Having over $22 million in cap space this offseason, the Miami Dolphins are sitting pretty when compared to other teams and their salary cap situations. Plus, with this offseason producing any number of uncertainties regarding player availability, they may have their pick of some of the best free agents on the market.
The Dolphins got into this situation by being smart with their finances, not signing any veterans to big-money deals late in their playing days (LB Kyle Van Noy may be the lone player that fits this category, but his play was justifying his deal), and being strict with their draft classes–focusing in on focal position groups to help pair rookie deals with larger money contracts.
Led by sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and a stout defensive unit, this Miami team is looking to bring itself back into contention in the AFC, even if settling for a Wild Card spot is all they can earn for the next few seasons. But if this offseason is going to be a big-time determining factor in how the league looks next year and beyond, and the Dolphins have a few key areas that they need to address.
On offense, they need to find a second option alongside wide receiver DeVante Parker that can help bridge the gap between Parker and Preston Williams, a proven center with Ted Karras entering the open market, and a starting-caliber running back, seeing as how the likes of both Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed are not quite there yet.
For the defense, the Dolphins could use another defensive tackle to pair with Raekwon Davis, another outside linebacker to replace Van Noy and help out Andrew Van Ginkel, and an inside ‘backer or two to help out Jerome Baker.
Even with more money at their disposal than most teams, spending it all does not necessarily mean that Miami will become a postseason-ready team. Seeing as how the salary cap can easily fluctuate year over year, here are two players that the Dolphins should stay far away from this offseason in free agency.
AJ Green
Staying away from an aging wide receiver, like AJ Green, Larry Fitzgerald, T.Y. Hilton, Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, and DeSean Jackson, should be one of the top goals for the Dolphins this offseason. And while any one of these players listed should be on the team’s no-addition list, focusing on Green makes the most sense.
The writing is on the wall for Green to be leaving the Cincinnati Bengals after having played there for his entire career. His declining health and production, coupled with the emergence of both Tyler Body and Tee Higgins, has made Green’s role in the orange and black more of a bystander one than one of an active participant.
Teams will need to take a good, hard look at why signing Green makes/does not make sense this offseason, especially with a lot of the question marks that will come with him.
Green has only suited up for a full 16-game season five times across his 10-year career, and while he has posted at least 47 receptions in all but one season (2019, when he missed its entirety), his 47 catches on 104 targets made for his lowest career catch percentage. Some of that certainly can be tacked up to Joe Burrow’s NFL acclimation combined with the dreadful Brandon Allen-Ryan Finely duo of injury replacements to finish out the season, but Green still was not being focused in the offense as much as he previously had been–which spells bad news for his pockets this offseason.
The Dolphins need a proven playmaker that can stay healthy and become a featured member of the offense alongside Parker, Williams and TE Mike Gesicki–and Green is not that option. A slot guy (someone like a Curtis Samuel) or a speed guy (like a Will Fuller V) is the void-filler that the Miami should be after this offseason, not some veteran plodder who has lost a step and is needing to sell himself to teams this offseason that his health is less of an issue than people think.
Bringing AJ Green in would be a step back for the Dolphins offense moving into 2021, as his target share requirements would dig into the offensive plan already set up for the other weapons. Green’s health is never going to be what it was earlier in his career, so paying too much money for a player that used to be what you want him to be now gets teams in cap hell.
Jadeveon Clowney
Schematic fit be damned, Jadeveon Clowney should not be suiting up in teal and white for this next season, plain and simple.
Not since 2018 has Clowney shown his disruptive pass-rush capabilities that made him a first-round draft pick by the Houston Texans back in 2014. Injuries have begun to catch up to the South Carolina Gamecock, to the point where getting 13 games out of him should be considered a great season.
In his lone season with the Tennessee Titans last year, Clowney only suited up for eight games and missed one, a result of him not signing until September 8th. Zero sacks and only 19 total tackles to show for and Clowney’s disappointing time with the Titans came to a close.
Very much like the situation involving Green, paying players for what they have been in the past puts teams in trouble, something that the Dolphins have worked extremely hard not to do to themselves. Having experienced this much success in that area up to this point, bringing Clowney in on even a one-year, incentive-laden deal would be a mistake.
With defensive coordinator Josh Boyer running a multiple-front scheme that involves Bill Belichick favorites (like double A-gap pressure), asking Clowney to fulfill edge rusher responsibilities on top of outside linebacker coverage roles may be a bit much, especially with the team assumingly wanting to limit his non-pass rush work.
Plus, his assumed salary expectations is going to be a large chunk of money dedicated to one injured player, something that the Dolphins would be much better off pushing towards other free-agent options or to helping extend key players.
Making a splash just to say you have a big name on your team gets you nowhere in the NFL, and the Dolphins have done well to avoid making a move just of keeping up with their league counterparts. While Green and Clowney both would certainly help shore up weak areas for the Dolphins, they would be the wrong fits–expensive, on the wrong side of 30, and coming aboard with heavy injury histories that should scare away most teams.
If Miami wants to remain on their rebuild plan and continue to climb towards playoff contention in the AFC, staying away from these two players would do a lot for their postseason chances this season.
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