Tag: Miami Dolphins

Dolphins cut running back Mark Walton after ‘police matter’

The Miami Dolphins have released RB Mark Walton after an “police matter” during his 4-game suspension.

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The Miami Dolphins have released a statement announcing that they released running back Mark Walton this morning. The news comes approximately halfway through Walton’s four-game suspension, which was handed down by the NFL in response to Walton’s off-field transgressions this past offseason while a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The news comes as a stunning turn of events after the Dolphins coaching staff spoke highly of Walton, even after the news of his suspension broke just a few weeks ago.

Not many details are known at this time other than Walton was involved with a police matter that came to the team’s attention this morning. It was all the news Miami needed to feel as though Walton has lost the benefit of the doubt the team gave him by offering him a second chance this spring, even with outstanding legal issues.

More information is needed, but it is difficult to feel too sorry for someone who has squandered first and second chances within a span of eight months. Hopefully Walton is able to get whatever kind of support he needs to work out his issues — but that support will not come from the Dolphins organization. At least not after whatever went down recently.

Stay tuned for more details on this developing story.

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How the Dolphins can best improve their defense this offseason

If the Dolphins are going to “right the ship” in 2020, there’s only so many opportunities to upgrade. Where will Miami need to invest?

Brian Flores’ defense has plenty of potential, we can all agree to that. But what we saw in Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills serves as the sober reminder that while the team is capable of good performances, this roster isn’t where it needs to be in order for the defense to be effective on a weekly basis. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen tore the Dolphins apart — rarely pressures, hardly bothered and able to run freely into the second level when he decided it was time to run.

And for all the strong spots the Dolphins have established, this past game serves Miami a clear blueprint on where they need to get better. The Dolphins defense is strong up the middle. Davon Godchaux, Christian Wilkins, Jerome Baker and Raekwon McMillan are a great interior group. The edges of this defense? That’s where the focus needs to be this offseason. That’s where the investments need to come.

Miami has gotten admirable contributions from the likes of Taco Charlton, Vince Biegel, Nik Needham, Stephen Parker and others — but both positions need a massive influx of talent: including fresh starters all around.

Defensive end and cornerback are where Miami should (and probably will) pour significant investments into the defense — Miami’s aggressive defense won’t do you any good if you don’t have the defenders to consistently play man coverage or show the explosiveness to get home off the edge.

Vince Biegel? He’s a terrific early down option and in a perfect world, a rotational defender who brings energy and can help set the line against the run. But on 3rd and 15, Biegel isn’t a player who has the ideal level of juice in his first step to stress tackles and get quarterbacks off their spot.

Taco Charlton? He’s been more opportunistic than effective — granted, that in itself is a gift. But he’s also ideally a depth option, not a starter.

The Dolphins cornerbacks will be aided by the return of Xavien Howard next season, but Miami will still need two or three additional cornerbacks before this position group is where it needs to be from a talent perspective so that players like Needham are proportionately aligned on the depth chart with their potential and ceiling.

If the Dolphins want to fix this defense in an offseason, that’s where the investments need to go. Thankfully, it is a great year to need both positions. But Miami must find the balance between properly investing there and helping to build out the offense — which will not be an easy task.

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What is ideal role with Dolphins for newly extended WR Allen Hurns?

What does the ideal role look like for newly extended Miami Dolphins wide receiver Allen Hurns?

The Miami Dolphins made a bit of a surprise decision when it was announced that the team had agreed upon a contract extension with wide receiver Allen Hurns. Hurns hasn’t really been the most impactful receiver on the team, nor is he the most dynamic or promising athlete. And while the contract extension Hurns signed with Miami wasn’t for any insane dollar amount, seeing Miami lock in a receiver with 17 receptions for 223 yards in 9 games this season was still something of a surprise.

The details of Hurns’ contract extension are now known, he’s signed a 2-year, $8M extension with $3.27M in fully guaranteed money.

