Free agents Brooks, Neal discuss joining their new team, expectations
Jordyn Brooks doesn’t know the specifics of his exact role within a Dolphins defense that is still being shaped by new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
However, he has an easily transferable skill set that Miami could use in 2024.
“I think I’m one of the fastest guys in the NFL. Not linebacker but players, period,” Brooks said Thursday during an introductory news conference. “And I think my explosiveness is just my God-given ability that I feel is probably my best attribute.”
The first few days of free agency for the Dolphins have been marked by several notable departures and small forays into the market. The addition of Brooks, though, on a three-year deal with a base value of $26.25 million is the team’s largest signing to date this offseason.
Brooks said there were multiple teams in the running to sign him, but he ultimately picked the Dolphins because “it was the best situation as far as being on a winning team, a team that I thought was trending upwards and a team that I thought could use my services playing middle linebacker.”
He also credited Weaver’s presence and the success he had with the Baltimore Ravens.
“They had a lot of success last year in the things that they were doing,” Brooks said. “So obviously another reason why I came, knowing his track record and then him having an opportunity to be the defensive coordinator, I think it’s just why not, honestly.”
Brooks played in a part-time role as a rookie after being selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2020 Draft. But in the past three seasons, he has started all but two games and been one of the most productive off-ball linebackers in the NFL. He has three straight seasons of 100 or more tackles, including a career-high 184 tackles in 2021, and his 4.5 sacks this past season were also careerhigh.
This high level of durability also included overcoming an ACL tear on New Year’s Day in 2023 and returning for the season opener just eight months later.
Given Brooks’ résumé and size of his contract, he’s viewed as the most likely replacement for longtime starter Jerome Baker, who was released last week after six seasons in Miami.
And his view of the Dolphins as an ascending team also matches the way he views his career trajectory.
“I can be impactful for this team and [I’m] also still growing upwards,” he said. “Really only been in the league for three years. Been in the league four years but really just been a starter for three years, so I just feel like I’m still going upwards.”
He added: “I want to win a Super Bowl and I want to help this team do that. Everything personally, I have my individual goals but those things are secondary and they will come as team success comes.”
NEAL ON JOINING RIVAL TEAM
For Siran Neal, there was already a bit of familiarity when he visited the Dolphins earlier this week.
For the past six seasons, he has worked as a key special teams cog on a Buffalo Bills team that has dominated Miami and the AFC East.
There was also a sense of comfort for Neal, knowing the Dolphins’ special teams are led by Danny Crossman, who coached him for one season while leading Buffalo’s
special teams unit in 2018.
“Danny’s a really passionate coach,” Neal said. “He really loves the game and he really loves being that coach and he loves his players as well.”
The two kept in contact as Crossman departed Buffalo for Miami and especially when the Bills released Neal last week. With Neal under contract, the two are reunited again and the Dolphins have a key special teams contributor who could help lift a unit that has struggled in recent seasons.
Neal’s 53 special teams tackles are the 12th most in the NFL since 2018 and he leads the NFL with three special teams forced fumbles in that same time frame.
Neal noted that “special teams, they can either win a game or lose a game,” a reality the Dolphins
know all too well. In the 2023 regular-season finale against the Bills, Miami allowed a punt return touchdown that shifted the momentum in an eventual defeat that cost the team the division title.
With Neal on the board, it could be the Dolphins’ gain and a blow to a rival the team is still trying to hurdle.
“I’m up for the challenge,” he said. “With Buffalo, they’re a really good team. Got a good staff. Great players, great coaching. So when that time comes in the season, I’m pretty sure me and the guys, we’ll be prepared. It’s going to be a tough game and all but it’s going to be a really, really good game and I’m looking forward to it.”
Daniel Oyefusi: DanielOyefusi