Tag: Dolphins free agents

List of Dolphins players heading into the final year of their contracts in 2022

Some of these players should be in talks for extensions.

The 2022 NFL season is bringing hope to a Miami Dolphins fanbase that certainly needs it after missing the postseason for the fifth straight year in 2021.

All of the moves that the Dolphins have made this offseason, including hiring head coach Mike McDaniel to lead the organization, have some believing that this could be the year that Miami breaks through and fights to be Super Bowl contenders instead of a team just on the outside of the playoff bubble.

However, for some, this could be their final season playing at Hard Rock Stadium, and that’s bittersweet. These are the players that are set to become free agents next offseason (cap numbers via Over the Cap).

What Dolphins free agents are still on the market

There are still plenty of players out there.

It’s been roughly two weeks since NFL free agency officially opened up, and there have been so many moves that have made this one of the most memorable offseasons in the history of the league.

While the Miami Dolphins have made a ton of transactions, including bringing back a lot of their players from their 2021 roster, there are a number of guys who spent time with Miami last season that are still available to be signed on the open market.

Despite the general manager Chris Grier spending a ton of money this offseason, there’s a chance that he calls back one of his players from last season to give them another opportunity in 2022.

Here are the former Dolphins who are still unsigned.

Dolphins free agent profile: One year could be enough for Greg Mancz

There are better options out there.

The NFL’s free agency period opens in just days, but teams will begin negotiating legally on Monday, March 14.

While the Miami Dolphins have taken care of a few orders of business like franchise tagging Mike Gesicki, tendering Nik Needham, and tendering their two exclusive-rights free agents, they still have quite a few players that are expected to hit the market.

One of those players is center Greg Mancz.

Mancz, 29, was traded, along with a seventh-round pick, to Miami from Baltimore back in August for a sixth-round pick. He spent the previous six seasons with the Houston Texans, starting 28 of the 58 games he played.

In 2021 Mancz started the season as Miami’s backup center behind Michael Dieter, but when the starter when down with an injury, Mancz was bounced into the top spot until he suffered a neck injury. Once Dieter returned to the lineup, Mancz didn’t step on the field after Week 9.

As a backup at the position, Mancz did his job for Miami. Now, he’s heading into unrestricted free agency without a guarantee that he’ll have a spot on the roster.

He won’t break the bank, and while there’s always value in veteran experience, the Dolphins may look another direction to fill that spot. If they can find a rookie a developmental interior offensive lineman, they may be better off going with them.

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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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Dolphins free agent profile: What to do with Jason McCourty

They appear to already have their two starters and a veteran backup.

The start of NFL free agency is under a week away now, and teams around the league have begun making decisions that will affect their roster for 2022 and beyond.

For the Miami Dolphins, they have 25 pending unrestricted, restricted or exclusive-rights free agents that are expected to hit the market next week, including defensive back Jason McCourty.

McCourty, who started his career off at cornerback, has moved into more of a safety role in recent years. He signed a one-year deal worth $1.2 million with the Dolphins this past offseason after spending the previous 12 seasons with the Titans, Browns, and Patriots.

In the first seven weeks of the 2021 season, the veteran started four games, playing 63% of the snaps, as his experience and leadership were recognized by his teammates and coaches. However, McCourty’s season was cut short due to a foot injury against the Atlanta Falcons.

Now, heading into 2022, the 34-year-old defensive back is set to be an unrestricted free agent, and the Dolphins have appeared to find some solid safeties. Jevon Holland shined bright in his rookie season, Brandon Jones showed he could bring some box-safety skills, and Eric Rowe continued to be decent while covering tight ends.

While Miami has a ton of cap space to throw around they might be looking to get someone younger or cheaper in the room than McCourty going forward. However, they could be looking to create even more cap space, and they could do so by moving on from Rowe to save just over $4.5 million, according to Over the Cap.

There’s a chance McCourty could be back, but it’s probably smarter to go another direction.

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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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PFF names TE Mike Gesicki as the free agent the Dolphins can’t lose

The tight end should remain in Miami.

The Miami Dolphins are at the beginning of their offseason schedule, as they are in the process of looking for their next head coach. After that decision is made, the team will start building the team the way general manager Chris Grier and their new head coach want it to be built.

One of the decisions the team will have to make is whether or not to pay tight end Mike Gesicki who is set to be a free agent at the stsrt of the league year. In 2021, Gesicki set career highs in yards (780) and receptions (73) while bringing in two touchdowns as well. He was essentially Tua Tagovailoa’s second-favorite target just behind rookie wide receiver Jaylen Waddle who was teammates with the quarterback in college.

This week, Pro Football Focus listed the 26-year-old tight end as the one free agent the Dolphins could not lose this offseason. Here’s what PFF’s Brad Spielberger had to say about Gesicki:

“Gesicki, in reality, is a big slot receiver who is able to line up all over and run a route tree not seen from the typical tight end. It’s hard to find a playmaking receiver at the tight end position, and teams should probably hold on if they find one. Gesicki has back-to-back seasons with 70.0+ receiving grades, and his 32 contested catches over the span are tied for first among tight ends. He pairs well with breakout rookie wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.”

The fact Gesicki isn’t the best all-around tight end may keep him from getting top of the market money, but there’s a good chance he gets more than New England paid Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith annually last season ($12.5 million per year).

If that’s the asking price of keeping Tagovailoa comfortable next year with a new offense, that may be worth it. However, we won’t really know how Gesicki or Tagovailoa fit until we know who the coach and offensive coordinator are.

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28 Dolphins that are set to hit free agency in 2022

These Dolphins could find new homes in 2022.

The Miami Dolphins have finished their 2021 season. Now, they’ll begin preparing for an important offseason.

In 2022, the Dolphins are set to have 28 free agents, including 20 unrestricted free agents (UFA), six restricted free agents (RFA), and two exclusive rights free agents (ERFA), according to Over the Cap.

It’s no guarantee that all of these players will become free agents because a few of these guys are candidates to re-sign in Miami and some could be considered for the franchise tag. However, a fair number of players could have played their last snap with the team.

Here are the Dolphins that are set to reach the open market in free agency: