The Miami Dolphins could lose Robert Hunt as early as Monday if he agrees to join another team. How will his loss impact the Dolphins' progression?
Last year the Dolphins made a pretty good jump under offensive line coach, Butch Barry. Barry made Austin Jackson look good but he also had Robert Hunt playing next to him. This year, that may not be the case.
Miami's offensive line has been a problem for nearly a decade no matter what GM Chris Grier wants you to believe. He overspent on Terron Armstead and lost Connor Williams last year. The Dolphins have relied on Isaiah Wynn, Kendall Lamm, Robert Jones, and Liam Eichenberg to carry the workload.
Armstead simply can't stay healthy week-to-week but when he is, he plays at an elite level. Williams is out until mid-season with a torn ACL, and both Wynn and Lamm are impending free agents. That leaves Liam Eichenberg, Armstead, and Jackson.
Losing Hunt seems inevitable at this point but the question is can Miami replace him?
The Dolphins could and should look to the draft regardless of what they do in free agency. Miami needs a quality top prospect that can start day one but the problem facing Gier is he also needs guard help at left guard and a starting center.
I have been banging my fists on this since mid-season last year. The Dolphins are going to run with Liam Eichenberg at either center or guard and no matter how much fans want that changed, it is Grier's 'MO'.
With the money problems the Dolphins believe they don't have, they will still not be very active when free agency opens. They can't afford to pay higher-salaried guys when there are so many holes on the roster. Because of that, I would expect Miami to play the cheap one-two-year deals for linemen and allocate their money elsewhere.
Miami will survive without Hunt but they won't be as consistent on that side of the line because Chris Grier believes he can go with the flow.