As the 2025 NFL new year began, Miami Dolphins fans were awaiting the first offensive line ball to drop, indicating general manager Chris Grier was serious about fixing that unit.
James Daniels was added on day one, and it was heralded as a good first step but not an end-all to their problems. Daniels is coming off an Achilles injury, but when healthy, he is a solution at one of the guard positions.
Miami then added Larry Borom, a "who's that" kind of free agent from Chicago. The Bears had gutted and rebuilt their line so seeing Borom leave was a flag, initially. Borom will provide depth, and everyone will breathe a little easier. The Dolphins were still working to get the line better.
Then Liam Eichenberg happened, and it all went out the window.
Borom carries a $2.5 million cap hit and most feel this is a good salary for a guy that can play a couple of different positions and provide depth on the line. A potential cheap challenger to replace Eichenberg, but Eichenberg was signed a few days later to a contract that is actually less.
His cap hit is just $1.3 million with a total value of just over $2 million according to OvertheCap.com.
For most fans, bringing back Eichenberg is a huge mistake and the initial reactions, myself included, were quick to judge this as a mistake but he has more experience, can play every position on the line, and is a better prospect than Borom.
Yet he is considered a mistake because we watched him play average football for four seasons. We didn't watch Borom every weekend.
Miami Dolphins are not paying Liam Eichenberg like a starter
The salary is low, and while most of it is guaranteed, there is no financial burden on the team to start him. That does not mean he won't start.
We are talking about Grier's thought process, and he could very well view both Eichenberg and Borom as competition to start at one of the guard positions. It would not be surprising to see Grier taking a cheap route with his fingers crossed that one of them can start.
That being said, neither Borom nor Eichenberg are being paid much more than a backup offensive lineman. The hope should be Miami lets the draft process play out and if it doesn't work in their favor, a revisit to the free agency market where other linemen like Brandon Scherff or Kevin Zeitler could be brought in.