Exploring Dolphins’ potential upgrades on offense
So where can a Dolphins team with limited cap space and needs on defense turn for upgrades on offense? Here’s where:
BACKUP QUARTERBACK
Miami must find one who’s less injury prone than Teddy Bridgewater, who had two concussions in 2021 and knee and pinkie injuries that sidelined him for a combined seven games in 2022.
The realistic backup QB options who are impending unrestricted free agents:
Jimmy Garoppolo. Some team likely will be willing to hand him the starting job — something the Dolphins will not do. Also worrisome: He has missed time with injuries in four of the past five seasons. Miami would be in play only if he cannot find a starting job.
Andy Dalton. Worth considering unless the Saints give him a chance to start again. He had 18 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 95.2 rating in 14 starts this season. He was 6-8 as a starter for the Saints this past season and 83-77-2 as a starter in his career.
Philadelphia’s Gardner Minshew. Though he won only 8 of 24 starts in his career — most of those for a bad Jacksonville team — he has a solid 93.1 passer rating with 44 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. As Philadelphia’s backup the past two seasons, he went 1-3 with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and a 92.8 rating.
The Chargers’ Baker Mayfield. After Mayfield and the Browns parted ways, he didn’t impress in a six-start stint for Caragents,
AAAAolina, throwing six touchdowns and six interceptions with a 74.4 passer rating; the Panthers went 1-5. Later, he went 1-3 as a Rams starter this season (86.4 rating). He is 31-38 in his career.
Washington’s Taylor Heinicke. He finished 5-3-1 with 12 touchdowns, six interceptions and an 89.6 passer rating this past season. He’s 12-12-1 with 34 TDs and 24 INTs in his career.
The Cowboys’ Cooper Rush. He was decent filling in for Dak Prescott
this season: 4-1 with five touchdowns, three interceptions and an 80 passer rating.
The Jets’ Mike White.
For his career, he had eight TDs, 12 interceptions and a 75.4 rating. He might end up no better than Skylar Thompson.
Carolina’s Sam Darnold. The former Jets former first-round bust had nine TDs, 13 picks and a 71.9 rating in 11 starts for Carolina this season. So he cannot really be trusted.
Jacksonville’s C.J. Beathard. Has experience with coach Mike McDaniel in San Francisco, where he went 2-10 as a starter with 18 TDs, 13 picks and an 81.1 rating. He has thrown 13 passes as Jacksonville’s backup the past two years, completing nine.
Minnesota’s Nick Mullens. Like Beathard, he has experience with McDaniel, going 5-11, with 25 TDs, 22 interceptions and an 87.2 rating over three seasons with the 49ers. He completed 21 of 25 passes for 224 yards with Minnesota this season.
Seattle’s Drew Lock: Geno Smith beat him out for the starter’s job this year; Lock went 8-13 as a starter for Denver, with 25 touchdowns, 20 interceptions and a 79.3 rating.
Case Keenum: Buffalo’s backup this season was competent as a
Browns backup in 2021, going 2-0, and has a 91.3 passer rating in his past 10 starts, dating to 2019.
Among the other impending unrestricted free
AAAAAAAAAnone is particularly appealing: Bridgewater and Cleveland’s Jacoby Brissett (been there, done that), Kyle Allen, Mason Rudolph, Joe Flacco, Blaine Gabbert, Chase Daniel, Chad Henne, Brandon Allen, Nate Sudfield, Jeff Driskel, Trace McSorley and Jarrett Stidham. Brett Rypien and Tyler Huntler are restricted free agents.
Going into camp with Thompson as the No. 2 seems foolish. His final numbers, including playoffs: 78 for 150 for 754 yards, two touchdowns, five interceptions and a 56.9 rating. The view here: If Garoppolo goes elsewhere, pursue Minshew or Dalton.
RUNNING BACK
The best options might be re-signing Raheem Mostert (who ran for a career high 891 yards, which was 21st in the league) and Jeff Wilson (who was 24th with 860 combined yards for the 49ers and Dolphins). Mostert and Wilson tied for 11th in the league in per carry average, at 4.9.
The most expensive unrestricted free agent options include the Giants’
Saquan Barkley (1,312 rushing yards, 4.4 average), Detroit’s Jamaal Williams (1,066, 4.1 average and NFL-high 17 touchdowns), Las Vegas’
Josh Jacobs (league-high 1,653 rushing yards, 4.9), Philadelphia’s Miles Sanders (1,269, 4.9) and Dallas’ Tony Pollard (1,007, 5.2/fractured tibia).
The Dolphins attempting to land any of those players with big-money offers would be surprising. The next tier of unrestricted free agents includes Carolina’s D’Onta Foreman (914, 4.5 average), Buffalo’s Devin Singletary (819, 4.6), Chicago’s David Montgomery (801, 4.0) and
Jerick McKinnon (4.0 on 72 carries for Kansas City and 56 for 512 yards and nine TDs as a receiver). Those four would be worth considering if Miami decides to keep only Mostert but not Wilson.
