Tag: Emmanuel Ogbah

Chris Grier and Brandon Shore deserve credit as Dolphins’ offseason program starts

As the offseason program begins in the Mike McDaniel era, we should appreciate what the front office has done.

Monday, April 4 marks the first day of the 2022 Miami Dolphins season and officially launches the Mike McDaniel era. As he has indicated during his press conferences and media appearances, there will be a difference from the pre-McDaniel era. That time isn’t how we should view or predict the outlook of the latest Dolphins team.

They’re a team that hasn’t only retained its core but solidified it with savvy free-agent signings of role and complementary players such as Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert and Cedrick Wilson Jr. to name a few. The big splash moves like Terron Armstead and Tyreek Hill as well as the mastery of the salary cap in extensions and renegotiations have created hype within the Dolphins faithful unseen in twenty years.

Not only have the Dolphins improved their roster, but they also fixed their salary cap steadily over the last several seasons. Learning from past mistakes that included gaudy and unnecessary contracts, trades leading to dead cap issues and not retaining talent, there’s considerable growth here.

In what seemed like one months’ time, Miami fixed those stigmas about the front office and player management and development. The big names of Emmanuel Ogbah and Mike Gesicki, both once feared to be leaving within the fan base, seem happy as can be to be staying in Miami. Gesicki, with the franchise tag, could have a similar offseason next year unless the two sides agree to a long-term contract, which is very possible.

Armstead chose Miami instead of staying on the team that originally drafted him, the New Orleans Saints, or other possible suitors. Hill picked Miami over another AFC East team, and even a number of San Francisco 49ers followed McDaniel to Miami, coaches and players alike.

What’s even more telling of excellence on the executive level is the trimming of that dead cap and the fact that Miami is still in a very flexible financial situation. Credit to Brandon Shore, who handles the cap in tandem with Grier, for creating millions in available space for 2022 even after the bonanza of signings.

This cap flexibility is made possible by several smart moves including the Byron Jones restructure, the Xavien Howard renegotiation of a previous pair of renegotiations and the recent DeVante Parker trade to the New England Patriots.

That Parker trade not only created some cap space, but it also netted a third-round draft pick in 2023, while only losing a 2022 fifth in the process. Grier has had relative success in his third-round draft history. Kenyan Drake and Jerome Baker were the standouts from 2016 and 2017, respectively. Then there’s Michael Deiter, Brandon Jones and Hunter Long. While the jury is still out on this trio before a true evaluation grade, the potential is certainly there for success.

Miami has gone from a dead cap nightmare to a dream of relief, much like when a student loan or credit card debt is paid off.

This formula, mixed with the 2023 draft vault Grier has accumulated, has created a win-win situation for the Dolphins. While still on his rookie contract for two or even three more years, Tua Tagovailoa has every reason to succeed this season and beyond.

Should that not happen at a rate acceptable to this new regime of coaches and the current front office, that cache of picks could be an insurance policy, which would be better used to enhance a team, rather than restart at the most important position on the field. The point is, either way, they’re prepared. In terms of this mindset, it’s merely better to have and not need, as opposed to needing and not having.

If there’s anything Miami does have, which is a certainty, is options. To go along with the usual course of hope and a side of potential this time of year.

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Touchdown Wire graded three Dolphins offseason signings

Miami has made a number of important moves this offseason.

In just over a week, the Miami Dolphins have done a lot to keep a lot of their own talented free agents while spending money to sign guys who fill some of their biggest holes.

General manager Chris Grier, head coach Mike McDaniel and the rest of the decision-makers in the organizations have added eight players from other teams that will really help them compete in 2022 and beyond.

In separate posts this week, one grading the first week of signings and another grading the more recent additions, Touchdown Wire gave their opinions on just how impactful a number of these moves were around the league, including three decisions that the Dolphins made.

Free agency: Bills were ‘in the mix’ for Dolphins’ Emmanuel Ogbah

Free agency: #Bills were ‘in the mix’ for #Dolphins’ Emmanuel Ogbah:

If you wondered whether a Bills squad that had a rotation of defensive ends last season might stand pat this offseason, think again.

The team’s front office could be looking to add even more impact to the position group according to DE Emmanuel Ogbah.

In fact, the Dolphins edge rusher says Buffalo, as well as Baltimore and Indianapolis, were each interested in his services.

Ogbah ended up agreeing to remain with Miami on a 4-year, $65 million contract with $32 million fully guaranteed.

While the Dolphins have been trying in recent seasons to find consistency at quarterback, make headway in the division, secure a long-term head coach, and not keep losing by a lot to Buffalo as often as they have in the Josh Allen era, at least Ogbah has been a bright spot on their roster.

It’s understandable why a team would want to add him, in the past two seasons the 28-year-old has had 18 sacks and 45 QB hits.