A modest deal — but a contract extension none the less. Which begs the question: what vision do the Dolphins see for Allen Hurns that would prompt them to prioritize an in-season contract extension?

Hurns isn’t going to be a volume receiver for the Dolphins, nor should he be. Hurns runs nice routes and is experienced enough to make himself available as needed vs. zone coverage or against the blitz. The role for Hurns that makes the most sense is to be “the vet”. Granted, Hurns is barely a year older than DeVante Parker, but Hurns is the savvy player who makes the most of his reps without elite physical tools. That experience and mental sharpness has ingratiated Hurns with the coaching staff and as a result, he’s been rewarded.

Look for Hurns to serve as the stand in for Preston Williams while the rookie recovers from a torn ACL. And in 2020, Hurns will cede the role back to Williams and serve as a reliable depth presence who can step in at a moment’s notice or serve as the 3rd or 4th wide receiver. There’s value to experience and mentorship — and it seems that’s what the Dolphins prioritized in paying up for Hurns just a few days ago.

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What kind of additions do Dolphins WRs need this offseason?

The Miami Dolphins are a team generally needs talent everywhere. But just how big of a need is wide receiver?

The Miami Dolphins have needs just about everywhere on their roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball — that much is certain. Offensive tackle, quarterback, running back, interior offensive line. TE Mike Gesicki has shown some life — but generally speaking he doesn’t command targets the way you’d anticipate an alpha player (or a tight end in a New England style offensive) should. But what about the wide receiver position?

If you told a Dolphins fan four months ago that the team would potentially enter 2020 with their top four receivers being DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, Jakeem Grant and Allen Hurns, what would the reaction have been?

Probably not as favorable as what it is now. Of course, the situation is complicated by Preston Williams’ injury — but the Dolphins have to be encouraged by the promising display he put on the field for eight games this season. And with Jakeem Grant getting the chance this past weekend to remind everyone how dynamic he can be when he gets a little room to work, the Dolphins’ depth at the position seems to be just fine. Can DeVante Parker continue his career resurgence? He logged a career high in receiving yards this past week against the Bills, continuing an inspirational turnaround after nearly seeing himself shuttled out of South Florida before this season.

The Dolphins have a need at wide receiver — but it is probably much less pressing than what was first anticipated thanks to the developments we’ve seen come to life from Parker and Williams. The odd man out is probably Albert Wilson, who has caught 14 passes for 84 yards and is owed $9.5M in cash next year. Wilson hasn’t looked like his explosive self in recovering from last year’s hip injury — so if the Dolphins need to address the slot receiver position, they’ll likely be given a lot of flexibility to do so via either free agency or the draft.

But it’s not a pressing need — and certainly low on Miami’s priority list after considering the state of the rest of the roster.

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As QB waters muddy, Dolphins’ Grier must remain diligent

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier will have his hands full weighing all of the team’s options through their offseason QB search.

If the epic roster teardown of 2019 is to be a success, the biggest piece is for the endless cycle of mediocre Dolphins quarterbacks to end in 20 A.D. (twenty years after Dan). We’ve been hearing for months now about how the Dolphins are so infatuated with Tua Tagovailoa that they were going to dedicate an offseason to set up moves to acquire him.

The term that many like to use ad nauseam is “tanking.”

A bit has happened since then.

First off, the Bengals have dropped 10 straight, while the Dolphins won two in a row before dropping a rivalry game to the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins are less talented but more competitive than the Cincinnati Bengals and ultimately Miami will win more games than Cincinnati. The Bengals – not the Dolphins – will get the first crack at a quarterback in the upcoming draft, barring a trade back scenario that seems quite unlikely. Book it.

Secondly, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has ascended into a media darling. More importantly, he’s ascended into kind of a stud. Burrow has padded his resume with wins against stiff competition, most notably carrying his Tigers to victory in Tuscaloosa over the juggernaut Crimson Tide. He has taken college football by storm, and there’s reason to believe he will be the first quarterback taken in the 2020 NFL Draft — likely by the Bengals.

What makes Burrow QB1 in April’s draft even more likely is the hip injury Tagovailoa sustained in Saturday’s beatdown of Mississippi State. Tua’s season is over and he’ll have a long road of rehab ahead of him to play football in 2020 and beyond. Thankfully, at this moment in time, it appears he will be able to make a full recovery and play again — something that wasn’t so clear on Saturday afternoon.

This complicates things for, well, everyone involved. As it pertains to the Dolphins and Chris Grier, it makes things even more interesting given what we know. If what Rich Eisen heard was correct and Miami is infatuated with Tua, there are some causes and effects to note: How does the injury affect Tagovailoa’s draft stock? And how does this injury impact the Dolphins’ pursuit of him?

Burrow’s rise in popularity coupled with Tua’s injury will undoubtedly result in Tagovailoa not being taken first overall in April’s draft, something that was near consensus a few months ago. This benefits Miami. If the “excellent” prognosis is accurate, will a team, notably the Dolphins, still draft him in Round 1? That’s where things get muddied.

On one hand, Miami could still take him with its first of three first-round selections; a pick that figures to be in the top five at this point. Now that Tua is injured, they shouldn’t have to trade any assets to get him, despite them winning a few games. This is a wild reality that didn’t seem possible before the injury. On the other hand, however, is the thought of waiting to grab him with one of the team’s later picks. This must have crossed the Dolphins’ decision-makers minds by now. Grab a blue-chip talent at the top of Round 1 and get their coveted quarterback? Grier has to be salivating.

Would Grier risk that, though? Would he risk losing out on his presumed ultimate target after all the work he put in to deconstruct a roster to build back up around his darling quarterback? Would he risk letting Tagovailoa slide down the draft board to the end of Round 1 where a certain division rival has an old quarterback without a contract in 2020. Nothing would be more tragic for Dolphins fans than seeing that come to fruition.

Ultimately, Grier must trust his scouts. He must trust the doctors — both the ones working on Tua now and in the immediate future, as well as team doctors – to properly treat, diagnose, and clear the quarterback. We don’t need another Brees situation on our hands. And lastly, Grier must trust his eyes and his gut in regards to his decision. He’s moved masterfully in the offseason and during the season itself to secure assets for April. He must now have the intestinal fortitude to have the conviction to make a tough and unfathomably critical decision in April.

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What we learned from Bills’ Week 11 victory over Miami

What we learned, Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins, NFL week 11

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

With questions starting to creep in about the Bills and the overall outlook of their 2019 season, a comfortable, yet fun win, in Miami, was just what the doctor ordered for Sean McDermott’s team.

The Bills rebounded from a tough loss in Cleveland and got back on the winning track by lighting up the scoreboard at Hard Rock Stadium. Buffalo produced its highest-scoring output of the season in a 37-20 trouncing of the Dolphins.

The Bills offense got up off the canvas after a week of taking punches in the form of criticism from fans and local media for numerous subpar performances since September. Any offensive shortcomings the Bills have been experiencing this season were forgotten for most of the day Sunday as the Bills posted 424 yards of total offense and seven different scoring drives.

It was a big day for quarterback Josh Allen. Allen had his best outing of the season, completing 21 of 33 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 56 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown. Meanwhile, receiver John Brown had his biggest and best day yet for Buffalo with nine catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

The Buffalo defense had an overall strong day, even though Ryan Fitzpatrick passed for 323 yards. The Bills sacked Fitzpatrick seven times and produced a takeaway for the first time since October. The run defense rebounded in a huge way by allowing Miami just 23 rushing yards. It was a major change for a run defense that had been gashed in recent weeks.

The Bills now sit at 7-3 and have to feel a bit more comfortable than they did last week about their playoff outlook. They can get to 8-3 this coming week back at home against the 3-7 Denver Broncos before they make their Thanksgiving trip to Dallas.

