The Miami Dolphins may very well be aggressive in free agency this year
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins will enter the 2023 free agency and draft season with little money to spend and more than enough needs. But we can’t say they won’t be active.
Last season, the Dolphins went all-in. They paid big to Terron Armstead. Traded and paid big for Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb. They retained almost their entire defense and even asked new head coach Mike McDaniel to keep Josh Boyer.
All to maintain continuity, improve the roster, and give Tua Tagovailoa more weapons in an effort to win. In 2022, the Dolphins came closer than they have since 2016, the last time they made the playoffs.
In ’16, the Dolphins exited the postseason early and it wasn’t close against the Steelers. This year, they exited early but came within two bad play-clock decisions from upsetting the Buffalo Bills. It was that close. Yes, with a third-string rookie quarterback.
Are the Miami Dolphins close? If you say no, you are not a fan and if you say yes, you are a homer. Reality? Yes, they are close provided they can stay healthy and can fix the problems they have.
So this brings us to the 2023 off-season and whether or not the Dolphins will try and be aggressive or take a back seat and feed off what trickles down.
Why the Miami Dolphins may take a backseat.
There are two reasons the Dolphins sit this off-season out and both are real reasons.
- 1: Salary cap
The cap this year is not good for Miami and while we know that the “cap” isn’t real, technically, it can be prohibitive, and in Miami’s case, it might be prohibitive to a degree.
- 2: Chris Grier
Grier may be convinced that the roster, the way it is, is set up for winning. Offensively, he needs an RB but bringing back Mostert and Wilson could be his solution. Grier may also look at Vic Fangio as the fix-all for the defense and thus opt to not spend money on that side of the ball.
For all intent and purposes, the Dolphins should be considered a team that will make minor adjustments and maybe add a two-tier free agent but there is a reason why that may not be the case and it is a big one.
The one reason the Miami Dolphins may not take a backseat.
- Stephen Ross
Ross wants to win. He almost needs to win to establish his NFL legacy. Ross isn’t worried about money and he could not care less about salary cap structure. What he does care about is getting into the postseason and winning games when he gets there.
Ross won’t get involved in the day to day operations but he could say to Grier, “make it happen” should Grier want a specific player that could be costly. Ross could also tell Grier he wants Miami to be aggressive towards a player.
The point is, the Dolphins approach to free agency very well may not be a “build for the future” mentality and could be a “win-now” approach because they are close and Ross has gone all-in with money, committment, and frankly, he needs a victory.
Losing draft picks and money to the NFL for tampering didn’t sit well with him and drove an irrepairable wedge between Ross and Bruce Beal. It was in the hopes of winning and if Ross will go that far, he isn’t going to simply let an off-season go by without making big moves, if he can, that might get the Dolphins to the Super Bowl.