It may be unlikely the Bills would have offered what Miami did due to cap space, which does make one wonder if the interest was a chess move by GM and Bills front office guru Brandon Beane to drive the price up on a divisional foe and two other AFC contenders, or if the interest was indeed legitimate.

We do know that Beane does actively look to improve and add competition to the Bills position groups. And with four members of last year’s defensive end group hitting free agency, he may be looking for upgrades.

This means we may just see him add some more talent to the team’s edge rush rotation if the reported interest in Ogbah is any indication.

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Dolphins DE Emmanuel Ogbah says Ravens were ‘in the mix’ for him during 2022 free agency

Dolphins defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah said that the Ravens were in the mix for his services during 2022 free agency

The Baltimore Ravens had a very uneventful first day of the legal tampering period of 2022 free agency. Not one of their players who hit 2022 free agency signed elsewhere or was brought back, while the team also didn’t sign any outside acquisitions. However, that doesn’t mean that Baltimore wasn’t trying to improve their team.

Shortly after Miami Dolphins defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah signed a massive contract to return to the team, he was asked about what other teams were in the mix for him as his free agency process went on. He mentioned the Ravens as one of them, alongside the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts. Ogbah reveals Baltimore as a team who had interest in him around the 1:12 mark of the video below.

Analyzing the terms of Emmanuel Ogbah’s new deal with Dolphins

His cap hit in 2022 won’t be huge.

The Miami Dolphins have made sure that they’ve kept big parts of their defense together so far this offseason. Despite bringing in a new head coach in Mike McDaniel, Miami retained defensive coordinator Josh Boyer to run the same defense that saw success down the stretch during 2021.

Then, right before the start of the legal tampering period, the Dolphins did more of the same, this time retaining defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah on a four-year deal worth $65.4 million.

Before the signing, many were concerned that re-signing Ogbah would put a big dent into their cap space for 2022, but it doesn’t appear that will be the case.

According to Over the Cap, Ogbah’s signing bonus is just $13 million ($3.25 million per season) and his salary is just $4 million in 2022. Add in his roster bonus, and Ogbah’s cap hit for this upcoming year is just $7.6 million.

In 2023, Ogbah will get $15 million in guaranteed salary, bringing his cap hit to $18.6 million. In 2024, $4 million of his $14.93 million salary is guaranteed against injury. And, in the final year of his contract, Ogbah will have a cap hit of $20.15 million.

The structure of this contract allows the Dolphins to take advantage of the money that they have to use this offseason as well as prepare for the future when the salary cap jumps again in a few years.

Obviously, the $16.3 million average annual value is a ton of money for Miami to allocate to the defensive end, but this contract could like a lot more reasonable when more television money and gambling money bring more money to the league’s revenue and the salary cap, in turn.

Even if Ogbah doesn’t live up to the contract, they could cut him after the first two years and only incur $6.5 million in dead cap.

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Dolphins and DE Emmanuel Ogbah agree to four-year deal

Their top free agent is back.

The Miami Dolphins have made a huge move before the start of the legal tampering period of free agency, keeping one of their own.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Dolphins and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah have agreed to a four-year deal worth $65 million with $32 million guaranteed.

Over the last two seasons, Ogbah has had great numbers with Miami, recording 83 total tackles, 45 quarterback hits, 18 sacks and 17 passes defended.

Ogbah was arguably the team’s biggest priority this offseason, and they made sure he’s staying around for the foreseeable future with a defensive unit that the Dolphins have made a point to keep together despite getting a new head coach.

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5 free agent pass rushers Broncos should consider signing

Adding an outside linebacker is expected to be a priority for the Broncos this offseason.

After trading away three players and five draft picks for Russell Wilson, the Denver Broncos are set at quarterback — but they still have some holes at other positions on the roster.

One of the biggest positions of need for the Broncos this offseason is outside linebacker. After trading away Von Miller last year, Denver has lacked an elite presence on the edge (Bradley Chubb is yet to return to his pre-injury form).

The Broncos should consider signing one of these free agent pass rushers to pair with Chubb in 2022.

The Athletic discusses 3 pending free agents fits for Jags

The Athletic predicted the Jags to land guard Brandon Scherff along with two other notable free agents in a recent post.

Free agency will begin next week, and unlike last offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars need to be a bit more aggressive in the process. They went for value signings over splash ones, and as a result, the team didn’t improve all that much and ended up with the worst record in the league a second consecutive time.

Hopefully, with the team ranking sixth in cap space with around $38.7 million to spend this offseason, they will end up with the A-tier names they need to make a drastic leap. Specifically, the top priorities should be to upgrade the line around quarterback Trevor Lawrence and add more skill weapons.

