Greatness needed from Fins’ highest-paid players
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier spent hundreds of millions of owner Stephen Ross’
money on four players widely considered among the league’s best at their best positions.
There was the five-year, $75 million deal for prized free-agent left tackle Terron Armstead
and the five-year, $112 million extension for linebacker Bradley Chubb after Miami acquired him from Denver.
There was April’s restructured deal for Xavien Howard, one that will average $25 million per year from 2024 through 2026 and is worth as much as $90 million overall. And there was the March mega-trade for Pro Bowl receiver Tyreek Hill and the four-year, $120 million extension, with $72 million guaranteed.
That’s $397 million (not all guaranteed) for four players with wonderful résumés. During the past two years, they’ve all been rated among the NFL’s top 100 players in voting by their peers: Hill 15th, Armstead 40th, Howard 56th and Chubb 79th.
And the Dolphins, limping into the playoffs, now need greatness from at least two of them on Sunday in Buffalo. That’s a lot to ask, because Hill is catching passes from a third-string quarterback, Armstead is questionable for the game with four injuries (but said he hopes to play), Chubb is dealing with hand and ankle ailments and also listed as questionable, and Howard is playing against a team that has completed 27 passes against him in their past six meetings.
Hill, who was named a first team All-Pro for the fourth time, had an exceptional first season in Miami, finishing second in the league in receptions (119) and receiving yards (1,710) and setting a franchise single-season record for both.
Both the receptions and yards were the most that Hill has ever had in a season, emphatic proof that his success wasn’t mostly a byproduct of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ greatness. But he’s playing with a seventhround rookie QB and he comes off his quietest consecutive games of the season — four catches for 55 yards in New England, two for 23 against the Jets.
Hill has torched the Bills during the past two postseasons (for Kansas City), catching nine passes or 172 yards and 11 for 150. Those games were AFC Championship and AFC divisional playoff games.
But a win in this matchup against Buffalo “would be mean a lot more to me because I’ve never been an underdog,” Hill said Friday. “In Kansas City, I was blessed to be on a real good team. I’ve got a chip on my shoulder and so do the rest of the guys. I know it’s going to be a lot different than the two last games against the Bills.”
After the last game against Buffalo — when he caught nine passes for 69 yards but dropped two catchable balls — Hill tweeted: “I will never play like that again … bad performance from myself. I’ll be better.”
So while Hill has done more than enough to justify the contract, he needs to leave his fingerprints on this game. And coach Mike McDaniel needs to find ways to get him the ball more, on screens, quick slants and perhaps jet sweeps and reverses.
Chubb is in a difficult spot, with injuries that limit pass rushers. “You really got to get knockback and be able to grab something with the one or two fingers, however many you may have,” outside linebackers coach Ty McKenzie said. “But it’s a difficult task.”
Chubb said that he has been “fizzling” in recent weeks. He has just seven tackles and a sack over his past 200 snaps.
Chubb, limited to 18 snaps against the Jets, had just 13 tackles (one for loss) and 2.5 sacks in eight games with the Dolphins. That’s the least productive stretch of his 57-game, five-year career and certainly not what was expected of a player who had 26 sacks in 49 games in Denver.
As for quarterback pressures, he finished 26th among NFL edge players with 51 — well below teammate Jaelan Phillips’ 70 and NFL leaders Micah Parsons (90) and Nick Bosa (89).
The Dolphins gave him a contract befitting one of the league’s best pass rushers. Presuming he plays, he must do something to make his presence felt Sunday. make his third career start. Teddy Bridgewater, who has been recovering from a dislocated pinkie on his right (throwing) hand, will again back up Thompson. Coincidentally, the last time the Dolphins played in the postseason, they were also without their starting quarterback. A late-season injury to Ryan Tannehill kept him out of a wildcard
Howard, meanwhile, has had his worst season as a Dolphin, allowing a 121.1 passer rating in his coverage area — second worst among players targeted at least 60 times.
The numbers are stunning considering Howard’s past greatness: 54 completions in 80 targets for 826 yards (a 15.3 average), with six touchdowns and one interception. Only Minnesota’s Chandon Sullivan has allowed more reception yards. After picking off 10 passes two years ago, he had five last season and just one this season (in San Francisco).
Howard played well in Buffalo in December, permitting three completions (in five targets) for 26 yards. But in his previous five games against Buffalo, he allowed a 117.5 passer rating in his coverage area, including four TDs and two interceptions.
The Dolphins desperately need a pick — or at least a gamealtering play — from him on Sunday.
As for Armstead, he has been exactly as advertised: a player who is exceptionally good when available (just one sack allowed in 435 pass-blocking snaps) but unable to stay healthy. He ended game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Matt Moore got the start in a 30-12 defeat.
Sunday’s game, like the 2016 meeting, placed the Dolphins as double-digit underdogs in a matchup viewed by many as an insurmountable task.
“I’m more concerned about preparing the team,” McDaniel said when asked about the up missing four games, including the final two of the regular season, after sitting out two, three, nine, six, six, one, two and nine in his previous eight seasons with New Orleans.
Armstead played for two weeks with a pectoral injury — coupled with earlier toe and knee injuries — but the hip injury, affecting the strength in his right leg, has sidelined him two weeks. “My goal is to be out there lined up at left tackle on Sunday,” he said Friday.
Among non-quarterbacks, the average annual contract value for these four Dolphins are second most in football (Hill), 18th most (Chubb), 51st (Howard) and 93rd (Armstead). Cornerback Byron Jones is 74th on the non-QB annual salary list, and he hasn’t played a snap all season after his recovery from March leg surgery stalled in August. The Dolphins, facing overwhelming odds Sunday, need something special from some of those investments.
CHATTER
At this point, the two pitchers the Marlins appear most willing to listen to offers on are Trevor Rogers and Pablo Lopez. There hasn’t been much activity on Jesus Luzardo. Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez are off limits. Edward Cabrera isn’t untouchable, but it would take a lot to pry him away.
ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy said the Heat should have no delusions with this team: “They can’t win a championship with this roster. They’re absolutely tiny.”
The Canes, in desperate need of receiver help, on Saturday hosted Southern Cal transfer Gary Bryant, who had 44 catches for 579 yards and seven touchdowns in 10 games in 2021 before redshirting last season. He’s visiting Texas A&M on Sunday . ... Former UM linebacker Avery Huff transferred to FIU, and ex-UM safety Gilbert Frierson committed to Louisville.
BYU canceled a home-andhome series with UM; the games had been scheduled for 2026 and 2028. The Cougars have been dumping several games as they prepare to move to the Big 12. Auburn, Florida, Notre
Dame, USF and South Carolina remain future nonconference home-and-home series for Miami.
AAAABarry Jackson: 305-376-3491, @flasportsbuzz perception of a lopsided matchup. “That doesn’t make me, personally, blink. This just in — no one expected me personally to do anything that I’ve ever done, really. I think a journey of an NFL player is very similar with the amount of competition there is and how the parity is what it is. I think most guys on NFL teams have been told they couldn’t.
“It’s a really good football team that we’re playing, so we probably agree with people in that regard. Arguably the best in the league, it’s right up there. If we think we’re pretty good as well or have a higher opinion than everybody else, that’s not everybody else’s fault. I don’t know. I’m not surprised nor does it affect me that much at all. It’s more about playing the football game to the best of our ability and being happy with our investment. If you’re happy with your investment, you can live with the outcome, regardless of what it is.”
Daniel Oyefusi: DanielOyefusi