Category: Miami Dolphins

Dolphins cut running back Mark Walton after ‘police matter’

The Miami Dolphins have released RB Mark Walton after an “police matter” during his 4-game suspension.

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The Miami Dolphins have released a statement announcing that they released running back Mark Walton this morning. The news comes approximately halfway through Walton’s four-game suspension, which was handed down by the NFL in response to Walton’s off-field transgressions this past offseason while a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The news comes as a stunning turn of events after the Dolphins coaching staff spoke highly of Walton, even after the news of his suspension broke just a few weeks ago.

Not many details are known at this time other than Walton was involved with a police matter that came to the team’s attention this morning. It was all the news Miami needed to feel as though Walton has lost the benefit of the doubt the team gave him by offering him a second chance this spring, even with outstanding legal issues.

More information is needed, but it is difficult to feel too sorry for someone who has squandered first and second chances within a span of eight months. Hopefully Walton is able to get whatever kind of support he needs to work out his issues — but that support will not come from the Dolphins organization. At least not after whatever went down recently.

Stay tuned for more details on this developing story.

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How the Dolphins can best improve their defense this offseason

If the Dolphins are going to “right the ship” in 2020, there’s only so many opportunities to upgrade. Where will Miami need to invest?

Brian Flores’ defense has plenty of potential, we can all agree to that. But what we saw in Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills serves as the sober reminder that while the team is capable of good performances, this roster isn’t where it needs to be in order for the defense to be effective on a weekly basis. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen tore the Dolphins apart — rarely pressures, hardly bothered and able to run freely into the second level when he decided it was time to run.

And for all the strong spots the Dolphins have established, this past game serves Miami a clear blueprint on where they need to get better. The Dolphins defense is strong up the middle. Davon Godchaux, Christian Wilkins, Jerome Baker and Raekwon McMillan are a great interior group. The edges of this defense? That’s where the focus needs to be this offseason. That’s where the investments need to come.

Miami has gotten admirable contributions from the likes of Taco Charlton, Vince Biegel, Nik Needham, Stephen Parker and others — but both positions need a massive influx of talent: including fresh starters all around.

Defensive end and cornerback are where Miami should (and probably will) pour significant investments into the defense — Miami’s aggressive defense won’t do you any good if you don’t have the defenders to consistently play man coverage or show the explosiveness to get home off the edge.

Vince Biegel? He’s a terrific early down option and in a perfect world, a rotational defender who brings energy and can help set the line against the run. But on 3rd and 15, Biegel isn’t a player who has the ideal level of juice in his first step to stress tackles and get quarterbacks off their spot.

Taco Charlton? He’s been more opportunistic than effective — granted, that in itself is a gift. But he’s also ideally a depth option, not a starter.

The Dolphins cornerbacks will be aided by the return of Xavien Howard next season, but Miami will still need two or three additional cornerbacks before this position group is where it needs to be from a talent perspective so that players like Needham are proportionately aligned on the depth chart with their potential and ceiling.

If the Dolphins want to fix this defense in an offseason, that’s where the investments need to go. Thankfully, it is a great year to need both positions. But Miami must find the balance between properly investing there and helping to build out the offense — which will not be an easy task.

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What is ideal role with Dolphins for newly extended WR Allen Hurns?

What does the ideal role look like for newly extended Miami Dolphins wide receiver Allen Hurns?

The Miami Dolphins made a bit of a surprise decision when it was announced that the team had agreed upon a contract extension with wide receiver Allen Hurns. Hurns hasn’t really been the most impactful receiver on the team, nor is he the most dynamic or promising athlete. And while the contract extension Hurns signed with Miami wasn’t for any insane dollar amount, seeing Miami lock in a receiver with 17 receptions for 223 yards in 9 games this season was still something of a surprise.

The details of Hurns’ contract extension are now known, he’s signed a 2-year, $8M extension with $3.27M in fully guaranteed money.

