Miami Dolphins defensive back Bobby McCain spent the first four years of his NFL career manning the cornerback position. McCain, who was charged with playing both boundary cornerback and nickel cornerback throughout the course of those seasons, found himself in a new role under Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores in 2019 — free safety. And after 9 games and a shoulder injury that put McCain on the shelf, speculation began to arise about whether or not McCain was destined to move back to cornerback after reinforcements came onto the roster.
First came free agency and then the 2020 NFL Draft — and Miami did the exact opposite in adding several key cornerbacks to the mix with premium assets. CB Byron Jones was given a record-setting contract in free agency, while the team also decided to use their third and final 1st-round draft selection on a nickel corner, Noah Igbinoghene out of Auburn.
That presumably leaves McCain as the man on the back end at free safety — as Miami’s only other addition to that group was to draft Texas safety Brandon Jones in the 3rd-round of the draft. And, according to McCain, it’s all the same. He just wants to play football.
“I’m a guy that can play any place in the backfield. With practice and with time, everyone gets better,” McCain told the South Florida media during a conference call on Thursday.
“It’s not my decision to make decisions. My job is to just play football. I love playing football and I love doing what I do, and I’m able to do it all.”
Doing it all for McCain this season will likely include match-up specific reps in the slot – but the free safety job is McCain’s to lose. Miami has no other apparent serious contenders for the position and McCain is technically an incumbent at free safety after the experiment first started last season. Here’s hoping those extra reps from 2019 can serve as a foundation for McCain playing his best ball yet in 2020. He’ll have the help around him in Miami’s secondary to make it happen — that much is for certain.