So far in 2017 FA, the Dolphins have followed their edict of keeping their own players. They have reportedly signed 2 of the key UFA’s, DE Andre Branch, and WR Kenny Stills. Exact contract details have yet to be released, although Branch was said to have signed a 3 YR contract worth $27M. Stills contract is also unknown, but guessed to be a 4 YR/$32M deal at $8M per year. Not crazy money at all for a player who was a big play guy for us.
It’s a good thing when you follow your plan, and get it done. Give the Dolphins credit. Both players seem genuinely happy to be in Miami, which is a great sign for the Miami Dolphins franchise. This is now a franchise that is a destination of choice, not just the $$$. I’m hoping the very next move, or at least one of the next moves is re-signing TE Dion Sims. Sure, we traded for TE Julius Thomas, but he’s not a blocking TE. We need Sims back.
We have scheduled to meet with former Steelers FA ILB Lawrence Timmons. Not sure I get signing a 31 YO 3-4 ILB, but Timmons is a durable, very solid player. Obviously, he’d be an upgrade, but I think it’s time to draft some LB’s. I won’t hate the move, because he’s a very good player, but I can’t say I’ll agree with it. I’m curious to see how long a contract they offer the 31 YO, maybe they have young LB’s in mind who may not be ready to rumble in ’17. We’ll have to see what goes down here.
Oh, on a sad note, we don’t have our regular 3rd or 4th RD picks in this draft.
Google Carroo . . . .
GO DOLPHINS!
Finsmob Unleashed 
William Hayes?
LOL
@all_right_Miami: Hell of a trade! https://t.co/zerYE5tuZm
Reposting, alert the Mod 🚨
Loved Hayes rxn to the trade
“Just found out I got traded for a stapler & a coffee maker!”
LMAO!
Julius Thomas
“It’s been a long hiatus, but I’m glad to be back with my guy and looking forward to it,” Thomas said. “It’s very exciting. If there was one place that I really wanted to be was here. To have this opportunity is something that I’m very blessed to be able to do and I’m just looking forward to getting to work.”
“First off, the offense is proven,” Thomas said. “I’ve been able to play in it and know exactly what kind of weapon it can be and what it can do for a team. Some of the things that make it very unique is just the amount of different things you can do. You never really feel like you’re in a bad play. You always feel like either an adjustment is going to be made or the preparation was there so that you can be in the best possible play to have a chance to succeed on offense.
“And then for the tight end, it’s amazing to be able to play with a guy that’s going to allow you to use your whole range of skill sets. Some of the different things that I’ve been able to do in the past and just knowing that I’m going to have an opportunity to do that again is exciting — stretch the field, have some creative routes in there and just try and create separation and then make plays.”
“There’s so much talent,” Thomas said. “And then just to be able to come add to that is something that I’m looking forward to. It’s definitely exciting to be a part of a team that’s on the rise, a team that’s playing in the playoffs. That’s what we do it for. I’m really looking forward to joining this team and helping out all these guys that have already been having great success.”
Seems like a VERY disciplined FA plan by the FO. Honestly if they land Timmons then they’ve positioned themselves to take Lamp in the first round followed by LB & DE in 2&3
I think they’re in position to really take the BPA. It could be an OL, DE, LB, S, CB, anything really.
Seems they are a start G and a start LB (don’t have to be world beaters) away from doing whatever they want in the first three rounds. You can always find safeties, even if not great ones.
William Hayes trade is surprising. By what I gather, a solid player and guy but he’s 31 (we know how old Wake is) and the draft is supposed be deep in edge rushers. He ain’t a cheap stop gap either. He’ll get $5.5 mil next year and is on the books for $5 mil in 2018 (even if that is pure cut). Especially for a 3rd DE, type of guy a team that is looking for results now signs
That’s why you can’t discount a DE in the 1st RD. I think it’s very much still in play. You have to have depth.
Even if not as deep a class, by need would now say that DT is as likely in the top rounds than DE.
Def. can’t discount it, but Lamp might be a higher rated prospect than many of these DEs & you can legitimately stick w/ BPA now rather than feeling forced to take a need at LB or DE.
