The Miami Dolphins don’t need to make a splash, they need to be smart1
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins have enough cap space that they could essentially sign every top tier free agent they wanted but they should not even try.
As time slowly ticks off the days on the calendar to March 18th, the Miami Dolphins will remain the hotbed franchise for every rumor regarding free agency. Fans will pound their fists for their favorites and everyone will have an opinion on who should be signed.
Miami doesn’t need to make a big splash, they can do just as well with tiny ripples. They are building for the long-term and no player that they sign in 2020 free agency is going to be around four or five years from now, well they might be and mentioned as upcoming cap casualties.
The draft is different, those are young players you build around and build a team with. Free agency was supposed to be designed to supplement your roster with better players, for Miami, just about everyone is a better player.
There are three types of players that the Dolphins need to look at signing in free agency. Young players coming off their first contracts that have not reached their ceiling. Aging veteran players who are at the end of their careers that will help the youth on the roster grow and understand how to prepare at this level. If not by mentoring then by on and off-field examples. Finally, the Dolphins need to look for players that are second-tier free agents who won’t command a lot of salary and will help the team develop further.
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Miami’s target for the future is not this year but two years from now when their draft picks are starting to show growth. This is when Miami should make their free agent a splash. They will need to keep the cap under control for those years.
This doesn’t mean that the Dolphins shouldn’t spend money. They should. They should extend where they can or is needed and carry over what they don’t use into next season. The Dolphins are in a marathon not a sprint and they need to be cautious within the market. Smart is better than a spree and paying for someone they need is a lot smarter than buying the shiny toy that your not sure what to do with. That was the problem with Jeff Ireland. He made the splash but as a whole, the team had no idea how to use those toys. Chris Grier needs to make sure that does not happen again.