Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
D-line additions continue
The Miami Dolphins may not have one defensive tackle that can replace Christian Wilkins in 2024.
But they will have a number of defensive linemen that compete for playing time and rotate up front around returning talent Zach Sieler.
The latest in a slew of defensive lineman the Dolphins are adding in the first week of free agency is Jonathan Harris, according to a league source Friday morning after an NFL Network report late Thursday night.
Harris, who turns 28 in August, is 6-foot-5, 295 pounds and coming off a career-high 43 tackles in 2023 with the Denver Broncos as he played 17 games and made five starts, also career highs, while picking up his first sack. He is versatile on the line, lining up at various spots for Denver last season.
A restricted free agent this offseason, since Harris wasn’t tendered by the Broncos, he was free to sign wherever he wished.
Harris started his NFL career with the Chicago Bears in 2019. Later waived, Denver picked up him later in that season. He missed 2020 on the non-football injury list, spent much of 2021 on the team’s practice squad and started to carve out his role with the Broncos in the second half of the 2022 season.
Harris, who is former teammates with Dolphins outside linebacker Bradley Chubb in Denver, is brought on board in Miami after it agreed to terms with former Cowboy Neville Gallimore on Wednesday and, earlier Thursday, re-signed fellow defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand and brought back nose tackle Benito Jones, a former Dolphins practice squad member who made a name for himself during a stint with the Detroit Lions.
Jones, at 330 pounds, may more so be a replacement for the departing Raekwon Davis, who heads to the Indianapolis Colts. Wilkins, as free agent negotiations opened Monday, bolted to the Las Vegas Raiders after five seasons with the Dolphins.
It’s conceivable Miami may have the defensive linemen it needs around Sieler for new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, a former defensive line coach who played the position himself. The team could also still allocate finances to another defensive tackle later in free agency, especially with $18.5 million freed up in the summer for the post-June 1 release of cornerback Xavien Howard.
The Dolphins also have Brandon Pili, who made the active roster as an undrafted rookie in 2023, and pre-free agency signings at defensive tackle in Isaiah Mack and Daviyon Nixon who can compete for roster spots.