Hayes’ contract for 2018 is 5M, but it’s not guaranteed, we’d save 5M off the 2018 cap, if we cut him.
Our cap on Sport race shows us at +38M, including Hayes and the tendered guys, but not including Thomas, Fasano, Larsen, Stills, Branch. I expect that group to cost at most 25M, so I think we have only 13M left, but that can’t be correct, unless more Misi type of cuts are still coming.
Hard to tell until you see the exact structures of the new contracts. For instance, Suh’s cap hit was pretty darn cheap in year one.
That’s kind of what I’m trying to get at, we have more space than it appears, because of the way we manage the cap.
We may have more, we hay have less. Yesterday the Brown’s explored their options on spending more. Agree with you that all these moves probably mean they are pushing off cap to an extent. Pretty sure we have a fairly big signing or two to go.
What’s the big deal? We know O doesn’t have a brain😥
With Hartline gone RT is our current Howdy Doody😃 little late, but hard not to think that from this picture.
This could be the reason for the trade?
Pro Football FocusVerified account @PFF 10 Mar 2016
William Hayes tied for the league lead in run stop percentage among 4-3 DEs (11.5%), and ranked 6th in per-snap pass rushing productivity.
For us yes that’s part of it, someone mentioned above he’s a good run stuffer. Rams were making cap space, and are moving to a 3-4, so we actually stoled him. Much better than paying him what we gave Branch. This was a great economical trade.
I don’t see us going DE in the 1st, unless a Tunsil falls to us. Hard to say what the needs will be come draft day, I expect all holes to be filled b4 then, so no trade ups to fill a need like we did for Howard.
Remember, you’re not just drafting for this season, you’re drafting for the future too. We’re old at DE except for Branch, and even he’s going to be 28
That word has got to be my biggest pet peeve on this board. We all live and die Fins, it isn’t likely we forget things like this.😉 (adding the no offense symbol).
Well Steve, if you didn’t “misremember”, then you wouldn’t be saying we won’t be taking a DE. So there you have it. lol
Bill Barnwell gives us a D for resigning Rashad at that hall of fame safety price. Bill you should watch him play he’s pretty good. I don’t think Eric Berry has anything on him.
I think Berry is better
but its pretty close
A lot of these talking heads really don’t watch a lot of teams and a lot of guys
and he just looks at the fact that Berry is a 1st round talent and Jones is a 5th round talent
Jones is one of the best safeties in the NFL – but he barely makes the pro bowl when he is healthy
From what I’ve heard he’s always 💩 on Miami. He gave the Stills deal the same grade yesterday I believe. Someone posted it on Twitter yesterday. When I first heard his name I thought it was like a random Roto-rooter guy posting his grades….Guess I was right.
He gave the Branch signing a D+ too
He’s a moron
I think Hayes is a great acquisition
to me though it doesn’t take DE out of play for us in early rounds
there is a lot of depth at DE available in the draft
and I think adding youth on defense is a priority
but that said, we have to see what we do with what’s left with free agency – bc right now LB, OG and S are still holes
It looks like we are heading in a true blue BPA in the draft
we have some room to fill those holes before the draft
The same guy (Barnwell) gave the Eagles an a- for the 1 year Ashlon Jeffrey deal and the Browns and Texans both B grades for the Osweiler trade
He gave the Browns a B+ for the Bitnonio signing
Who cares what anyone says about we did? The only thing that counts is how everything comes together, and how we play next year and beyond, and what our records are.
Ian RapoportVerified account @RapSheet 24m24 minutes ago
More
The #Ravens are releasing Lardarius Webb, source said.
Jeez Mike E — talk about Mancrush. Amazed that he didn’t thrown in the time he saw Gase walk on water.
————————–
Mike E. says:
March 10, 2017 at 9:51 am
Julius Thomas…..
“It’s been a long hiatus, but I’m glad to be back with my guy and looking forward to it. It’s very exciting. If there was one place that I really wanted to be was here. To have this opportunity is something that I’m very blessed to be able to do and I’m just looking forward to getting to work.”
