Phin Phanatic
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Miami Dolphins secondary: Miami can skip this position in FA

By Brian Miller

Aug 29, 2021; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Trenton Irwin (16) is hit by Miami Dolphins defensive back Nik Needham (40) during the first quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 29, 2021; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Trenton Irwin (16) is hit by Miami Dolphins defensive back Nik Needham (40) during the first quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Miami Dolphins secondary was the bread and butter of Brian Flores but now, will they be as good without him coaching the unit?

Miami didn’t just lose Flores they also lost Gerald Alexander. Alexander was a good coach in the secondary. Replacing them are Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain. Both premier players for the Dolphins but can they make the secondary the best it can be?

There are questions about the secondary. Will Eric Rowe make it to training camp given the fact he saw a considerable drop in snap counts with the emergence of Jevon Holland and the steps made by Brandon Jones? Rowe will cost Miami just north of $5 million and releasing him will allocate another $4.5 million to cap space.

Five players are scheduled to be free agents come the league new year. Justin Coleman, Jason McCourty, Nik Needham, Trill Williams, and Elijah Campbell.

All of those FAs are replaceable or easily re-signed. McCourty is probably the only player that really shouldn’t be back. He and Coleman are the only two that are unrestricted. The rest are restricted FAs who should receive a qualifying tender.

Of those potential FAs, Nik Needham stands out as the biggest contributor to the Dolphins defense. Re-signing him should be a priority and he has earned an extension.  Continued development could eventually lead to very nice payday.

The good news is that Miami’s secondary is a position of strength and more importantly, experience. This is a unit that shouldn’t need but a few minor tweaks in terms of depth provided the Dolphins don’t opt to cut or trade Byron Jones or Xavien Howard.

Howard could be the bigger question and it is unclear for now what the immediate future will hold in terms of his current contract. For now, he is a member of the secondary and a key cog in making the defense work.

As for free agency, the Dolphins have a lot of money tied up in their corners and their secondary is running on rookie deals. It would be very surprising if they hit the top 3 tiers of the market.

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