The Miami Dolphins are, in all likelihood, going to have more money at their disposal in free agency than they’ll actually know what to do with. Even the Dolphins, with their aggressive tendencies under former VP of football operations Mike Tannenbaum, never had a boatload of cap space like this to spend. The key for Miami wasn’t to create a bunch of cap space and not spend it — nor was it for the team to flush it all down the drain in a spending purge in 2020.
The Dolphins will need to find balance.
Could that balance really come at the expense of a luxury position like running back? A new post from Sports Book Review by Ian Wharton has pegged the Miami Dolphins as the perceived favorites to sign Chargers running back Melvin Gordon in free agency — a surprising revelation, considering how much work the Dolphins’ offensive line is going to need to kickstart their running game.
“(Gordon is) fantastic at falling forward and producing in three phases as a receiver and blocker. Teams with cash to spend shouldn’t be scared away from this investment since he’d fill a need prior to the draft,” wrote Wharton.
“Miami is the hottest team linked to Gordon that I’ve heard, but there could be another clear opening in Houston, and Tampa Bay has money to spend with Bruce Arians looking to push for a playoff appearance. Gordon would be a great upgrade in each spot.”
Would this signing make sense? It would be something of a surprise. Sure, the Dolphins would benefit from the name value of adding Gordon to their running back ranks and filling a need ahead of the NFL Draft. But the Dolphins would need to invest heavily to ensure their commitment to Gordon doesn’t fall victim of the same issues that plagued Le’Veon Bell and the New York Jets in 2019. With running back being an easier position to find comparable production from, ideally Miami would avoid breaking the bank or spending big on Gordon — knowing that his production is at the mercy of the team’s offensive line in front of him, too.
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