“First off, the offense is proven. I’ve been able to play in it and know exactly what kind of weapon it can be and what it can do for a team…..And then for the tight end, it’s amazing to be able to play with a guy that’s going to allow you to use your whole range of skill sets. Some of the different things that I’ve been able to do in the past and just knowing that I’m going to have an opportunity to do that again is exciting.”
LOL – It’s great to hear that stuff, although you have keep it all in perspective, because almost everyone who comes to their new team says stuff like that.
For sure you have to put in context, but still can’t throw stones either. You can call me Renee Zellweger if you want, but Gase had me the time Gumby called him the smartest guy he ever met.
I’m sure Thomas is being genuine, as was Fasano, and I agree Gase is the man
22: R1P22 CB MARLON HUMPHREY, ALABAMA
54: R2P22 G DAN FEENEY, INDIANA
97: R3P33 S MARCUS MAYE, FLORIDA
166: R5P22 LB BEN GEDEON, MICHIGAN
178: R5P34 WR KD CANNON, BAYLOR
184: R5P40 K ZANE GONZALEZ, ARIZONA STATE
223: R7P5 EDGE JOE MATHIS, WASHINGTON
240: R7P22 DL JOSH TUPOU, COLORADO
Adam BeasleyVerified account @AdamHBeasley 19s19 seconds ago
More
Ted Larsen, Nate Allen are in the building.
I preferred Sheard to Hayes. Hayes is a better run stopper but Sheard is good against the run too and is a much better pass rusher. He is also 4 years younger and would not cost a draft choice
All things considering, like the cap, Hayes is better, because Sheard would’ve cost us Branch type of money. Straight up I think you’re correct.
Joe SchadVerified account @schadjoe 5m5 minutes ago
More
LB Lawrence Timmons, S Nate Allen and G Ted Larsen all enjoying 80 degrees and sunny in South Florida. All positions of need. #Dolphins
Ken
My guess is Sheard was going to be an expensive sign, so they went for less., which also leads me to believe we’ll be looking for a DE in the draft early.
I think that it is likely we go DE early in draft. I am still holding out hope on Peppers though. That’s my man crush
Peppers seems like all of our X-factor, still see no way to see the Hayes signing as anything other than maybe DE in the 3rd, or even double downed on in the 5ths. Barring injury or bad performance….three strong at DE for two seasons.
Omar says Timmons is a good complement to Kiko, because Timmons is a run stuffer, and Kiko is a coverage ace. Did he watch Kiko in coverage last year? He’s far from an ace, maybe an 8 of clubs. lol
Omar hitting the sauce again
Dude this everyday Omar insight without the sauce.
@9NEWS: Regional Transportation District wants to gently remind you not to show your anus on public transportation. … https://t.co/yeRfZmq5al
Damn it!
The story that resulted in this must have been good 😆
One of the comments underneath:
Travis Barton @SUNRAYBREAKER Mar 9
@9NEWS So the jury is still out on the taint tho?
Least if you believe the reports, Jordan Cameron is retiring at only 28. After four concussions, can’t blame him. Really liked him as a person and what he offered for us, but this sounds best for him down the road…..and not like he didn’t get paid lots of money already for a guy his age.
I never wanted to bring him here for exactly that reason. He’s smart if he does retire now, keep whatever is left inside his head intact
You were never a fan, and you were correct not to be. All he did was cost us a lot of cap space without much in return.
I was hopefully he’d recover but never happened. Struggled learning offenses both years. Got to wonder if the concussions incapacitated much of his ability to retain knowledge
steveccnv says:
March 10, 2017 at 12:33 pm (Edit)
All things considering, like the cap, Hayes is better, because Sheard would’ve cost us Branch type of money. Straight up I think you’re correct.
————-
I don’t think the cap is a problem for us. I just hate giving up draft choices even 6th rounders
It was a switch of 18 spots so still have the pick, just a little later.
The cap is always an issue.
So the trade for Hayes was basically the Rams wanting to get rid of his contract so we gave them our 6th and we get their 7th. He gives us good depth at DE and is another guy who will allow us to develop young players behind the vets and then when they’re ready we move on from the old guard.
