With the pending trade of Carolina Panthers guard Trai Turner breaking last night, the Miami Dolphins must continue to comb through the free agent market to identify primary targets to help bolster their roster and build arguably their biggest position of weakness (the offensive line) into a strength. They may have just caught a break.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Denver Broncos will not be exercising their club option of offensive guard Ronald Leary, which will open the door for Leary to hit the open market in less than two weeks time.
Denver is not expected to pick up the contract option on guard Ron Leary, per source. He will become a free agent on March 18.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2020
Should the Dolphins be interested? Of course they should be. Leary has struggled with durability over the course of his three seasons in Denver — he’s started 29 contests over that time span but also missed 19 games. Leary, who is set to turn 31 years old before the start of the 2020 NFL season, is beyond his peak as a player between the injuries and Father Time; but yet he would still be a notable upgrade for the Dolphins when healthy.
How frequently that will be is the big question — and hence will water down his value as teams bid to gather his services in a few weeks. Leary’s value is certainly more affordable than some of the other top names; but the Dolphins must show they’ve learned from lessons past if they’re planning on signing Leary to a contract.
The Miami Dolphins of the past would sign Leary and not look back. The box is checked, the need is addressed — no questions asked. But that approach has burned the Dolphins time and time again. So even if Miami did feel compelled to pay Leary and bring him into the 2020 roster, this team will still need to spend significant resources elsewhere along the line to ensure this group is finally fixed once and for all.
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