A modest deal — but a contract extension none the less. Which begs the question: what vision do the Dolphins see for Allen Hurns that would prompt them to prioritize an in-season contract extension?

Hurns isn’t going to be a volume receiver for the Dolphins, nor should he be. Hurns runs nice routes and is experienced enough to make himself available as needed vs. zone coverage or against the blitz. The role for Hurns that makes the most sense is to be “the vet”. Granted, Hurns is barely a year older than DeVante Parker, but Hurns is the savvy player who makes the most of his reps without elite physical tools. That experience and mental sharpness has ingratiated Hurns with the coaching staff and as a result, he’s been rewarded.

Look for Hurns to serve as the stand in for Preston Williams while the rookie recovers from a torn ACL. And in 2020, Hurns will cede the role back to Williams and serve as a reliable depth presence who can step in at a moment’s notice or serve as the 3rd or 4th wide receiver. There’s value to experience and mentorship — and it seems that’s what the Dolphins prioritized in paying up for Hurns just a few days ago.

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What kind of additions do Dolphins WRs need this offseason?

The Miami Dolphins are a team generally needs talent everywhere. But just how big of a need is wide receiver?

The Miami Dolphins have needs just about everywhere on their roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball — that much is certain. Offensive tackle, quarterback, running back, interior offensive line. TE Mike Gesicki has shown some life — but generally speaking he doesn’t command targets the way you’d anticipate an alpha player (or a tight end in a New England style offensive) should. But what about the wide receiver position?

If you told a Dolphins fan four months ago that the team would potentially enter 2020 with their top four receivers being DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, Jakeem Grant and Allen Hurns, what would the reaction have been?

Probably not as favorable as what it is now. Of course, the situation is complicated by Preston Williams’ injury — but the Dolphins have to be encouraged by the promising display he put on the field for eight games this season. And with Jakeem Grant getting the chance this past weekend to remind everyone how dynamic he can be when he gets a little room to work, the Dolphins’ depth at the position seems to be just fine. Can DeVante Parker continue his career resurgence? He logged a career high in receiving yards this past week against the Bills, continuing an inspirational turnaround after nearly seeing himself shuttled out of South Florida before this season.

The Dolphins have a need at wide receiver — but it is probably much less pressing than what was first anticipated thanks to the developments we’ve seen come to life from Parker and Williams. The odd man out is probably Albert Wilson, who has caught 14 passes for 84 yards and is owed $9.5M in cash next year. Wilson hasn’t looked like his explosive self in recovering from last year’s hip injury — so if the Dolphins need to address the slot receiver position, they’ll likely be given a lot of flexibility to do so via either free agency or the draft.

But it’s not a pressing need — and certainly low on Miami’s priority list after considering the state of the rest of the roster.

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As QB waters muddy, Dolphins’ Grier must remain diligent

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier will have his hands full weighing all of the team’s options through their offseason QB search.

If the epic roster teardown of 2019 is to be a success, the biggest piece is for the endless cycle of mediocre Dolphins quarterbacks to end in 20 A.D. (twenty years after Dan). We’ve been hearing for months now about how the Dolphins are so infatuated with Tua Tagovailoa that they were going to dedicate an offseason to set up moves to acquire him.

The term that many like to use ad nauseam is “tanking.”

A bit has happened since then.

First off, the Bengals have dropped 10 straight, while the Dolphins won two in a row before dropping a rivalry game to the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins are less talented but more competitive than the Cincinnati Bengals and ultimately Miami will win more games than Cincinnati. The Bengals – not the Dolphins – will get the first crack at a quarterback in the upcoming draft, barring a trade back scenario that seems quite unlikely. Book it.

Secondly, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has ascended into a media darling. More importantly, he’s ascended into kind of a stud. Burrow has padded his resume with wins against stiff competition, most notably carrying his Tigers to victory in Tuscaloosa over the juggernaut Crimson Tide. He has taken college football by storm, and there’s reason to believe he will be the first quarterback taken in the 2020 NFL Draft — likely by the Bengals.