Here are four things we learned from the Bills’ win Sunday in South Florida:

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The good, the bad and the ugly from Dolphins’ 37-20 loss to Bills

Which Miami Dolphins showed up this week to play against the Buffalo Bills? And who failed to provide the needed performances?

The Miami Dolphins entered Week 11 riding a two game win streak and left with a hefty serving of humble pie. This surely wasn’t the way the Dolphins envisions their second go around with the Buffalo Bills going — but yet here we are. The Dolphins could hardly stop Buffalo on defense, the Bills exploited shaky pass protection with uncharacteristically aggressive blitz calls and the game itself was even more lopsided than the final score would indicate.

It was easy for a moment to forget that this Dolphins’ team doesn’t really have a lot of talent that will be fixtures for years to come. Let this serve as the reminder.

And in the aftermath of yesterday’s loss, it’s fairly easy to paint an ugly picture. We’re going to try to paint a complete one.

The Good

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick has done his best in recent weeks to make the best of the offensive situation in Miami. And against the Bills, “Fitz” kept plugging away — 45 pass attempts for 323 yards and no turnovers. Fitzpatrick has played surprisingly within himself in recent weeks, with just 1 turnover over the Dolphins’ last three games combined. There have still been peaks and valleys and with 18 sacks taken over the last four contests, Fitzpatrick continues to be challenged by the situation around him. But he played well with all things considered against the Bills.

WR DeVante Parker

Parker went off for 7 receptions for 135 yards and what would have been a receiving touchdown if Mike Gesicki had the anticipation to peel back and throw a block. Parker has really come on and is making the most of his second chance with the Dolphins — putting up a big performance in his second game against the Bills this season serves as further evidence that Parker is a long-term fixture for this team.

CB Nik Needham

Needham played a scrappy football game. He got busted in zone coverage playing Cover 2 against WR John Brown and was constantly tested, but you have to admire Needham’s ability to bounce back and how he was able to make some plays on the ball. This UDFA has the look of a guy who will hang around for quite some time.

WR Jakeem Grant

Grant had his best game of the season and made an impact play in the return game. It was great to see him get some room to run, open up his strides and show the electric qualities that earned him a contract extension with the Dolphins.

The Bad

The Pass Rush

…what pass rush? Exactly. The Dolphins left QB Josh Allen unbothered in the pocket all day and the end result was the second year quarterback dissected the Dolphins defense. Miami needs to get much more dynamic on the edge and also sorely missed DE Taco Charlton’s presence as a pass rusher.

LB Raekwon McMillan

Boy, did the Dolphins miss Raekwon McMillan on Sunday. There’s nothing bad that McMillan did — he was just injured and unavailable to play. But the eye opening reveal was just how poorly Miami’s run defense played without him on the second level. The silver lining? McMillan’s value to this team is further reinforced by how they played without him on Sunday.

TE Mike Gesicki

As previously noted, Mike Gesicki cost DeVante Parker a touchdown on Sunday — we hope he sends drops Parker an apology card in his locker or something!

We’re not really sure what Gesicki was seeing or thinking on this play. But when contributing 4 receptions for 18 yards, you’d sure help your team a lot more by throwing a block in the open field.

The Ugly

The offensive line and RB Kalen Ballage

7 sacks. 23 rushing yards. It was about as ugly as you could possibly imagine. The offensive line struggled with their calls and protection and they also struggled to reset the line of scrimmage thanks to lateral quickness by the Bills’ defensive front.

Ballage? He managed to scrap out a touchdown against Buffalo, but he again struggled to find room to run in the backfield and had another ugly drop on a screen pass early in the game. His struggles are frustrating — but not surprising based on his body of work this season.

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Report: Jags sign Nick O’Leary after injuries at TE position

The Jags sustained another big injury at tight end and has signed former Florida State TE Nick O’Leary.

