Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
These players have their contracts up at the end of the year and should be re-signed.
NFL contracts not signed beyond 2021 expire at 4 p.m. ET March 16, meaning that teams have from the end of the season until that time to sign their pending free agents to contract extensions. A few will get tagged (the franchise tag period begins Feb. 22), some will get extensions, but it’s a good bet most of the players set to reach unrestricted free agency will do so.
But if we were in charge, these are the players we’d keep — one per team as decided by the NFL Wire staff.
#NFL free agency 2022 starts just over two months from now. Here’s a look at who teams should keep among their pending free agents.
NFL contracts not signed beyond 2021 expire at 4 p.m. ET on March 16, meaning that teams have from the end of the season until that time to sign their pending free agents to contract extensions. A few will get tagged (the franchise tag period begins Feb. 22), some will get extensions, but it’s a good bet most of the players set to reach unrestricted free agency will do so.
But if we were in charge, these are the players we’d keep — one per team as decided by the NFL Wire staff.
One of the players got a veteran rest day.
In preparation for their Week 18 matchup with the New England Patriots, the Miami Dolphins held their first practice of the week on Wednesday.
Brian Flores’ team had seven players listed on the day’s injury report, however, one of them was wide receiver DeVante Parker who was just getting a veteran rest day.
Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah (quad), defensive tackle John Jenkins (illness), and wide receiver Preston Williams (illness) were limited on Wednesday. All three players were new additions to the report this week, however, Jenkins and Williams were on the COVID list until Saturday.
Three other Dolphins were full participants, including right tackle Jesse Davis (knee/elbow), wide receiver Isaiah Ford (knee), and running back Phillip Lindsay (ankle). Davis was on the report last week with a knee, but his elbow injury is new. Ford is a new addition as well, but with both players practicing fully, they shouldn’t be anything to worry about.
New England had 11 players listed for their side on Wednesday.
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The Miami Dolphins rode a real rollercoaster this season to end up at 6-7 at their Week 14 bye week. These have been their best players.
The Miami Dolphins have had a very strange season that has resulted in the team being 6-7 at the deadline.
Brian Flores’ team has seemed to put it together in recent weeks and has found a winning strategy that could help them make a push toward the postseason in the final weeks. The biggest question will be whether or not teams ahead of them lose games to help them out.
With 13 weeks and 13 games in the books, it’s time to reflect on Miami’s season to this point. According to Pro Football Focus, these five players have had the biggest impacts this season.
We asked @TheDolphinsWire’s @Mike_Masala to give us a dive into the Panthers’ Week 12 opponents.
The Carolina Panthers don’t get to see their friends down south too much. They’ve only played the Miami Dolphins twice over the previous eight seasons.
So, let’s get familiar with these not-so-familiar fishes. Dolphins Wire managing editor Mike Masala gives us some answers about the Panthers’ upcoming opponents ahead of this Week 12 showdown.
Panthers Wire: Following a seven-game losing streak that spanned from Week 2 to Week 8, the Dolphins now come into Sunday having ripped off three straight victories. What did they put in the Kool-Aid down there in Miami?
Dolphins Wire: The main reason for the turnaround has been Miami’s defense.
PW: While unlikely even at the time, some Panthers fans were hoping quarterback Tua Tagovailoa would drop to Carolina in the 2020 draft. That, obviously, didn’t happen. But, for the interest of those folks, how’s last year’s fifth overall pick coming along?
DW: The evaluation of Tua Tagovailoa is still incomplete at this point.
Miami holding him out from starting right away his rookie year, and injuries in 2021, have only allowed him to start 15 games. In those starts, the team has a winning record, but he’s still making some mistakes that are typical of a young quarterback.
Whether it’s throwing an interception immediately after the defense produces a turnover or struggling to get all of his receivers lined up, Tagovailoa definitely still has some growing to do if he wants to become a long-term solution for Miami or another team.
PW: And how’s this year’s first-rounder for the Dolphins coming along? Has wideout Jaylen Waddle been living up to that sixth overall selection?
