Miami Dolphins offensive line is truly becoming offensive

The Miami Dolphins are holding joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of their Thursday night pre-season game and the offensive line, is well, offensive.

Heading into the 2019 season many expected that the Miami Dolphins offensive line would not be very good and they are not disappointing. They could be and for now, seem to be the worst unit of the entire team.

Typically there isn’t much stock put into what Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel says about the Dolphins roster but if there is an area that he does pay attention to religiously, it is the offensive line. He isn’t overly impressed, to say the least.

From those in attendance at the Dolphins/Buccaneers practices, the offensive line has been horrendous. A not-so-in-the-know Buccaneer fan raved on social media earlier today about how good the Buc’s defensive line has looked. He pointed out that their D-Line could be a weakness on the team. If that is true, then the Dolphins offensive line is even worse than expected.

It shouldn’t be a big surprise.

The only solid starter on the line is left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Daniel Kilgore is far from a Pro-Bowl center so calling line assignments hasn’t gone easily. That being said, he is a veteran the struggles really are at both guard and right tackle.

Michael Dieter has been lining up at left guard while the right side has been a fluctuating mess of Jordan Mills, Chris Reed, Jesse Davis, and whomever else Dave DeGuglielmo has thrown in there. It is a fluid situation that has the Dolphins looking at trading for Washington’s Trent Williams. Williams would be costly and may not solve the problems.

For years the Dolphins have let the offensive line slide in talent. It is now biting them hard. Miami wants to win games this year but the offensive line could make that quest close to impossible as it relates to competing with the better teams.

The ones that will be suffering the most, however, are the running back and the quarterbacks. Miami needs to evaluate both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen but without an adequate line, that may not be an easy task. The same can be said about Kenyan Drake and Kalen Ballage.

There is no easy fix for the Dolphins who today tried Isaiah Prince at right tackle. There are no upgrades on the free-agent veteran market and trades at this point will cost the team draft capital next season.

If Miami truly wants to make a trade or two or three, they may have to look at parting ways with a receiver or two. Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker are two receivers that Miami could part with and potentially get a lineman in return. Both receivers are relatively replaceable with the youth currently on the roster.

It is going to be a long season if the Dolphins can’t fix this issue and find the right personnel that works the best together.