Miami Dolphins dodged a bullet by passing on Dion Sims
By Tyler Olson
Gone are the days of the Miami Dolphins throwing large amounts of money to unproven players. Just ask Dion Sims.
After spending his first four seasons in Miami, Sims cashed in a big check at the start of free agency. A check Mike Tannenbaum and the rest of the Dolphins front office wasn’t going to write.
So how much will the former Michigan State Spartan be making in Chicago?
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Sims signed a three-year, $18 million dollar contract with the Bears with $10 million guaranteed. To put that into perspective, Sims only made just over $2.6 million in four years with Miami. His guaranteed money went from $467,552 all the way to $10 million.
In four years he caught just 74 passes for 699 yards and eight touchdowns. Those aren’t horrible numbers, sure, but they’re far from what we expect from the tight end position today. As of today he’ll be the 17th highest paid tight end in the league.
It’s important to note that Tannenbaum and head coach Adam Gase were very interested in keeping Sims in Miami. While his numbers aren’t top of the league he’s a high-character guy with a good work ethic. Unfortunately the numbers in the box score didn’t match up with what Tannenbaum and company were willing to fork out.
Sims will be replaced by the new receiving duo of Julius Thomas and Anthony Fasano in 2017. In retrospect, Thomas was coming via trade from Jacksonville no matter what happened with Sims in free agency. Fasano, in town for his 2nd stint with the Dolphins, will replace Sims with just $3 million going towards the cap in 2017.
We can’t fault a professional athlete for getting paid. We’d all do the same thing and anyone that’s following free agency knows that people have big bucks to spend on players looking to get paid. Get the money when it’s hot. As a Dolphins supporter we can all wish Sims luck as he begins preparing for life with Mike Glennon.