DW: Jaylen Waddle has been great in the role he’s been asked to fill. He’s extremely quick, and his route-running is exceptional. This makes it very easy for him to create separation and give his quarterback, Tagovailoa or Jacoby Brissett, an opportunity to make a play.
The two things we saw him do at Alabama that he’s yet to do in Miami are making plays downfield and punt returning. Miami’s offensive line and quarterback play have kept them from running many long-developing plays, so it’s understandable that Waddle hasn’t been asked to take on that task yet.
The punt return is interesting, though. He’s essentially split time with Jevon Holland back there since Jakeem Grant was traded earlier in the season. Waddle was so dynamic in college at the skill that you’d think they’d give him a real shot.
PW: Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, according to Pro Football Focus’ measures, currently has the eighth-most pressures (45) in 2021. How valuable has he been for the unit?
DW: Anybody who has been following Dolphins Wire this season has seen just how much Emmanuel Ogbah is being discussed. We gave him the defensive player of the year prior to the Jets game.
Whether it’s putting pressure on the quarterback or jumping up to knock down a pass (something he’s done eight times this season), he’s impacting the game nearly every snap that he’s on the field.
PW: Now for some under-the-radar recognition. Can you give us a lesser acclaimed Dolphin or two to keep an eye on in this one?
DW: The names have been getting more recognition in recent weeks but safeties Brandon Jones and Jevon Holland have been having great seasons in 2021.
Coming into the season, the position was one of the question marks for the defense, but they’ve answered all questions in a big way. In recent weeks, they’ve been used very frequently as extra rushers, so it wouldn’t surprise any Dolphins fan to see them record a sack or force a turnover this week.
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We’re 10 weeks in, so let’s hand out some awards.
The third season of the Brian Flores era in Miami hasn’t gone the way that many hoped. The Dolphins have struggled for a majority of the season, losing seven straight before winning their last two to land in third place in the AFC East with a 3-7 record through 10 weeks.
Miami’s schedule isn’t necessarily the most difficult, but they haven’t shown enough consistency for the fans and media to buy in on them beating teams that they should.
While most things have been negative around Hard Rock Stadium for a majority of the season, it’s still important to reflect on the first 10 weeks and talk about those who have shined.
These are the Dolphins’ midseason award winners.
There are a couple of surprises on the list.
As the Miami Dolphins get ready for their Week 9 matchup with the Houston Texans, there’s a pretty large sample size to evaluate the play of the team. Miami’s 1-7 record would seem to indicate that the team isn’t very talented, but there have been some impressive performances through the first eight games.
While some players have made game-changing plays, sometimes the guys who have the best seasons are those whose numbers don’t jump off the official stat sheet. Those guys who impact the play but don’t register sacks are the ones to come to mind first, and that’s exactly what we see from this list from Pro Football Focus of the Dolphins’ top performers through Week 8.
Highest graded #Dolphins this season (min. 25% snaps)
1️⃣ Emmanuel Ogbah: 84.8
2️⃣ Christian Wilkins: 80.8
3️⃣ Zach Sieler: 77.7
4️⃣ Tua Tagovailoa: 73.0
5️⃣ DeVante Parker/John Jenkins 72.7 pic.twitter.com/gX51BVxOEF— PFF MIA Dolphins (@PFF_Dolphins) November 2, 2021
Emmanuel Ogbah and Christian Wilkins are both having great seasons, but they have only recorded 2.5 sacks. They are pressuring the quarterback, clogging lanes, and getting their hands on balls. Zach Sieler doesn’t get the playing time that the other two do, but he’s been impactful in his role.
Tua Tagovailoa being the fourth-ranked player in Miami is concerning considering his 73.0 grade. That’s good for 22nd in the NFL for quarterbacks. It’s not exactly ideal.
DeVante Parker and John Jenkins round out the list. Both players haven’t played all that much with Parker playing in just five games due to his hamstring, and John Jenkins stepping up in five himself mostly to fill in for Raekwon Davis.
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There’s at least one bright spot through the 1-3 start.
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While the Dolphins are 1-3 through four weeks, and they’ve been without their quarterback due to injury, there hasn’t been a whole lot to celebrate.