The Dolphins like Mostert and Wilson and figure to tender restricted free agent Salvon Ahmed. But I would by no means rule out a pursuit of an outside option. The Dolphins finished last in the league in rushing attempts.
RECEIVER
This could be as simple as re-signing Trent Sherfield and River Cracraft to low-money deals as backups to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle .A cheap veteran could be added if Cedrick Wilson Jr. is traded, which would create $5 million in cap space. Miami must create opportunities for Erik Ezukanma and the staff likes practice squad receiver Braylon Sanders.
OFFENSIVE LINE
With money tight, the Dolphins could go without any pricey addition, though backup left tackle must be addressed because of Terron Armstead’s durability issues.
GM Chris Grier has said that Liam Eichenberg (left guard) and Austin Jackson (right tackle) again will be given a chance to win starting jobs. One expensive option who could be tempting is 49ers free agent right tackle Mike McGlinchey; McDaniel’s time in San Francisco intersected with McGlinchey’s. But he earned $10.9 this past season.
This could be as simple as re-signing Kendall Lamm and Brandon Shell as backup tackles, and having them compete with Jackson at right tackle, and then having Rob Jones compete with Eichenberg at left guard. Michael Deiter or a new backup center must be signed.
TIGHT END
Mike Gesicki will assuredly move on, and the Dolphins are left with this question: Do they want to spend $6 million or more a year on a legitimate starter to get more snaps than Durham Smythe ,ordo they commit to Smythe,
Hunter Long and Tanner Conner and merely add a cheap veteran who wouldn’t necessarily start?
Dallas’ Dalton Schultz
(57 catches, 577 yards) and Jacksonville’s Evan Engram (73-766) and potentially Gesicki are the three tight ends best positioned for sizable deals.
Keep an eye on Las Vegas’ Foster Moreau,
who had 33 catches for
420 yards in 14 starts last season. Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith
coached him in Las Vegas.
Also keep an eye on Baltimore’s Josh Oliver,
PFF’s second-best runblocking tight end this season. He caught 14 for 149 and two touchdowns.
Other options: Tennessee’s Austin Hooper,
Green Bay’s Robert Tonyan Jr., the Bengals’ Hayden Hurst, Minnesota’s Irv Smith and Houston’s
Jordan Akins OJ Howard.
CHATTER
and
UM has told recruits that it expects to have an offensive coordinator within a week or so. A source said UM became comfortable paying dismissed Josh Gattis’ large buyout (well over $1 million) after he couldn’t find another job. Among names available: former Oregon co-offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and exNebraska coach Scott Frost.
The Marlins stopped pursuing Astros free agent first baseman Yuli Gurriel
after a week passed without him accepting or declining their offer topping $2 million.
AABarry Jackson: 305-376-3491, @flasportsbuzz
get some by restructuring a few contracts with bloated cap hits. According to Over the Cap, the Dolphins can reduce Hill’s $30 million cap hit and free almost $19 million by converting a large portion of his $16 million base salary and additional bonuses into a signing bonus that’s spread out over the remainder of his contract. It seems like a no-brainer solution for a player the Dolphins hope to keep around for the foreseeable future.
2. Is Wilson on the team in 2023?
Though his first season in Miami did not go as he envisioned, Wilson never made any public complaints about his role and said he never considered asking for a trade. But given the emergence of Sherfield — and to a smaller extent, Cracraft — the potential of Ezukanma and the Dolphins’ tight cap situation, offloading Wilson’s contract can’t be discounted.
The problem for the Dolphins is that $5 million of Wilson’s $7 million base salary is guaranteed, which makes a trade the more likely route than simply cutting him. If Miami cuts Wilson, the team will save $2 million at most with a dead money charge of $6 million. If Wilson is traded before June 1, the Dolphins would save $6 million.
That figure increases to $7 million with a post-June 1 designation.
3. Does Ezukanma find a role after a quiet rookie season?
In the offseason, Welker warned about the transition that college wide receivers face in the NFL. The hope for the Dolphins is that after essentially a redshirt year, Ezukanma returns with a better knowledge of the playbook and is able to play multiple positions. Welker said that Ezukanma was Hill’s primary backup in 2022, but is it possible he works into a slot role in 2023?
POTENTIAL ADDITIONS
The Dolphins’ wide receiver room was one of the team’s strongest in 2022 and Sherfield especially was a bargain with a league-minimum base salary. It makes the most sense for Miami to bring back Sherfield and Cracraft, who have a strong knowledge of the playbook, with a bump in pay.
DOLPHINS POSITION REVIEWS
RB: Will Miami be in search of another upgrade at running back?
QB: Will Miami invest significant resources into Tagovailoa’s backup?
Daniel Oyefusi: DanielOyefusi