Vic Fangio is Noah Igbinoghene’s final Miami Dolphins hope
By Brian Miller
Noah Igbinoghene can almost 100% be written off as a first-round bust but he gets one more shot and Miami Dolphins DC Vic Fangio is his final hope.
Miami Dolphins fans know that the Dolphins should have drafted anyone other than Igbinoghene in the 2020 NFL Draft. Now, four seasons later, it is uncertain if he makes it through this off-season with a job.
Enter Vic Fangio.
Fangio is a genius in the NFL, or pretty close to it. If he can’t make Igbinoghene serviceable, it is doubtful that anyone can.
If there is one area that hasn’t been a knock on the CB it is his work ethic. Igbinoghene puts in the film work, the prep work, and the conditioning but it hasn’t been translated yet. It may never translate or it may translate when he joins another team.
There is no trade value for Igbinoghene and Chris Grier probably couldn’t package him in a deal either. His value to the team is depth and the best play of his NFL career was the game-ending interception against the Steelers last October at Hard Rock Stadium.
This year, Igbinoghene will count just over $35 million in cap space but releasing him will only save the Dolphins $500k.
Could Fangio change the trajectory of his career? We will soon find out but even then, the Dolphins would be risking a lot bringing him back for another season. We know they will not pick up his 5th year option but he could be brought back on a shortterm deal if he proves he is progressing this year. That will depend on what Fangio sees in him and what he reports back to Chris Grier.
On the other hand, Fangio may look at Igbinoghene as a player that will not likely see the field and if he decides to cut bait after training camp, that would be quite telling as well. Hopefully, Fangio can bring out everything that the Dolphins scouts saw in the corner when they made him a reach first-round pick.