Yep…18 spot flip for him.
Thing about Hayes is it seems Miami might be giving a peak at what their DE prototype might be. Shorter, stout, & explosive.
So someone like Carl Lawson who I’m not a huge fan of obviously will be in play. Willis, Harris, Bashsm etc. will fit this profile also. Might eliminate a player like Taco, who I’m not huge on, along with Kpassagnon who I’m a big fan of. Might also bring Tyus Bowser into play, but I’d think teams will probably prefer him as a fluid SOLB.
Tak
Tak is having shoulder surgery and could miss all of TC with whatever team drafts him. Do we want to go down the road again?
I didn’t know that, and no, we almost certainly don’t. I wasn’t big on Tak myself, just that he fits that prototype. If Reddick was there along with Tak, I’d take Reddick for sure.
Love the Hayes deal. That shores up the run D and gets us closer to being able to go BPA in the draft. Our DL depth is looking better now. A cheap DT later in FA or draft pick will help. Definitely want us to pick up a DE in the draft, but hopefully it’s at a value point and not out of desperation now.
Pig,
I read that Barnwell grade on Jones too. His argument was that our pass defense was the same with/without Jones. That, and we could have just let him play out his deal plus franchise him for the following two years for less than what we paid.
I get it, but think Jones is an exception. He’s clearly a leader on defense and typically stands out as a difference maker on the field. Word is he works his ass off year round. I have no problems rewarding guys like that.
The more I see of the Branch deal the less I like it, but it does provide a stable starter plus depth. It sounds like there are a lot of intangibles that Stills brings to the table, plus his numbers are looking better compared to some of the deals we are seeing.
Our FA approach the last two years has been much more to my personal liking. Now can TBaum avoid trading away draft picks? We’ll see.
If you look at what the high end of the DE market is, Branch’s deal is the going rate for a solid but not great DE. Starting DEs don’t get paid peanuts. It’s just the way it is. I think his deal is fair. Think about what OV got with the Giants, he’s not much better than Branch but costs 3 times as much.
I read his argument
The thing is he went out of the way to poop on the Jones signing
Jones tore his rotator cuff in week 6
He played in 5 games last year and we SUCKED in those games for a lot of reasons that were not on Jones – he was probably the only one playing well
The year before that (2015) Jones was on the top 100 NFL players
But this guy focused on the first few games of 2016 and the pass defense not getting better instead of the player
Its a strained argument by Barnwell if you ask me
Instead of looking at the player he looked at a small sampling of the pass defense in 2016 with and without Jones
Barnwell is an idiot, our pass D was the same without Jones. Did he watch the playoff game? These kind of people that just look at stats it seems always seem to put their foot in their mouth.
Mike, article on Tak.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2017/story/_/id/18823091/takkarist-mckinley-former-ucla-bruins-star-shoulder-surgery-says-miss-4-6-months
That’s painfully familiar with Jordan. I suppose if he drops to the 2nd RD, he’d be a good value there. We have enough starters at DE that we don’t need him to produce immediately.
Tim,
Yeah, you’re right about the market. That’s the problem with relying on free agents to fill needs. Hoping we hit on a few draft picks to address the DE position in the future.
DE/edge, OT, CB, QB……those are the high value picks in the first. Seems we at least don’t need any of them. Thinking we can either trade down in the first or pick some high-value guy who drops at another position.
I think that’s probably the plan. Add some young DEs over the next couple of years and when Wake and Hayes move on the young guys step in. Branch could play out his entire 3 years of his contract.
There’s a reason DEs make so much, they’re important, so counting on a rookie…Dion Jordan anyone
Even if they work for the same paper, never confuse Perkins with Omar.
——————
A common saying in NFL circles during free agency that “Our priority is keeping our own players.” The unspoken part of that phrase is: “If they’re the right kind of guys.”… Adam Gase is building an alpha male team that fits his personality.
It’s becoming clear Gase’s policy of employing physical, aggressive, smart (and let’s not forget that last term) football players is working for the Dolphins. This transition actually started when interim coach Dan Campbell took over early in 2015, transforming the Dolphins into a foaming-at-the-mouth group.
