Tag: Jason Sanders

Report: Dolphins restructure K Jason Sanders’ contract

Miam opens up some cap space.

The Miami Dolphins have done a lot to ensure that they can field a talented team on the field each week.

However, with that comes a serious financial commitment that has resulted in some cap restraints in season and going forward.

Luckily, the Dolphins have found a way to open up some space , as they’ve agreed to a contract restructuring with kicker Jason Sanders, according to Over the Cap.

The move has lowered the kicker’s cap hit from $3.7 million to $2.4 million.

In 2023, Sanders has hit five of his seven field goal attempts and 28 of his 29 extra points.

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Dolphins should still consider competition for Jason Sanders

It’s good practice, even if they aren’t seriously considering replacing the kicker.

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The Miami Dolphins, after a season that included some questionable special teams efforts, opted not to move on from coordinator Danny Crossman or kicker Jason Sanders.

Sanders finished the season making 81.3% of his field goals and a career-low 93.2% of his extra-point attempts. The kicker was six-for-six on his final attempts in Week 18 and the wild-card round, including a field goal that got the team into the playoffs.

While he finished strong, the 27-year-old still didn’t have the consistency, especially from distance, that a top kicker in the league would.

Sanders’ current contract pays him an average annual value of $4.4 million per season which is the 10th most for any kicker in the league, according to Over the Cap.

At this point, the Dolphins haven’t even brought in competition for Sanders’ job, which is honestly shocking. Veterans Brett Maher, Robbie Gould, Mason Crosby, Randy Bullock and Ryan Succop are all available to be signed as free agents. Every single one of them hit a higher percentage of their field goals than Sanders did in 2022.

There’s a bit of a question about how releasing Sanders before the start of the season would affect the salary cap. Spotrac says they can get out of the deal this offseason with no dead cap hit, while Over the Cap states that the Dolphins would be stuck with $2.88 million in dead cap.

Either way, Miami would be best suited to at least have another kicker in for their remaining organized team activities, minicamp and training camp. If they don’t plan on replacing Sanders, at the very least, the competition could push him to be the best version of himself to win the job.

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Grading the Miami Dolphins specialists after their 2022 season

Some were better than others.

The Miami Dolphins saw their 2022 season come to a close with a loss to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, keeping them from their first playoff win in over 20 years.

Still, making the postseason in their first year under head coach Mike McDaniel is an accomplishment after failing to do so in the previous six.

With the season in the rearview, it’s a great time to look back at the year and evaluate how different positional groups played in 2022.

We’ve already hit on the:

Today, we’ll round out the roster with the specialists.

No one was prouder of Jason Sanders than Thomas Morstead

The kicker delivered in a big moment late in the season.

After the worst season of his career in 2021, Miami Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders looked to be heading in the right direction in the preseason, making eight of his nine field-goal attempts, including all four from beyond 50 yards.

However, when the regular season began, Sanders continued to experience the same woes that were present the year prior. Through 17 weeks, he was 23-of-29 (79.3%) and was on pace for a career-low in extra-point percentage (93.2%).

In the final week, on Miami’s final offensive drive, Skylar Thompson drove the team down the field, setting Sanders up for a field goal that would likely decide the game. He stepped up and nailed the kick, essentially sealing a victory and their chances of making the postseason.

Then, in the wild-card matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Sanders hit all three of his field goal attempts and both of his extra points, keeping the Dolphins alive in a game that probably shouldn’t have been as close as it was.

His partner in the kicking game, holder and punter Thomas Morstead, was there throughout the journey and saw the way that Sanders dealt with the stress of the season.

“Jason is about as talented a guy as I’ve ever been around,” Morstead said. “He reminds me a lot of Will Lutz down in New Orleans just guys that hit straight balls that are technically really good and have a really nice swing. Both tough-minded. He hung in there really well this year. I know there was definitely some noise, and there were a few times when we didn’t get it done, collectively, and he just hung in there.

“We start off, I want to say four or five kicks outside of 50 yards in the preseason, and everybody was super fired up. Then, we had a few different misses early and midseason that were kind of big kicks that just didn’t go our way. He just hung in there, continued to work, continued to grind. As a specialist, you’re always tinkering, and you’ve never arrived. There’s always something to work on, and you’re always trying to just find your groove. He hung in there.”

When it came down to that final kick in the regular season, nobody was happier for, or prouder of, Sanders than Morstead.

“I was really, really happy for him, for the team, and for him individually, just the way we finished the season out against the Jets to go to the playoffs,” the punter said. “He deserved to have that come down to him and for him to come through. You don’t always get what you deserve in this league, and I was just really happy for him. And, just the way he handled it after the game. All of a sudden you’re kind of put up on a pedestal, and you come through, I remember his quote after the game just saying he felt like he owed it to the guys on the team. He wasn’t too high. He was just doing his job. I really enjoyed working with him. It was a real pleasure. He’s an elite player in this league, and I was proud of the way he hung in there.”

Sanders’ future with Miami is up in the air, as, according to Spotrac, the Dolphins could cut the kicker and incur no penalty this offseason. The team has to weigh the missed kicks earlier in the season against the big kicks he made in Week 18 and the wild-card game. If they think they can correct some of the issues, he’ll be back next year.

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Dolphins K Jason Sanders minces no words regarding recent woes

He says the issue isn’t mental.

When the Miami Dolphins signed veteran punter Thomas Morstead this offseason, there were some who believed that his impact as a holder could really help kicker Jason Sanders, who had struggled the year prior.

In 2021, Sanders, who had just signed a five-year extension to make him one of the highest-paid kickers in the NFL, hit just 74.2% of his field goal attempts – the lowest percentage in his career.

