***Official Miami Dolphins Thread pt 2 - We losing everybody***

I agree with you and agree that he deserves to be a first ballot HoFer. Its not like I was the only one who thought he might have to wait. Multiple SFL media members had that same concern when he retired. Lebatard spent some time discussing it when he was named a finalist.

 

Nothing to see here

 

I'd definitely be ok with him in the 3rd. Maybe the second...seems to have been awesome down in Mobile

 

Love njoku and he's going to be a beast in the NFL. But I still think that 1st round pick should be used on defense.

 

Miami Dolphins
1. Cut DE Mario Williams. Let's start with one of the easiest moves any team will make this offseason. Williams was a healthy scratch by the end of the year, and the Dolphins will save $8.5 million with his release. They can add another $8.2 million in savings by releasing defensive tackle Earl Mitchell and linebacker Koa Misi, which would have the Fins approaching $45 million in cap space.

2. Pick up QB Ryan Tannehill's contract for 2017. Although Tannehill didn't have the sort of breakout year people looking at Miami's record might have thought, he's still the best option the Dolphins have under center. Matt Moore might be a more cost-effective choice, but the Dolphins continue to find competence with Tannehill, who will admittedly be overpaid with a $20.3 million cap hit in 2017.




3. Lock up WR Jarvis Landry. One of the more unique players in football, the former LSU standout is entering the final year of his rookie deal, which will be the first in which his cap hit will top even $1 million (at $1.1 million). Landry's 288 catches over his first three seasons might inflate his actual value, given that a good chunk of his receptions are essentially long handoffs. Landry caught 61 passes within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage last year, a figure topped only by Larry Fitzgerald among wideouts.

Those catches still count, of course, and Landry is in line for a massive deal. The closest comp to Landry as a player is Tavon Austin, who got $30 million over the first three years of his deal with the Rams, but Landry has been far more productive than the inconsistent, underutilized Austin. His agents will look for a deal closer to the contract T.Y. Hilton extracted out of the Colts, which was good for $38 million over the first three seasons of the extension.

4. Allow WR Kenny Stills to leave. If the Dolphins re-sign Landry (or at least intend to do so), there's not much of a case for locking up Stills. The deep threat would be Miami's third wideout behind Landry and 2015 first-rounder DeVante Parker, and while the Dolphins spent 690 offensive snaps in three-wideout looks this season, Mike Tannenbaum would be committing a staggering sum of money to wide receivers given what Stills is likely to make on the free market.

The reality is also that Stills is still more of a prospect than anything else. His numbers this season were buoyed by an unsustainable touchdown rate. Through the first three years of his career, Stills caught 11 touchdowns on 122 receptions, or one every 11.1 receptions. Last year, Stills had nine TDs on 42 catches, or one every 4.7 receptions. Wideouts with that sort of touchdown rate almost always regress to the mean, especially in the modern game. Since 1990, receivers who caught 30 or more passes and scored once every five receptions or less averaged a touchdown once every 11.7 receptions the following season. Stills has averaged 41 catches per season, so at that rate, he's in line for three to four touchdowns next year. Torrey Smith's 2014-2015 seasons loom as a plausible comp and a warning sign to teams thinking about giving Stills $8 million or so per year.

5. Re-sign DE Andre Branch and LB Kiko Alonso. Alonso is a restricted free agent, so the Dolphins can tender him a deal at the second-round level and likely not have to worry about losing him to another offer while using the leverage to negotiate a longer-term deal. Branch was more useful at defensive end than Williams and counts as a nice reclamation project for the Dolphins after he struggled to make an impact in Jacksonville. A return makes sense for both parties.

 

I'm ok with all of that but we need to develop a deep threat with Jarvis having the short passes covered. Also, if we don't resign Earl Mitchell we will have to basically totally rebuild the DL other than Suh in the next year or two. He's not a must keep player but he is an average DT. It puzzles me how relatively little talk the need for us to rebuild the DL gets relative to the importance. Maybe I'm just being a chicken little there but after Suh and and old Wake we don't have much there.

