Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier speaks to reporters Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, at the Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami Gardens.
There are two areas on the Dolphins’ defense that can clearly be improved: inside linebacker and cornerback.
At cornerback, a veteran is clearly needed to supplement a group that includes Javin Howard, Nick Needham and Cader Cohoe.
Needham is a free agent coming off a torn Achilles; They told him the team wanted to re-sign him. He believes he’ll be 100 percent by the end of July, but Achilles’ timelines could be tricky.
Keion Crossen (recently had surgery), Noah Iginoghene and Terrell Williams (torn ACL) also remain under contract.
But assuming they part ways with Byron Jones, they’ll need another quality veteran, whose contract is non-guaranteed but would provide significant relief only if cut after June 1.
“So many good pieces up there against the Dolphins,” ESPN’s Louis Riddick tweeted. “You must find secondary reinforcements for the new DC.”
Among the 60 or so cornerbacks who could become unrestricted free agents in March, the most popular and most frequented this season and their final passer rating this season, per Pro Football Focus:
Baltimore’s Marcus Peters (113.5, five touchdowns), Saints’ Bradley Roby (79.4), Philadelphia’s James Bradberry (54.2, three interceptions), New England’s Jonathan Jones (77.1, 6 TDs, four interceptions), Dallas’ Anthony Brown (96.8, five touchdowns) ), the Chargers’ Bryce Callahan (102.8, five touchdowns, three interceptions)…
Giants’ Fabian More (106, five touchdowns), Pittsburgh’s Cameron Sutton (69.6, four touchdowns, three interceptions), Rams’ Troy Hill (102.4, one interception, three touchdowns), Minnesota’s Patrick Peterson (77.3, five interceptions), Tampa Bay’s Jamel Dean (81.3, five touchdowns allowed and two interceptions)…
Cincinnati’s Eli Apple (103.7, four touchdowns), Lions’ Mike Hughes (131.3, four touchdowns), Arizona’s Byron Murphy (105.5, four touchdowns), Las Vegas’ Rock Ya-Sin (82.5, one touchdown), Tampa’s Shaun Murphy-Bunting (94.6 , five touchdowns), Dallas’ Trayvon Mullen (137.3) and Minnesota’s Chandra Sullivan (107.8), Arizona’s Antonio Hamilton (100), Tennessee’s Terrance Mitchell (104.1), Detroit’s Amani Oruwariye (130.6) and Jacksonville’s Trey Herndon (119).
After losing Jesse Jackson to the Chargers, it’s hard to imagine the Patriots letting Jones slide.
Roby, Bradberry, Sutton and Dean are all among those on that list to help the Dolphins’ cornerback class.
But Dean will be expensive; PFF ranked him as the sixth-best free agent overall in this class and is in line to earn something similar to the three-year, $44.5 million contract that teammate Carlton Davis received from the Buccaneers.
Bradberry won’t be cheap, but he probably won’t be as expensive as Dean.
PFF ranked him 16th among all free agents, saying Bradbury “may be better as a No. 2 after years of establishing himself as a reliable No. 1, but he’s proven to be adaptable and there should be a big market for his services.” , reliable and available throughout its NFL career. This season marked his fourth straight campaign with 1,000-plus snaps.
PFF ranked Pittsburgh’s Sutton 17th among all free agents, noting that his “versatility as a defensive back who can still line up wherever he’s called up provides added value to interested teams.”
Peterson, a former Pro Bowler who played against Blanche Ely in Pompano Beach, was the Vikings’ best cornerback this season, but he’s 32, and I’d be surprised if Miami pursued a 30-plus cornerback. PFF ranked him 18th among all free agents.
With Howard aging and Needham coming off his Achilles, the Dolphins will need to spend money on a solid veteran cornerback (assuming he re-signs) to complement Howard, Cohoe and Needham.
But if they spend a lot on cornerbacks and inside linebackers, that doesn’t leave much to spend on offense, which could be a necessary tradeoff, even if a backup quarterback should return.
Among the Dolphins’ cornerbacks this season, the Dolphins’ passer ratings were: 116.1 on Needham (but he threw 16 against him before the injury), 114.6 on Howard, 98.1 on Crossen, 83.7 on Kohou and 77.1 on Igbinoghene (he only threw 23), in 11 completions, 2 TDs and an interception).
▪ Other positions: The Dolphins appear to be mostly settled on the defensive line with starters (Emmanuel Ogbah, Christian Wilkins, Zach Siler and Raequan Davis are under contract). safety (Javon Holland and Brandon Jones are under contract) and outside linebacker (Chubb and Jaylan Phillips signed).
But the Dolphins need to sign a third safety or re-sign Eric Rowe. With Melvin Ingram and Andrew Van Ginkel being free agents, they also need two veteran backups at outside linebacker. Van Ginkel will probably find a bigger role elsewhere. And they need to sign a cheap backup defenseman or re-sign John Jenkins.
News notes
Over the weekend, Vic Fangio agreed, though not in writing, to become Miami’s defensive coordinator. Still, there was no announcement from the Dolphins as of midday Tuesday and none until the signing. Fangio was noncommittal about his plans in interviews with NFL writers in Denver and San Francisco.
Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill has a team in the 7-on-7 football league overtime. His team plays games in Baltimore and Arizona. There are no South Florida players on his roster.
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written a column for Florida Sports Buzz since 2002.