Ranking the top 5 Dolphins off-season moves
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins had a relatively quiet yet productive off-season. So far. Whether it’s enough to propel the team into the playoffs again in 2017 won’t be known for a long while.
Miami entered the off-season needing quite a bit. Holes on both sides of the ball set the Dolphins up for a tricky late April when the draft arrives. Navigating free agency with this “new Miami” mentality wasn’t going to be easy.
Unlike last season there was no pre-free agency trade to bring in two starters to the team. Unlike previous seasons there was not going to be A-list free agents being overpaid by the Dolphins brass. No, Adam Gase and company made the committment to set a plan and keep it in place.
Judging by what Miami did so far this off-season it appears that they were able to stick to their plan of not overhauling the team but showing that internal belief in building with its own players rather paying someone elses. How that plays out come next December might set the stage to whether or not they continue that in the 2018 season.
Some contend that a few of the moves were not the smartest moves that the Dolphins could have made. For example guaranteeing Koa Misi $1.7 million without him being cleared to play rubbed some (me) the wrong way. The failure to add a top starting guard to replace Laremy Tunsil on the left side was also questioned repeatedly.
Many fans and especially those in the media use contract amounts vs. production to determine if a player’s signing presents value for the team. Others will look at the guaranteed portions of a contract and how it’s spread over the life of the contract.
I’m not a numbers guy and while I don’t believe the Misi contract was smart, it’s not my money they are spending. Instead, I look at the value of the player vs. the need of the team and here are my top five off-season moves.