Gase took it another step by making them play a smarter, higher-quality brand football….they don’t make sloppy mistakes, something that raises Gase’s ire such as few other things.
Full
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/dolphins-blog/fl-sp-dolphins-blog-gase-20170310-story.html
Mike,
I’d absolutely grab McKinley if he drops that far. He was the most impressive pass rusher I saw in the PAC12 this year.
The world according to Bill Barnwell. Does anyone even care? LOL
His photo is now on my dartboard
No. Not sure why he keeps his job.
drg
Would you still take Tak at #22? Just curious
There seems to be a big discrepancy with scouting, and not just on this board. It happens because people are looking for different things, so multiple people could be right when discussing different POVs, yet we all insist we’re correct.
This is a sounding board, so not surprising that happens here. I think we all do it, and from our perspective at that particular moment, it seems irrefutable. 🙂
I don’t know what you are talking about
I am always correct
😀
Adam SchefterVerified account @AdamSchefter 16s16 seconds ago
Dolphins signing Lawrence Timmons to a 2-year, $12 millions deal including $11 million guaranteed, per sources.
🍺
🙂
Good deal! Now we don’t have to reach for a LB. Well done!
So Timmons here for two years (even if Kiko might not like). Only thing big piece left going into the draft is a serious G.
@AdamSchefter: Dolphins signing Lawrence Timmons to a 2-year, $12 millions deal including $11 million guaranteed, per sources.
Now let’s sign an OG
@ArmandoSalguero: Lawrence Timmons gets a two-year deal with the Dolphins. Ted Larsen also a done deal.
There you go Piggy, Larsen in the house.
@ArmandoSalguero: Ted Larsen a starting RG candidate. Good fit for zone blocking scheme which Miami employs.
🍺
Armando SalgueroVerified account @ArmandoSalguero 2m2 minutes ago
Ted Larsen a starting RG candidate. Good fit for zone blocking scheme which Miami employs.
Think “candidate” the key word in there.
I’d bet he starts at one of the guard spots.
He very well may, but still not the stud G. Walk into the draft without more and we are going guard high up. You know what he was signed for?
get the papers
get the papers
Lou should be happy we signed Larsen. Where is that fucker?
Lou wanted Larsen as depth, to replace either Urbik or Steen, or maybe both
dbolt48 says:
March 10, 2017 at 2:57 pm
@ArmandoSalguero: Lawrence Timmons gets a two-year deal with the Dolphins. Ted Larsen also a done deal.
Reply
Tim Knight says:
March 10, 2017 at 2:59 pm
There you go Piggy, Larsen in the house.
Reviweing our
——————————————–
I had read on a site last night that Larsen was a done deal. I think it might have actually come out last night but the official word might not have been released by the team until today, but someone knew last night.
Yeah it was rumored yesterday.
That’s funny, I thought the same, but when I found the tweet, it was just saying Dolphins are likely to meet with Larsen
They had an agreement in place physical pending. 3yr 9million
Then that is a starting G. Props to Lou.
Timmons signing is more of what we have been seeing, 2 years, decent investment for the player who could earn an extension pretty soon, or a chance to make an even bigger pay day for himself before he starts to hit the dreaded 30+ designation, but again, it has get some young guys behind them written all over it.
It would be easy to say OG, LB, DE, TE, etc are not primary concerns any longer but i dont think thats where this is going. I think we most certainly still think of LB, DE, OG and TE as “get some potential year 1-2 starters” in the draft. They just feel that doing it this way gives them security of not having to push them forward with their maturation and development, they will start them if they out play the vets, but they can feel ok about letting them cook a year if need be.
I completely expect our draft strategy to be very similar to what it was going to be anyways, just more flexible.
The site i saw it on was PFF’s free agency tracker. They had Larsen with his new team listed as Dolphins around 6-7pm last night CST
I was thinking about the Pats trade for TE Dwayne Allen, and it makes me wonder why they didn’t just draft a TE. This is supposed to be such a deep TE draft, and yet they traded for one. Seems odd
Stanger, it’s been reported for weeks that the Dolphins felt they could find guards without breaking the bank. Larsen fits that mold. We might target another and then draft one as well. Then let them all compete and we’ll see who the final 5 are.
