Miami Dolphins plan to spend big in free agency but maybe they shouldn’t
By Brian Miller
Miami Dolphins general manager, Chris Grier, said in 2019 that they would be active in the 2020 free agency period but how active is active?
Over the course of the last two decades, Miami Dolphins fans remember how general managers walked into free agency with a strut and not a care in the world. Stephen Ross opened his checkbook and out flowed the money.
2020 is going to see the Dolphins as one of, if not the top team with cap space and we do know that Ross will allow the executives to spend as they feel necessary. The problem is spending in free agency goes against what the Dolphins said they were trying to do. Build a sustainable winning team in South Florida.
As the Miami Dolphins prepare for the off-season moves that bring talent to the team they need to take a safe approach where spending should be tempered.
Many believe that Miami will make runs at some of the top offensive linemen potentially adding two to the offensive line. Multiple defensive players as well. This speculation isn’t simply adding bodies but instead adding some of the top players on the market.
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This hasn’t worked out in the past for the Dolphins and those big contracts will end three or four years from now and could put the Dolphins in a similar position as the last off-season where they are dumping veteran contracts to increase spending and cap space.
The key to all of this is the draft and how well the coaching staff can develop players. Free agency should be the supplementing part of the rebuild. Add an offensive lineman and defensive player from the top if you want but then focus on players who are not yet reaching their ceiling that is third-level players and develop them.
In 2019, the Dolphins got a lot of production from players that wouldn’t be on other teams practice squads. Now, they have to get more production from better talent while making sure they are not crippling the team long-term for the sake of winning something now. You don’t have to look any further than the Browns to see this doesn’t work.