Dolphins look to keep TE Sims
Team reaches out to agent of pending free agent Branch.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Dolphins are days away from f i n a l i z i n g a n a g r e e ment with Jacksonville that will land them tight end Julius Thomas, but coach Adam Gase sees a significant role for Dion Sims as well.
Tight end was a problematic position for Miami last season, and Sims led the group with 26 catches, 256 yards and four touchdowns. The Dolphins expected solid production from Jordan Cameron, who was a Pro Bowl pick in 2013, but his season ended in Week 3 because of a concussion.
“There were some things that I wanted to really try to do with Jordan at the beginning of the season,” Gase said. “I couldn’t really click with him. I was trying to figure out what was best. I don’t know how many times I went back and watched Cleveland tape the year he had 80 catches to see what was I doing wrong, what did I have to try to do. We tried to emphasize that a little more as we got going.”
Gase can’t comment on T h o ma s u n t i l t h e t r a d e becomes official, even in reference to coaching him with the Broncos. He was the quarterbacks coach in Thomas’ first two seasons, then offensive coordinator in 2013 and ’14, both Pro Bowl years for Thomas.
Even if Miami hadn’t added Thomas, Gase claimed he felt good about the tight end position, assuming the Dolphins would be able to re-sign Sims.
“We liked where our guys were at,” he said when asked if pass-catching tight end was a glaring hole on last year’s roster. “And when we lost (Cameron), I think Dion did exactly what we needed him to do. I think we held him back a little bit and didn’t let him do some of the things that he probably could have done more of. I’ve got an idea of what we want to do.”
Sims has been with the Dolphins since they took him in the fourth round in 2013. Last year was his career-high for catches and touchdowns. He was 28 yards short of his best mark in that category.
His career earnings are $3.6 million, with nearly half of that coming last season. Spotrac calculated Sims’ market value in this year’s free agency at $24.5 million over five years. That would give him the 18th-highest salary among current tight ends.
D o l p h i n s t a l k i n g t o Branch’s agent: Defensive end Andre Branch seems to be hitting his prime, and the Dolphins want in on that.
Branch had the best season of his career last year, teaming up with Cameron Wake, and had great tim- ing for that breakout given that he’s about to become an unrestricted free agent. Branch, 27, started a careerhigh 11 games and was second on the team with 5.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus rated him the 70th-best defensive end in the league. Beyond his on-field contributions, Branch was a key figure in the locker room.
“We ’ v e b e e n i n c o mmunication with his agent ( Jimmy Sexton) and we’ve been talking back and forth,” Miami general manager Chris Grier said. “He just wanted to see where the market is, the agent does, so we’re just dealing with it right now. We want Andre back. He did a nice job for us.”
Grier didn’t answer either way, but it seems to be a near-certainty that the team won’t have a deal in place with Branch before the free -agency signing period opens Thursday.
Branch is going into his sixth season and has yet to land a big contract, so it’d be logical to get every dollar he can this year. Spotrac estimates his career earnings at $7.8 million, including a peak income of $2.8 million for Miami last season. Money is usually the deciding factor, but Branch said in January he hopes to stay with Miami.
“It’s probably the most fun season I’ve had in the NFL,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of brothers now that I didn’t have last year. The brotherhood and camaraderie we had — there’s something there that you don’t run across too much. It felt like family. That’s what Gase has brought here.”