The offense has struggled. Jacoby Brissett isn’t seeing the field well. The co-offensive coordinators aren’t drawing up the best plays or schemes for success. Members of the offensive line are getting constantly turned around or ran through.
However, according to Pro Football Focus, there is a bright spot on this Dolphins team, and that is Emmanuel Ogbah. The edge rusher has graded out at 89.5 in this early stage of the season.
That ranking places him fourth among players at his position. Who are the guys ahead of him?
That’s some elite company.
PFF may not mean everything when it comes to discerning a player’s ability, but Ogbah has been solid this year. His eight quarterback hits through four games have him on pace to blow past his career-high of 21 that he set last season.
The season may not be going the way many hoped, but at least there are some positive signs.
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Emmanuel Ogbah fulfilling his end of bargain amid bid for new deal
Miami Dolphins defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah is in the midst of a contract year with the team in 2021 — playing out the second half of a 2-year, $15M contract signed with Miami ahead of the 2020 season. And, to his credit, Ogbah has been an absolute delight to see play out for Miami. The veteran defensive end led the Dolphins in sacks in 2020 (9) and enjoyed generally speaking a career year with the Dolphins this past season.
Ogbah hasn’t been shy, either, about the prospect of a new deal with the Dolphins. His representation, NFL super-agent Drew Rosenhaus, has said on a number of occasions that Ogbah would like to find another deal with Miami to continue playing for the Dolphins.
And he’s doing his part on the field to earn one, too. Ogbah has just one half-sack thus far through three games — but sack production is only a small glimmer into the whole story for pass rushers. Ogbah has been persistent as a rusher this season and has been credited with 15 total pressures through three games (plus six stops in the run game). Pro Football Focus has him tied for 8th in the NFL in most pressures through 3 games and the analytics site has him graded out as the league’s 12th best EDGE defender through three weeks.
But even beyond the numbers, the eyeball test is quite telling for Ogbah’s play early on this season. He’s been excellent. And he’s motivated do keep the pressure on Miami until he locks in a new deal.
And, quite frankly, Miami would be foolish not to get him one. The addition of Ogbah at the price of $7.5M per season is one of the great bargains in football right now and should go down as a ‘win’ in the ledger of general manager Chris Grier’s personnel decisions. Ogbah will be 28-years old in November, meaning his next contract can come with him playing in his physical prime for the Dolphins.
Finding that price-point mid-season may be easier said than done and Miami is well within their rights to let this thing play out for a few more months to get a feel for Ogbah’s full resume in Miami. But the early returns in 2021 make it clear that the Dolphins could and should make him a priority to extend before next March.
Every team needs at least one dominant edge defender. Who are the best at the position coming into the 2021 NFL season?
Last season, including the playoffs and Super Bowl LV, NFL quarterbacks attempted 18,983 dropbacks, per Sports Info Solutions. Of those 18,983 attempts, either from under center or pistol or shotgun, quarterbacks threw from zero- through three-step drops 11,540 times. So, when opposing quarterbacks are running quick game 60.8% of the time, your options as an edge defender are relatively limited as opposed to previous eras when quarterbacks were more inclined to grip it and rip it. Rumbling all the way around the edge is still one way to go, but you’d best get there in a big hurry.
The increasing popularity of the quick game has made interior pressure more important than ever, something we discussed when our list of the top 11 interior defensive linemen went up. So, when you’re an edge defender, you might find yourself aligned inside more often these days, so that your coaches can scheme up your speed and power inside the tackles. Ends like Za’Darius Smith and Cameron Jordan, both high on this list, have long been able to take quarterbacks out of the play from multiple gaps.
If you’re a total edge guy like Tampa Bay’s Shaquil Barrett — this year’s top edge defender on our list — you’d better be able to stunt to the open gap, work your inside counter, and convert speed to power to force the offensive tackle to give up ground in a straight line. The importance of the “shortest distance” theory has never been more clear for edge defenders, and here are the NFL’s 11 best coming into the 2021 season.
(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions. PFF counts half-sacks as full sacks, and that is often reflected in our pressure totals).