What makes Burrow QB1 in April’s draft even more likely is the hip injury Tagovailoa sustained in Saturday’s beatdown of Mississippi State. Tua’s season is over and he’ll have a long road of rehab ahead of him to play football in 2020 and beyond. Thankfully, at this moment in time, it appears he will be able to make a full recovery and play again — something that wasn’t so clear on Saturday afternoon.

This complicates things for, well, everyone involved. As it pertains to the Dolphins and Chris Grier, it makes things even more interesting given what we know. If what Rich Eisen heard was correct and Miami is infatuated with Tua, there are some causes and effects to note: How does the injury affect Tagovailoa’s draft stock? And how does this injury impact the Dolphins’ pursuit of him?

Burrow’s rise in popularity coupled with Tua’s injury will undoubtedly result in Tagovailoa not being taken first overall in April’s draft, something that was near consensus a few months ago. This benefits Miami. If the “excellent” prognosis is accurate, will a team, notably the Dolphins, still draft him in Round 1? That’s where things get muddied.

On one hand, Miami could still take him with its first of three first-round selections; a pick that figures to be in the top five at this point. Now that Tua is injured, they shouldn’t have to trade any assets to get him, despite them winning a few games. This is a wild reality that didn’t seem possible before the injury. On the other hand, however, is the thought of waiting to grab him with one of the team’s later picks. This must have crossed the Dolphins’ decision-makers minds by now. Grab a blue-chip talent at the top of Round 1 and get their coveted quarterback? Grier has to be salivating.

Would Grier risk that, though? Would he risk losing out on his presumed ultimate target after all the work he put in to deconstruct a roster to build back up around his darling quarterback? Would he risk letting Tagovailoa slide down the draft board to the end of Round 1 where a certain division rival has an old quarterback without a contract in 2020. Nothing would be more tragic for Dolphins fans than seeing that come to fruition.

Ultimately, Grier must trust his scouts. He must trust the doctors — both the ones working on Tua now and in the immediate future, as well as team doctors – to properly treat, diagnose, and clear the quarterback. We don’t need another Brees situation on our hands. And lastly, Grier must trust his eyes and his gut in regards to his decision. He’s moved masterfully in the offseason and during the season itself to secure assets for April. He must now have the intestinal fortitude to have the conviction to make a tough and unfathomably critical decision in April.

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The good, the bad and the ugly from Dolphins’ 37-20 loss to Bills

Which Miami Dolphins showed up this week to play against the Buffalo Bills? And who failed to provide the needed performances?

The Miami Dolphins entered Week 11 riding a two game win streak and left with a hefty serving of humble pie. This surely wasn’t the way the Dolphins envisions their second go around with the Buffalo Bills going — but yet here we are. The Dolphins could hardly stop Buffalo on defense, the Bills exploited shaky pass protection with uncharacteristically aggressive blitz calls and the game itself was even more lopsided than the final score would indicate.

It was easy for a moment to forget that this Dolphins’ team doesn’t really have a lot of talent that will be fixtures for years to come. Let this serve as the reminder.

And in the aftermath of yesterday’s loss, it’s fairly easy to paint an ugly picture. We’re going to try to paint a complete one.

The Good

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick has done his best in recent weeks to make the best of the offensive situation in Miami. And against the Bills, “Fitz” kept plugging away — 45 pass attempts for 323 yards and no turnovers. Fitzpatrick has played surprisingly within himself in recent weeks, with just 1 turnover over the Dolphins’ last three games combined. There have still been peaks and valleys and with 18 sacks taken over the last four contests, Fitzpatrick continues to be challenged by the situation around him. But he played well with all things considered against the Bills.

WR DeVante Parker

Parker went off for 7 receptions for 135 yards and what would have been a receiving touchdown if Mike Gesicki had the anticipation to peel back and throw a block. Parker has really come on and is making the most of his second chance with the Dolphins — putting up a big performance in his second game against the Bills this season serves as further evidence that Parker is a long-term fixture for this team.

