The Miami Dolphins are hosting free agent defender Shaquem Griffin on a visit today — with the start of Dolphins training camp just around the corner at the beginning of next week. The strategy of churning the roster is hardly a new concept for general manager Chris Grier and the Dolphins will certainly welcome any and all comers to the team who can provide competition for any specific role on the active roster.
And so the question begs to be asked — which role on the active roster would Griffin be in play to contend for?
The answer doesn’t necessarily lie on the defensive side of the football but instead with the team’s special teams unit. Griffin has played 259 defensive snaps in his 3-year NFL career with Seattle, but logged nearly twice as many (506) as a special teams player. That’s the kind of role that is currently held by Dolphins linebacker Sam Eguavoen — who was brought to Miami after a successful career in the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2019 as a part of the team’s complete and total roster rebuild.
Eguavoen was forced into a prominent defensive role with the team in 2019 but last season manned the special teams units with consistency, logging 281 special teams snaps versus just 84 defensive reps.
And so that’s where Griffin can make an impact on this roster; but potentially pushing Eguavoen for that backup linebacker and kick coverage option on the teams units. Griffin, who ran a 4.38s 40-yard dash when passing through the NFL Combine back in 2018, would provide a more dynamic piece of the coverage unit to run down the field and help rally to the football.
Whether or not Miami eventually signs Griffin will be telling on if the team feels that is a priority — but either way Eguavoen, who is entering his third-year with Miami, should consider himself on red alert. The team will be watching this summer when he and the rest of the Dolphins take the field.