Five Miami Dolphins players who deserve extensions before they hit free agency

The biggest name hitting free agency and the biggest thorn Chris Grier has to deal with is, yep, Christian Wilkins.

Wilkins wanted a massive contract this past off-season. The Miami Dolphins had a number in their minds and told Wilkins no. At the heart of the issue was a feeling the Dolphins wanted to see more sacks from Wilkins.

Wilkins' tackles may be down this year but his sacks are pacing toward a career high. So will that be enough to get Wilkins, the best interior defensive lineman on the roster, a new contract?

It isn't going to be simple for the Dolphins and it won't be simple for Wilkins. Both sides of this party will need to be willing to move off their demands. The problem for Miami is that Wilkins knows he will get far more from another team than he will be offered from the Dolphins.

This is going to come down to how much Wilkins wants to stay in Miami with the Dolphins as opposed to being given a couple or a few million more in contract language. Will he take a deal that could potentially pay out more over the length of the contract or will he want more upfront money?

This could come down to language. If Wilkins feels he is getting that "record-breaking" deal but the language is such that the deal is backloaded, it might get done but regardless, this is a player the Dolphins should want to retain but may not be able to. Especially if Miami wants to retain the other players on this list.