Tag: 2022 Dolphins free agents

Dolphins free agent profile: Is Duke Riley primed to return in 2022

The Dolphins have five pending free agents at linebacker.

New head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier are preparing for the start of free agency when the league year opens on March 16. Teams can begin talking to other teams’ pending free agents during the legal tampering period on Monday, March 14.

For the Dolphins, they have 24 unrestricted and restricted free agents remaining after they tagged tight end Mike Gesicki, placed a second-round tender on cornerback Nik Needham, and tendered two exclusive-rights free agents.

One position where they have quite a few pending free agents is linebacker, including Duke Riley, who is set to the unrestricted market.

Riley, 27, signed with the Dolphins last offseason on a one-year deal worth just over $1.1 million. Prior to his time with Miami, he spent two years with Atlanta Falcons, where he was selected as a third-round pick in 2017 out of LSU, and two years with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In his lone season with Miami, Riley played in 16 games, recording 26 total tackles. He played a limited role on defense (21% of snaps), but he was a solid contributor on special teams (59% of snaps).

With the Dolphins group of linebackers not being the best in coverage, Riley shined in that area, as Pro Football Focus had him giving up a team-low 67.6 passer rating against (six completions on 11 targets for 53 yards) at the position.

At this point, the Dolphins linebacker room is looking empty for 2022, as Jerome Baker and Andrew Van Ginkel are the only backers under contract. Riley, Elandon Roberts, Sam Eguavoen, Brennan Scarlett, and Vince Biegel are all free agents.

Miami will probably be looking for upgrades at the position, especially with Baker shining when moving to the edge at points in 2021. Even if they do move on from some of these guys, they could still use a decent coverage linebacker who fills multiple roles, and that could be Riley’s job going in 2022.

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Dolphins free agent profile: It might be time to move on from Preston Williams

He’s played just eight games in each of his first three seasons.

The Miami Dolphins will have a lot of decisions to make in the coming months.

Bringing in a new head coach this offseason in Mike McDaniel has already changed some things, but they will need to do much more work to turn this team that’s been on the brink of the playoffs into a contender.

Miami has 25 pending unrestricted or restricted remaining after they tendered their two exclusive-rights free agents and franchise-tagged Mike Gesicki, including wide receiver Preston Williams.

Williams is entering his fourth season in the league and fourth with the Dolphins. In his career, he’s recorded 787 yards and seven touchdowns on 56 receptions.

While the 24-year-old seems to have some promise as a third wide receiver with his size and athleticism, he has trouble staying on the field. He’s played in just 24 of the possible 49 the Dolphins have competed in over his three seasons. It was an ACL in his rookie season, and then a foot injury in his second year.

In 2021, he was dealing with a knee injury and missed at least one game for disciplinary reasons.

As a restricted free agent, Williams’ future is in the hands of the Dolphins. There are many directions they could go.

Miami could place a tender a first-round tender on him for $5.56 million where another team could sign him, but they would have to give up a first-round pick if they did. They could place a second-round tender on him for $3.99 million, where another team could sign him and give up a second-round pick. A right of first refusal tender could also be used for $2.43 million where Miami has the right to match any offer sheet that he gets signed to.

If they don’t offer Williams a tender, he would become an unrestricted free agent and would be free to sign with any team with no penalty to the team.

At this point, the Dolphins may consider moving on from Williams if he’s only going to be out there for half of the games. Those few million may be better spent elsewhere.

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Jets writer lists one Dolphin as a player New York should target this offseason

This move could be one that may help put the Jets on the same level as Miami.

The NFL is focused on the offseason, and the first domino to fall is free agency at the start of the league year.

The Miami Dolphins have 28 pending free agents, including tight end Mike Gesicki who had arguably the best season of his career in 2021. While he may not be the perfect fit for Mike McDaniel’s offense, he should still be seen as a top option to be re-signed.

His talent and production will make him a coveted player on the market when it opens. Jets Wire writer Tyler Greenawalt listed Gesicki as a free agent that New York should target.

Here’s what Greenwalt wrote:

“Gesicki would instantly upgrade the Jets offense and offer the team fantastic pass-catching ability at the tight end position. Gesicki caught 177 receptions for 2,053 yards and 13 touchdowns over the past three seasons. The only issue with Gesicki is that he isn’t a great blocker – something critically important to Mike LaFleur’s offense. He’d be a major upgrade, though, if the Jets are fine with deploying him mostly as an offensive weapon.”

If Gesicki left just to go to a division rival, it would be a big punch to the guy. Miami can’t let that happen.

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PFF ranks two Dolphins free agents in the top 25 available this year

Thankfully, Miami has a ton of cap space because they could be losing some key pieces.

The Miami Dolphins have been in the news a lot this week with Brian Flores’ lawsuit and their head coaching search still going on, but there’s still business to attend to.

With the postseason wrapping up in the next two weeks, the 2021 league year will be officially over, and the 2022 season will begin in March, allowing players with expiring contracts to become free agents.

Miami has roughly 30 players who fall in that category, including some of their most talented guys on both sides of the ball. In preparation for free agency, Pro Football Focus has ranked 140 free agents, and two Dolphins fall in the top 25 – defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and tight end Mike Gesicki.

In Ogbah’s two years with Miami, he’s recorded 83 tackles, 45 quarterback hits, 18 sacks, 17 pass deflections, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He’s been a consistent force on Miami’s defense which is what ranked him as the 22nd best free agent on this list.

Here’s what PFF said about Ogbah:

“Emmanuel Ogbah has finally blossomed into a solid defensive end after a few years of bouncing around rosters. The Cleveland Browns made Ogbah the first pick of the second round in the 2016 NFL Draft and subsequently traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fourth-round pick and safety Eric Murray before the 2019 season. Now in his second season with the Dolphins, Ogbah has a career-best 79.9 overall grade through Week 13 to go along with a 71.0 pass-rush grade — which would be his first above 65.0.”

For Gesicki, he’s really started to flourish the last two years as essentially a big-bodied wideout. Since the start of 2020, he’s totaled 126 receptions, 1,483 yards, and eight touchdowns. He’s being ranked as the 21st best free agent.

Here’s what PFF said about Gesicki:

“Gesicki will have one of the more interesting free-agent situations of any player in the NFL this offseason as he attempts to make the infamous Jimmy Graham argument that he should be considered a wide receiver for franchise tag purposes and not a tight end. Gesicki has played 94% of his snaps lined up in the slot or out wide as a receiver and is rarely ever in-line as a tight end. The wide receiver franchise tag is projected to be around $19 million, while the tight end franchise tag projects to be almost half of that — around $10 million-$11 million. It’s no small distinction.”

According to Over the Cap, the Dolphins are expected to have nearly $64 million in cap space, so they should be able to re-sign both guys if they want to. The question is: will they want to?

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