CB Nik Needham

Needham played a scrappy football game. He got busted in zone coverage playing Cover 2 against WR John Brown and was constantly tested, but you have to admire Needham’s ability to bounce back and how he was able to make some plays on the ball. This UDFA has the look of a guy who will hang around for quite some time.

WR Jakeem Grant

Grant had his best game of the season and made an impact play in the return game. It was great to see him get some room to run, open up his strides and show the electric qualities that earned him a contract extension with the Dolphins.

The Bad

The Pass Rush

…what pass rush? Exactly. The Dolphins left QB Josh Allen unbothered in the pocket all day and the end result was the second year quarterback dissected the Dolphins defense. Miami needs to get much more dynamic on the edge and also sorely missed DE Taco Charlton’s presence as a pass rusher.

LB Raekwon McMillan

Boy, did the Dolphins miss Raekwon McMillan on Sunday. There’s nothing bad that McMillan did — he was just injured and unavailable to play. But the eye opening reveal was just how poorly Miami’s run defense played without him on the second level. The silver lining? McMillan’s value to this team is further reinforced by how they played without him on Sunday.

TE Mike Gesicki

As previously noted, Mike Gesicki cost DeVante Parker a touchdown on Sunday — we hope he sends drops Parker an apology card in his locker or something!

We’re not really sure what Gesicki was seeing or thinking on this play. But when contributing 4 receptions for 18 yards, you’d sure help your team a lot more by throwing a block in the open field.

The Ugly

The offensive line and RB Kalen Ballage

7 sacks. 23 rushing yards. It was about as ugly as you could possibly imagine. The offensive line struggled with their calls and protection and they also struggled to reset the line of scrimmage thanks to lateral quickness by the Bills’ defensive front.

Ballage? He managed to scrap out a touchdown against Buffalo, but he again struggled to find room to run in the backfield and had another ugly drop on a screen pass early in the game. His struggles are frustrating — but not surprising based on his body of work this season.

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How the Dolphins can enter 2020 draft with three picks in top 20

The Miami Dolphins’ postseason hopes are all but officially over with the team sitting at 2-8. We’ll give you a moment, we know this is sudden and difficult news to swallow. But the push to the postseason will still captivate Dolphins fans …

The Miami Dolphins’ postseason hopes are all but officially over with the team sitting at 2-8. We’ll give you a moment, we know this is sudden and difficult news to swallow.

But the push to the postseason will still captivate Dolphins fans everywhere, because Miami has a lot of skin in the game during this stretch run to the playoffs — namely where the draft picks of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans fall in the draft order. They belong to Miami. This year, more than ever, Dolphins fans should stay tuned into the final leg of the 2019 season. Because while the Pittsburgh Steelers currently sit at 5-5 and the Houston Texans are currently 6-4, both are legit threats to miss the playoffs all together: which would give the Dolphins three picks within the first 20 overall selections in the 2020 NFL Draft.

How do we get there?

Well the Dolphins are locked in. They’ll probably finish the season 3-13 or 4-12. They still hold games against the New York Jets, the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals: they ought to find a win or two along the way. But with many of the top teams still facing each other as well, Miami’s odds of landing a top-5 overall pick are nearly guaranteed at this point unless Dan Marino, Jason Taylor and Richmond Webb show up next week to play the Browns and the rest of the season.

What about the Steelers and the Texans?

Pittsburgh, at 5-5, has a realistic shot to go 4-2 over their final 6 games. They play the Bengals, Browns, Cardinals, Bills, Jets and Ravens. But 9 wins probably doesn’t get you into the postseason in the AFC this season. The Steelers’ hole was mighty big at 1-4 — likely too big to dig out of. The critical games to ensure Pittsburgh doesn’t snag a wild card spot are the obvious games against the Bills and Ravens. Dolphins fans should root hard for Steelers losses there. If they come, Pittsburgh is effective out. Period.