Barnwell is an analytics guy. He’s going to judge everything mainly by performance over average stats and expected rates of return. There is absolutely a ton of value in the Moneyball approach, but it’s not the end all. Like I’ve said before, Miami is somewhat of a unique situation. We have lacked team leaders, strong personalities that play with an edge, and a competent HC/players coach. Seems like we have those things or are building around them now and that means paying some guys more than their market value might dictate.
I’m just happy we have a reason for optimism. Fun to be a fan again.
Yessir! The franchise is turning things around
Still quite a few decent Cb’s out there if we wanted to add some competition. I wouldnt spend big but there are a few out there with a lot of talent that probably wouldnt be very expensive at this point.
Stanger
3 YR/$9M definitely does NOT make Larsen a starter. That’s peanuts these days. He will probably in the running, but at that salary, it wouldn’t be tragic if he was just a depth guy
He is still out there as a starting G wiht that money though, least in the compete way. We are one $5 mil or above G away from BPA…..and FA only started 24 hours ago.
Mike,
I’d avoid him in the first, mainly because we are going to need our first rounder to step right in and play. Definitely in the second though.
That’s what I figured. Thanks!
Mike E. says:
March 10, 2017 at 3:13 pm
I was thinking about the Pats trade for TE Dwayne Allen, and it makes me wonder why they didn’t just draft a TE. This is supposed to be such a deep TE draft, and yet they traded for one. Seems odd
————————————
What it really makes me think Mikey, is that Gronk is pretty bad off. Allen makes sense if you are having to potentially enter the season minus Gronk, and they were pretty sure Bennett was going to price himself outside what they wanted to pay for him. So they basically had 0 true vet starting caliber players. Belichick doesnt like leaving shit up to chance so i doubt he wanted to, even if its a stud, go into the season without a known commodity.
You know what, that never entered my mind, but that’s pretty logical. All I kept hearing was how they needed someone to replace Bennett to have someone to pair with Gronk, but that’s an astute observation. I hope that’s true, not for Gronk’s sake, but for ours.
Agreed.
Love the Timmons deal. TBaum is slowly winning me over. Don’t trade our draft picks though!
Enjoy the weekend guys. Golf season is here!
Later drg! Enjoy man!
I think Larsen is pretty much the same as Bushrod last year, with just a stronger feeling about the position they want to play him at an what quality he brings there. Bushrod was beng brought in to play a position he had never played, at an age that might mean he wasnt going to be able to pick it up. His contract was 1 year due to the risk involved with it not working out. Larsen is less risky so there is more security there. Also it doesnt really matter if its 10 years, if the guaranteed money is low it might as well be a 1 year.
I think its jumping the gun to call him the starter as well Mike. He is an OG who will comepte for a starting spot, hell Steen could be our OG, or another guy they havent signed yet, or a rookie they draft. We wont know that until the end of TC. That money though, doesnt say guaranteed starter to me.
Armando SalgueroVerified account @ArmandoSalguero 8m8 minutes ago
Armando Salguero Retweeted David
Either he gets cut or his salary does.Armando Salguero added,
David @dab2525
@ArmandoSalguero If they sign another LB, does Misi get cut?
Sorry — “kissmyconverse82″…..is Timmons. Guess they figured out that the jets work better the other way around.
Interesting!
Adam SchefterVerified account @AdamSchefter 1h1 hour ago
NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock has emerged as a candidate to become Washington’s general manager, sources tell @FieldYates and me.
@nick_underhill: Former Saints receiver Kenny Stills’ four-year deal is worth $24.9 million. $19.95 guaranteed. $7 million signing bonus.
Wonder how that LB situation will be with two guys, one who has stated a preference to play MLB in ALonzo and the other who was an ILB in a 3-4 scheme last year, and who isnt particularly fast when it comes to coverage and sideline to sideline pursuit (making him more suited for MLB as well). I guess it might come down to just good ole competition, but i personally feel id rather have Alonzo on the outside.