Through 10 games of the 2022 campaign, Sanders has hit 76.5% of his field goals, but he’s seen his extra-point accuracy drop to a career-low 90%.

The 27-year-old recently spoke with the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, saying that he’s “just not getting the job done.”

He’s found part of the problem – “a little technical issue, but that’s not the reason why things don’t go your way.”

For a kicker, the mental aspect of the sport is just as important, if not more important, than the physical. They often get compared to starting pitchers in baseball or goalies in ice hockey because they can really determine a lot with one action.

Sanders told Jackson that he doesn’t plan to visit a sports psychologist because “it’s not really a mental thing. I’m hitting the ball well. I’ve just got to get the job done. End of story.”

Whatever the issue is it needs to be figured out quickly. The Dolphins have been able to survive the kicking woes through 10 games, but in closer and more pivotal contests, they may not be so lucky.

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Free agent kickers the Dolphins could sign to their practice squad

Miami has options to compete with Jason Sanders.

The Miami Dolphins’ kicking game has been one of the worst aspects of their team through the first 10 weeks of the 2022 campaign.

Kicker Jason Sanders has gone 13-for-17 (76.5%) on his field goal attempts and 27-for-30 (90%) on his extra points. Of all kickers who have attempted at least 10 field goals this season, Sanders is 24th in accuracy.

While head coach Mike McDaniel showed support for Sanders in his media availability this week, it’s not totally out of the question that the Dolphins decide to bring in another kicker to compete with him.

Here are some names that are currently on the market:

Mike McDaniel continues to back K Jason Sanders despite struggles

His inconsistent play could end up biting Miami by the end of the season.

While the Miami Dolphins have had a successful start to their 2022 campaign, going 7-3 over their first 10 contests, there have been a few aspects of their team that hasn’t gone exactly to plan.

The kicking game has been one of those areas.

Despite bringing in veteran punter Thomas Morstead to hold on attempts, Jason Sanders’ performance has been subpar. This season, Sanders has made just 13 of his 17 field goal attempts (76.5%) – the second-lowest percentage of his career. He’s also hit 27 of his 30 extra-point attempts (90%) – the lowest percentage of his career.

While there have been struggles, head coach Mike McDaniel backed up his kicker.

“He’s given me no reason to believe that he won’t get the things corrected,” McDaniel said. “So we’re always doing that regardless, with regard to every position to make sure that you are up to speed on your contingency plans because you’re only one soft tissue (injury) away, especially at those positions. But I have no reason to think – first and foremost, Jason holds himself to a high degree of scrutiny and has high demands of himself so he expects more. But it’d be one thing if he’d given me any reason to think that he can’t get it corrected. So until he proves otherwise, we’re feeling good about where we’re at with him.”

The Dolphins have been able to get by regardless of Sanders’ play, but, when they play better teams in closer games, his performance will become much more pivotal.

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Dolphins QB, OL and specialist ratings in Madden NFL 23

Only one player from the groups made it into the top 10 for their position.

With the end of another NFL offseason in sight, football fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the newest installment of the Madden video game series, Madden 23.

After the release of every other position group’s ratings, EA Sports, the publishers of the game, finished the week by putting out quarterback, offensive line and specialist ratings on Friday. The Dolphins only had one player in any of those groups make it into the top 10 at their position.

Here’s a look at most of Miami’s quarterback, offensive line and specialist ratings for launch and how they compare to other players at the same position:

  • Terron Armstead – 93 overall (No. 4 LT)
  • Thomas Morstead – 80 overall (No. 7 P)
  • Tua Tagovailoa – 75 overall (t-No. 22 QB)
  • Teddy Bridgewater – 75 overall (t-No. 22 QB)
  • Jason Sanders – 75 overall (t-No. 17 K)
  • Robert Hunt – 74 overall (t-No. 16 RG)
  • Connor Williams – 73 overall (t-No. 18 C)
  • Liam Eichenberg – 68 overall (t-No. 30 RT)
  • Solomon Kindley – 68 overall (t-No. 33 RG)
  • Austin Jackson – 67 overall (t-No. 41 LT)
  • Greg Little – 67 overall (t-No. 41 LT)
  • Michael Deiter – 64 overall (t-No. 43 C)
  • Robert Jones – 63 overall (t-No. 49 LG)
  • Kellen Diesch – 62 overall (t-No. 52 LT)
  • Skylar Thompson – 57 overall (t-No. 80 QB)
  • Larnel Coleman – 57 overall (t-No. 69 RT)
  • Adam Pankey – 54 overall (t-No. 77 RT)

EA Sports also announced the team and unit ratings. Miami’s offense was rated a 79, the defense was rated an 84 and special teams was rated an 80. Overall, the team was given an 83.

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2022 Dolphins position preview: Breaking down specialists ahead of camp

Miami can’t have the same performances.

The Miami Dolphins had an extremely busy offseason between the firings and hirings of head coaches, game-changing trades and impactful free agency signings.

This time in between minicamps/OTAs and training camp is a great opportunity to assess the state of Miami’s roster at each position before they hold true competitions at the end of this month and into August under new coach Mike McDaniel.

We’ve talked about quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen, defensive linemen and linebackers, but now it’s time to jump to the third phase of the game and discuss the specialists on the roster.

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The 4 most disappointing Dolphins from 2021

These guys didn’t make the season much better.

The Miami Dolphins finished their season with a winning record, but they failed to make a playoff appearance for the fifth year in a row and fired their head coach the Monday after their final game.

While Brian Flores and his coaching staff are deserving of their fair share of the blame, there were quite a few players whose performances directly correlated with losses this season. This coaching search is a perfect time to reflect on and evaluate the play of some of these guys and discuss where the team should go from here.

These were the four most disappointing Dolphins from the 2021 season.