The Texans? They’re 6-4 and they’re facing a pretty interesting final stretch. They play the Colts, Patriots, Broncos, Titans, Bucs and Titans again. At 6-4, Houston can also go 4-2 over this stretch and miss the playoffs. The biggest game in this stretch is the one this week: a home game on Thursday Night against the Colts. We are all Colts fans for this one! If Houston drops their home game against Indy this week and falls in Foxboro to the Patriots the following week to fall to 6-6, the table is set for the Dolphins’ picks to fall into the top-20, even if the Texans were to win out and finish 10-6.

How? Three teams: the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts and the Oakland Raiders. If the Colts take the AFC South and push the Texans into the wild card chase, the Dolphins will benefit from every Bills and Raiders win the rest of the way. Buffalo, at 7-3, would need to finish with 4 wins the rest of the way to lock in one spot over Houston. They play the Broncos, Cowboys, Ravens, Steelers, Patriots and Jets. Denver, New York and Pittsburgh are all “should win” games — so the pressure then comes to find one win out of three tries against Dallas, Baltimore and New England. The Ravens game is at home.

The Raiders? They’re at 6-4 — so they’ll need to catch fire to ensure they lock Houston out. The good news is the schedule is pretty soft: Jets, Chiefs, Titans, Jaguars, Chargers and Broncos await. The Raiders have better records than every team there except the Chiefs. Could they win all those games?

If they do, Miami would be sitting pretty for the 2020 NFL Draft.

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An updated look at Dolphins’ 2020 1st-round picks after Week 11

Where do each of the Miami Dolphins’ 1st-round picks sit in the current NFL Draft order with 6 games left to play?

All right, everyone. It is time to step back off the ledge. The Miami Dolphins entered Week 11 riding a two-game winning streak, which had seen their odds to finish with the top pick go from about 2 in 3 to 1 in 5. So the pursuit of the top pick? Throw it on ice — because the Dolphins will have to lose out in order to get to that juncture and the Bengals will need to find another win hiding on their schedule aside of a hypothetical win over the Dolphins.

And after some positive run by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans, Dolphins fans began to stress, seeing each of the team’s three first-round draft picks swell to the top of the charts. But all three teams lost this weekend. And some critical competition also won — which has aided the Dolphins’ first-round picks greatly. Let’s get a few more weeks like this one and go from there, shall we?

Here’s where Miami’s picks currently stand:

Miami’s Pick: 4th overall

Business as usual here. The Giants, Redskins and Bengals sit ahead of the Dolphins. Cincinnati is winless at 0-10, the Redskins are 1-9 and the Giants, like the Dolphins, are 2-8 — but the Giants have a softer strength of schedule.

If you like promising foreshadowing, here’s some for you: The Dolphins still have to play the Giants. The Redskins? They play the Giants the following weekend. And Washington also plays a Lions team that is without Matt Stafford and 1-6 in their last seven games. The Bengals still need to play the Jets and Dolphins.

There are 3-4 wins left to be divided among this top four in the order … some of them guaranteed to go to teams other than Miami.

Pittsburgh’s Pick: 15th overall

The Steelers fell to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football and lost center Maurkice Pouncey for the next three games. Mercifully for the Dolphins, the NFL decided not to suspend QB Mason Rudolph, too — who looked completely lost for the Steelers on Thursday night.

RB James Conner is banged up and so is WR JuJu Smith-Schuster. Can Minkah Fitzpatrick play wide receiver?

The Steelers sit at 5-5 and play the Bengals this weekend. We are all Bengals fans.

Houston’s Pick: 25th overall

The Texans got absolutely destroyed by the Baltimore Ravens this weekend — like almost as bad as the Dolphins’ loss to Baltimore levels of bad. And that’s great news, given what the postseason forecast holds for the Texans.

But that’s not even the best news. The Texans and Colts are tied atop the AFC South rankings at 6-4 (…why did Miami have to win that game in Week 10?!) and the Oakland Raiders also sit at 6-4 – and out of the playoffs as things currently stand.

