Durham Smythe faces critical training camp for the Miami Dolphins
By Brian Miller
A lot of speculation on the future of Mike Gesicki with the Miami Dolphins has been made but Durham Smythe also faces uncertainty.
When we discussed the camp battles for the tight end position earlier this month, we didn’t talk about Durham Smythe as being one of those players competing for a roster spot. We took the approach that he was going to make the roster. While the players we discussed in that article, and you can read that here, are definitely looking at needing to play well to make the team, we can’t say for certain that Smythe is locked into a position with Miami in 2021.
Smythe is entering the final year of his contract and will hit the free-agent market next year barring an extension. He has been a good player for Miami and reliable when he has been called upon. He is more suited to blocking than an explosive pass-catcher but he does well when targeted.
In his three seasons thus far, he has 39 receptions on 54 targets for 323 yards and two touchdowns. He has played in all but two games over those three seasons and has started 29 contests. Is that enough to pencil him in on the final 53? Pencil, yes, pen, no.
Smythe will have to compete with Cethan Carter and Adam Shaheen for a role on the team. It will be interesting to see how it plays out because Shaheen is under contract through next year and Carter is on a three-year contract through 2023.
Miami also drafted Hunter Long and he and Mike Gesicki are the two locks, in pen, for the final 53. So where does that leave Smythe? Smythe has more fieldwork than Carter and Shaheen and that will work in his favor but his contract will not. Of the three players mentioned, Shaheen, Smythe, and Carter, Smythe’s contract termination would give Miami more than $2.1 million in cap space compared to $1.5 for Carter and $93K for Shaheen.
Smythe’s contract if terminated would also leave the Dolphins with only $158K in dead space compared to Shaheen’s $2.6 million and Carter’s $1.2 million. Of course, the Dolphins could surprise everyone and keep five tight ends or they could shock everyone and trade Mike Gesicki.
Either way, Smythe could be on the outside of the roster when camp begins to wind down and NFL mandatory cuts are starting to get made.