10th season has helped raise nearly $33 million for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
For those who want to participate in the bike ride or the 5K run/walk that will take place on Feb. 29 visit dolphinscancerchallenge.com.