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With the Jacksonville Jaguars taking several hits at the tight end position, the team has decided to bring in some help. Per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, they signed former Florida State alum Nick O’Leary Monday.

O’Leary, 27, was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth-round of the 2015 NFL Draft and was with the team until 2018. Afterward, he was with the Miami Dolphins from September of 2018 to October of this year. While with both organizations, he managed to accumulate 44 catches for 596 yards and three touchdowns.

The Jags entered Week 11’s game with just two tight ends active in Josh Oliver and Ben Koyack. However, Seth DeValve was amongst the team’s inactives after sustaining an oblique injury in practice. To make matters worse, Oliver sustained the back injury mentioned by Rapoport while hauling in his only reception of the day.

Heading forward, it appears the Jags may be in a bind at the tight end position because they’ve simply had bad luck there. Earlier in the season, the team placed both Geoff Swaim and James O’Shaughnessy on injured reserve, and if Oliver has to join them, the Jags will be left relying on whatever free agent they can find down the road.

Report card: Bills win 37-20 vs. Dolphins

The Bills came out swinging against the Dolphins, who took an early lead and never looked back.

The Buffalo Bills continued their strong road performances this season with 37-20 win over the Miami Dolphins. The Bills are now 7-3, sitting pretty for a wild card spot.

After their loss against the Browns, the Bills offense was called into question by both their fans and the media. The Bills responded by pouring on 37 points against a poor Miami defense.

The Bills defense also came out and stopped the run, as well as getting pressure to the quarterback. It wasn’t a perfect game from Buffalo, but a step in the right direction after the disappointing loss to Cleveland.

After the victory in Miami, here’s how the Bills graded in this week’s report card:

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Quarterback: A-

This was possibly the best performance by Josh Allen in his young career. Allen started the game strong, but on the first two drives he couldn’t create touchdowns, only field goals. On the third drive Allen found receiver John Brown for a 40-yard touchdown strike. Allen hit Brown who was streaking down the sideline, and Brown bumped off a defender before heading into the end zone.

After a drive that led to just a field goal, Allen worked some red zone magic and found tight end Dawson Knox who shrugged off a defender after the catch to walk in for the score on an all-out blitz from the Dolphins defense. In the third quarter Allen had an eight-yard scramble where he used his speed to reach the outside and hurdle for the score.

It wasn’t a perfect game for Allen, he didn’t complete many deep shots, and had some head scratching throws. Ultimately, Allen had one of the best games of his career. He completed 21 out of his 33 passes, a 63.6 completion percentage, he threw for 256 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

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PODCAST: Has the Bills offense made a turnaround?

Bills Wire Buffalo Bills podcast recap of the team’s Week 11 win over the Miami Dolphins.

The Buffalo Bills went down to Miami and took care of the business, squishing the “fish”(mammals) in their second encounter of the season with a score of 37-20. It was the most points accrued by this Bills offense all season, and they shined in all aspects. Mustached Buffalo offense coordinator Brian Daboll got it done.

Despite what their record may say, Mimai was a valiant team, and had been riding high on a two-game win streak, but the Bills slowed them down. There were a few moments where the Dolphins had opportunities to take over the game, but they could not capitalize.

Miami only attempted to rush a mere 13 attempts for 23 yards, a questionable decision since rushing up the middle worked to their advantage in the first encounter.

The offense for Buffalo was essentially fan service against Miami, and the Bills social media crowd got their way. Devin Singletary was the primary running back, getting key downs and leading the rushing yardage. Quarterback Josh Allen heaved the ball around, hitting wideout John Brown for two touchdown passes, further cementing Brown’s roster spot for years to come. Brown, who many have only viewed as “just a deep ball guy” has shown that he can be the No. 1 receiver that the team has desperately needed for a long time.

Billswire Podcast Hosts Matt Johnson and Jeremy Juhasz explore the big win in Miami, and look ahead ahead toward Denver next week:

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