For the most part, that’s what The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia has the Jags doing in his recent offseason predictions where he assigned each team three pending free agents who he viewed as needed additions for each respective organization. In the Jags’ case, they ended up with tight end Zach Ertz and guard Brandon Scherff on offense. Then on defense, Kapadia slotted them edge-rusher Emmanuel Ogbah.

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Edge Emmanuel Ogbah
  • OG Brandon Scherff
  • TE Zach Ertz

They could go in a number of different directions, but the priority should be to protect Trevor Lawrence and give him pass-catching options. Scherff has had some durability concerns but is still a quality guard. Ertz had 74 catches for 763 yards last season. He can be a nice security blanket for Lawrence and of course knows Doug Pederson well from their time together in Philly. Ogbah has been a highly productive player with 18 sacks, 46 hits and 15 batted passes over the past two seasons.

This prediction is in the same ballpark of what most fans have predicted when looking at the Jags’ needs.

The team recently franchise-tagged offensive tackle Cam Robinson and have Walker Little available to play right tackle if they think he’s a fit there. That said, the team is now in position to get help for the interior of the offensive line more so than on the edge, so signing Brandon Scherff makes sense.

However, Kapadia pointed out the veteran’s durability as we did in our preview for Scherff, too. With that being the case, a younger and more durable option like Alex Cappa (who would likely cost more) feels like a better move, but adding Scherff isn’t exactly wrong either.

As for Ertz, there may not be a more perfect fit for the Jags when looking at his connection with Pederson. He had his two most productive seasons under Pederson with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2018-19 by racking up 2,079 receiving yards and could be looking for a reunion as a result.

Like Scherff, though, Ertz is over 30, and one thing that will be working against him is the fact that the tight end class is strong in the draft. Still, with how rookie tight ends struggle to produce immediately, Ertz would be a good addition for the offense and as a leader.

Lastly, Ogbah, who is the youngest of the trio (28), is a player the Jags could use to bolster their pass-rush. He’s garnered nine sacks in his last two seasons, but most importantly, he’s garnered 81 hurries in the process. It seems he’d be a welcomed addition for the Jags’ defense after they ranked 23rd last season, but he’s a player they might want to get at a reasonable price.

It’s unclear who the Jags will try and sign next week, but the rumors should start heating up sooner rather than later. If the team can land at least one of the aforementioned names on Day 1, it would mark a better start than last season.

Emmanuel Ogbah’s agent says the Dolphins haven’t discussed franchise tag

It makes more sense to use it on the other guy.

The Miami Dolphins have a decision to make in a little over 24 hours, as the NFL’s deadline for designating a franchise player comes on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.

For Miami, there have really only been two options for the tag this offseason – tight end Mike Gesicki and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.

According to Ogbah’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, the two sides have had conversations about Ogbah’s future, but there haven’t been any talks about using the franchise tag to keep him around.

“I’ve had discussions with the Dolphins and the franchise tag hasn’t come up,” Rosenhaus said on Sunday night. “So I think it’s safe to say that that’s something they’re not planning on doing, and it sounds like the more realistic scenario is Emmanuel making it into free agency and us evaluating our options including the Dolphins.”

According to Over the Cap, the Dolphins would have guaranteed nearly $20.2 million this season if they would have placed the tag on him. While they have the most cap space in the league, that’s not exactly smart business to spend all of that money like that.

Now, the Dolphins could still re-sign Ogbah and structure his deal in such a way that the cap hits are lower in the first season, allowing for the larger hits to come as the cap continues to climb.

As for the franchise tag, it seems like Gesicki is primed to receive it. They could keep him around for a year on the tag, trade him on it, or use it for more time to work on a long-term deal. At $10.8 million, the cap hit is much more reasonable to work with for the tight end.

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12 free agent DEs the Colts should consider in 2022

The pass rush is the biggest need for the Colts entering free agency.

Outside of addressing their situation at the quarterback position, there is one need that tops all others on the priority list for the Indianapolis Colts during the 2022 offseason: fix the pass rush.

For too long, the Colts have been average-to-below-average when it comes to rushing the passer. We can give Carson Wentz and the passing offense all the blame we want for the late-season collapse (most of which is warranted), but we also have to acknowledge the lack of pass rush that has doomed this defense for years.

With an abundance of salary-cap space, the Colts will have the money to go after any edge rusher they want. Whether that will happen remains to be seen. But something has to be done. Ballard has to tweak his philosophy in some way to bring another edge presence to Indy.

With Al-Quadin Muhammad and Kemoko Turay set to be free agents, the Colts’ top three edge rushers are Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo and Ben Banogu. Three young but unproven pass rushers.

Here are 12 defensive ends the Colts should consider signing in 2022 free agency:

Be sure to check out our free agency pieces on other positions!

  • Offensive Tackle (link)
  • Tight End (link)