Could the Texans miss the playoffs? They’re in for now on tiebreakers, but it is possible this pick could climb even higher.

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OL issues painfully apparent for Dolphins in Week 11 loss to Bills

The Dolphins’ offensive line was crippling in the second matchup this season against the Bills. Should Miami’s draft plans covet OL more?

The Miami Dolphins found themselves in real trouble yesterday after coming out sluggish on offense against the Buffalo Bills. While the halftime score of 23-14 seemed somewhat competitive, keep in mind seven of those points came thanks to a 101-yard kickoff return by Jakeem Grant just before the half. To provide context on Miami’s offensive struggles, the Bills defensive line accounted for six sacks on the afternoon while holding the Dolphins run game to a paltry 23 yards on 13 attempts.

Combine these figures with the apparent “eye test” of Miami’s offensive effort against the Bills and it becomes clear once again that the offensive line is a problem in Miami. A big one.

There are so many holes in the Dolphins’ tanking conspiracy that keep it from holding water — Miami has still won two of their last three games and continues to play aggressive. But with that success comes a higher draft order position — and Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffering a severe injury this past weekend, perhaps Miami should consider a 2020 NFL Draft strategy that focuses on the trenches.

For those of us who have been saying that the Dolphins should be “Bailing for Burrow”, that in itself looks more difficult by the week. While the LSU Tigers starting man under center is still healthy and heavy favorite to win the Heisman, with Tagovailoa’s injury it is safe to assume that Joe Burrow will be QB1 for many teams — including the 0-10 Cincinnati Bengals.

Yes, Miami can still trade all the picks they’ve stockpiled to draft at whatever spot they want and still have an excess of picks left over — but is it smarter to draft the offensive lineman they want first and get the quarterback later?

Since Laremy Tunsil was shipped to the Houston Texans in the preseason, woes in the protection scheme have been rampant.  If Miami doesn’t address these shortcomings, they find themselves putting their future franchise field general in a situation similar to the one Tagovailoa currently finds himself.

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Bills impose will on undermanned Dolphins, win 37-20

The Buffalo Bills ran roughshod through the Miami Dolphins defense in Week 11, cruising to victory and dropping the Dolphins to 2-8.

The first time the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills played this season, the Dolphins were able to physically dictate the pace of much of the game. This time around? No such luck — the Buffalo Bills physically dominated the Dolphins on both sides of the football, cruising to a 37-20 victory in Week 11 of the NFL season and moving their record to 7-3. That mark will place Buffalo comfortably in control of the AFC Conference’s first wild card position.

Miami’s first loss in November serves as a sobering reminder of how far this football team is away from being competitive — Miami now sits at 2-8. The Bills brought ferocious pass rush all day, constantly collapsing the pocket around QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to the tune of seven sacks and rarely giving Fitzpatrick the time to set up in the pocket and survey the field.

The complete lack of a running threat made life a lot more difficult for the Dolphins, as RB Kalen Ballage once again stumbled in his role as the Dolphins’ lead back — the rushing offense only showing life when Ballage aligned behind the center in the wildcat formation inside the red zone.

Between all of that mess offensively and a brutal game of musical chairs in the secondary, Miami stood little chance to keep pace. Miami saw FS Bobby McCain helped to the sideline on more than one occasion and CB Nik Needham was also assisted off the field at one point. Between those dings and the absence of two defensive backs on the inactive list, Bills QB Josh Allen enjoyed a career game with 4 total touchdowns and over 250 passing yards — continuing his dominance against Miami in his young career.

Special teams kept the Dolphins alive, particularly with a successful onside kick and a kick return for a touchdown by WR Jakeem Grant. But even the progress on special teams was watered down by several penalties on returns. The penalties were a big problem all around — an uncharacteristically sloppy effort from Miami all around.

The Dolphins hits the road next week to take on a desperate 4-6 Cleveland Browns team, so the schedule won’t get much easier as the Dolphins look to reignite the momentum they showed earlier in November.

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