I doubt we do but I really hope we go huge on defense in the draft

 

Jordan Phillips has been pretty good and you would hope continues to improve. My feeling wouldn't be hurt if we took a DT/DE in the first to be honest

 

I know some disagree but I think Mitchell sucks. PFF isn't everything but it reflects that he is a below average DT but he did improve from last season a little bit. We seemed to play a lot better at DT when Mitchell came back, even though he's nothing special.

I would love if we would sign a guy like JPP (who is still only 28), or a quality player that may come cheap like Washington's Chris Baker though he is likely more of a 3-4 guy. In the draft, he likely won't but I would go crazy in Barnett fell to us. I like Tak from UCLA too but he may have to be an OLB which is fine. This seems to be a deep TE and CB draft so I think we can wait on those, though I doubt Gase/Tannebaum will. Hope we go D early and grab a TE in the mid-rounds.

 

4 of the top 5 picks should be Defense

 

dolphins release Brandon Albert per twitter

 

Damn! Not that surprising but I thought we would wait a little while. His play had slipped a ton and too expensive for an oft-injured player imo

Omar will have a cow

 

I'm gonna guess they asked him to take a pay cut and move inside and he said no. Guy was always hurt and inconsistent. The money can be used better elsewhere imo.

 

Its the right move to make IMO. He played well when he was healthy, but ultimately too much money at this point. Need Gs in the worst way now

 

Anybody understand the pre/post June 1 cut stuff? We cut him today and saved 7.2 mill on the cap but overthecap.com says if he was cut post June 1 we could save almost 9 mill. Was their a bonus pending or something that made it not worthwhile to wait until after June 1 to cut him?

 

Time for Tunsil to step up

 

no reason to believe that won't happen tbh. I'm not as worried about him as I am just finding another capable guard.

 

If you cut the player post June 1st, some of his cap hit can be held over to next year. It's a great short term move to cut guys post June 1st, but eventually that cap hit hurts you.

 

It splits his remaining guaranteed money over two seasons instead of one e.g. 3.6 owed becomes 1.8 this year and next.

 

Mario Williams, not surprisingly, also released. looks like we will land somewhere between $45-50m in cap space

 

Earl Mitchell just got cut as well

 

Yeah only mildly surprised at that. He's still only a mediocre player at best and he was somewhat overpaid to be just another guy. Only a tad surprised b/c of the lack of depth there and the lack of quality players. Looks like we may be active on the DL market for both starters and some depth

 

Adam Beasley ‏@AdamHBeasley 3m3 minutes ago
Finally: The word is the Dolphins are again thinking trade as a way to land a big-name corner. Stay tuned.

 

What big name cb is available?

 

Joe Haden was on the block last season. Rodgers-Cromartie maybe?

 

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald is reporting that the Dolphins are not releasing LTBranden Albert after all.

According to Salguero, the Dolphins made the decision to release Albert this morning but later changed their mind after speaking to him and his agents.

A league source tells Salguero that there is “sudden and significant interest” from at least one and possibly other teams in trading for Albert.

The Dolphins are still expected to move forward with Laremy Tunsil as their starting left tackle, but it appears as though Miami may be able to get something in return for Albert.

 

Shit I would love DRC. Grimes had a great year last year, of course. We probably had to part ways with him tho

 

Let's go get Vontae Davis back

 

Was stupid to trade vontae and also not resign sean smith, both are still very good corners

 

If we do really get Julius Thomas for Albert that would be awesome. He is a tad overpaid, but he had huge production in Gase's offense. I'd take him for sure

 

Where do you see this rumor?

Also. Thomas is always hurt as well

 

I'd love it, then we dont have to spend a draft pick on a tight end and really load up on defense

 

Here among several other places http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ars-among-teams-interested-in-branden-albert/

Nothing can happen until March 9 but the rumor is that the Jags are interested

 

Love Wake, but I do not like that move at all.

 

The trade of Jaguars TE Julius Thomas for Dolphins LT Branden Albert would likely happen if both players agreed to new deals, sources say

 

I doubt julius would, in the prime of his career at 28