Dolphins owner back at same crossroad
That was easy. It also fixes nothing. Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross made the “final decision” an hour before the NFL trade deadline not to acquire scandalized Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
But it wasn’t the final decision. Not really. It merely kicked the can down the road in a manner that confirmed Ross has a lot bigger decisions in a franchise that again resembles an environmental waste site.
The primary problem is simple to find, too: It’s Ross himself. It’s not a problem that deciding against a trade for Watson or shuffling some top officials this coming offseason will fix.
If the Dolphins are ever to become a better team, Ross has to become a better owner. Period.
Tuesday confirmed that yet again. To summarize Ross’ decision: He did nothing and said everything about the state of his team.
He decided not to trade right now for Watson, the Houston quarterback in the midst of a legal and criminal scandals for sexual assault — but left the door open for later.
He confirmed the lack of belief in one-time savior Tua Tagovailoa.
He also confirmed, by extension, the failure of General Manager Chris Grier — and, by connecting the dots, Coach Brian Flores.
So we’re moving back to square one, back to the Groundhog Day’s default position of the Dolphins. Who stays? Who goes? And who can Ross tap as savior this time to lift this franchise out of their deadend dreariness?
Compared to these coming issues, putting the kibosh on the Watson trade was a no-brainer even for a franchise that often seems anatomically challenged that way. You can’t trade for a player with 22 sexual assault allegations and 10 criminal complaints against him. You certainly can’t give up three first-round picks and other assets for him.
Even if you don’t believe that on some moral level (as I do), it’d be felonious franchise malpractice to make the trade considering all the unknowns that might still happen with him.
Ross’ decision was announced about an hour before the trade deadline, according to ESPN, after “contingencies that needed to be met for any deal” evidently weren’t met. Those no doubt involved the resolution of the sexual assault allegations.
Some are making a big deal that Ross stepped in here. It would have been news only if he hadn’t. Any trade of this magnitude involves the team owner. Throw in the legal and ethical questions about the player and the statement on Grier’s decisions and Ross had no choice but to be the point man on this.
There’s an added question after Tony Buzbee, the Houston lawyer for the 22 women, disputed a long-reported idea that the women wanted non-disclosure agreements and Watson wanted transparency. Buzbee said Tuesday he didn’t know if it came from “Watson or if it came from the Dolphins,” but, “there was an insistence of a very, very robust non-disclosure agreement and we pushed back on that very hard. For some of the women that was the dealbreaker.”
Lawyers can say anything. What’s the truth? Sit back and wait.
Here was Tuesday’s only news: The Dolphins confirmed for the first time what’s been common knowledge for months. They’re interested in Watson. That mere fact underlines what they think of Tagovailoa, the quarterback who has been dropped like a bad idea by the very people who married their careers to him.
Grier had one primary job above all others in this rebuild. He had to get the quarterback right. That was the whole purpose of tearing this roster down to the ground. By going so desperately deep for Watson, Grier admits he got the quarterback as wrong as most every other draft pick he’s made.
Are any of the five, first-round draft picks the past two years — Tua, Austin Jackson, Noah Igbinoghene, Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips — exciting anyone at this point?
To be fair, there’s such a pollution fog around this season it’s hard to see where the bad drafting ends and the bad coaching begins. The Dolphins entered the season as the only team with two offensive coordinators, neither of whom were the first-year NFL assistant calling plays, and a first-time offensive line coach in charge of all those expensive draft picks.
They now rank at or near the bottom in every offensive category. A year ago with a similar cast under offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, they scored the most points by a Dolphins offense since 1985. Enough said?
And so after eight games in the third rebuilding year of the 13th season of Ross’ stewardship, the Dolphins are back where they started. No, that’s not true. They’re worse off than ever. Rather than having some young talent to trade for draft picks, they have one player of star quality on the entire roster in cornerback Xavien Howard.
The problems are pervasive and start with Ross’ decisions of listening to the wrong people and putting the wrong guy in charge every time he’s at the crossroad he is at again. In that regard, the Dolphins are the most consistent team in sports.
Can the cycle be broken this time?
Is there any hope it will be? The Dolphins didn’t acquire Watson on Tuesday, but didn’t say they won’t chase him in the offseason. No one can officially acquire him until March 16, 2022. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson might be available by then. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, too.
But before getting excited about the Dolphins chasing any of them, answer this: Who will be running the Dolphins then? And why would any of those star quarterbacks want to step into the next rebuilding job?
Ross means well. He wants to win. He’s also assumed the late H. Wayne Huizenga’s team and reputation — a brilliant businessman who can’t get a Dolphins decision right. For this team to be better, Ross simply has to become better.