They will both probably move around a bit. Two solid pros who know what they’re doing.
Timmons and Larsen are both from Florida.
Timmons is a Semihole
Tim Knight says:
March 10, 2017 at 3:38 pm
Interesting!
Adam SchefterVerified account @AdamSchefter 1h1 hour ago
NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock has emerged as a candidate to become Washington’s general manager, sources tell @FieldYates and me.
————————————–
I honestly think he would be a pretty good one. Im not a big fan of him as a coverage personality but that should be a job thats right up his alley.
I think what we’re doing is bringing in players who know what they’re doing so we can be competitive now and let young players earn their way in, not have to play them if they’re not ready. The short-term deals suggest that anyway.
Yeah thats what i have been saying. I dont think at all it changes our plans for the draft. I could easily still see us taking OJ Howard just as well as i could have previously. I could still see us taking Reuben Foster or Taco Charlton or any number of players i previously felt we might would, its just right now they wouldnt feel they had to weigh the selection heavier one way or the other, they are in a position to truly get the BPA off their board with a ton less influence on who will we get to fill this spot or that spot.
Yep!
Thats a dynasty mentality. We did have to spend and make some trades in the past that seemed heavy handed because we were so devoid of talent we werent anywhere near where we could start building through the draft and re-signing our own (because our own wasnt good enough to pay a lot to keep). We are now in a better place, so i would expect a lot more maintence on our team from this point forward in FA. If we lose one someone stpes up and we get a depth person to fill their void, if we lose one and we dont have adequate behind, we might get a vet on a 2 year to fill in while we fix that in the draft, so on and so forth.
Adam SchefterVerified account @AdamSchefter 8m8 minutes ago
Carolina trading DE Kony Ealy and a third-round pick to Patriots in exchange for New England’s second-round pick, league sources tell ESPN.
So thats basically giving up a 5th or 6th rounder in draft value in the grand scheme of things and getting a great player in the process.
Yeah they always seem to get the better of every deal. Why would Carolina do that?
I swear Pats must have pictures of every GM doing something completely scandalous because they keep being able to milk teams out of these great players and for peanuts in return most of the time.
WTF is that bull? How does this even happen? Why in hell are the Panthers giving them a pick as well? Who negotiated that crap? FIRE THAT BASTARD!
https://twitter.com/MDCheer/status/840306279646027776
I like it!
Adam BeasleyVerified account @AdamHBeasley 26m26 minutes ago
More
Timmons: “I’m a football player. I just see ball, get ball. I’m not going to glamorize it. I’m just going to play ball.”
Armando SalgueroVerified account @ArmandoSalguero 3m3 minutes ago
More
The Dolphins are closing in on a deal with safety Nate Allen, league source says. Could be done by this eve barring snags.
Filling voids and opening up more draft options. I really like what we’re doing.
I meant other than Larson Tim
I wouldn’t be surprised if we signed another and drafted one then let all of them compete and we’ll see who the starting 5 are.
Tim, D
I do feel like we can pretty much go anywhere in RD1 now. That’s a great feeling.
Indeed.
I’m so mad about the Kony Ealy trade
It doesn’t really make sense unless it’s a contract thing.
Ealy isn’t great, he’s a good player, but far from great. BUT, the Panthers drafted him with a 2nd RD pick, and now they’re trading him for a 2nd RD, but giving up their 3rd RD. WHY????
Agreed.
Looks like the Allen signing it getting close to complete. We must not have been offering as much as TB was for Wilcox.
Yeah RD1 could almost be any position other than probably WR or QB, i really wouldn’t even put OT out of the possibilities.
Move Ja’Wuan to OG?
Not sure he’s a guard.
Tim
I’m not either, but there’s no other reason we would be drafting an OT
We’re not
Timmons signing is reminiscent of Joey Porter…. And Fasano is back
Is Tuna in Davie?
T-Baum is a Parcells desciple
So is Grier and his Dad.
Completely different circumstances. Timmons is here to hold the line until we have someone better, Porter was like a superstar signing who was going to make us a great defense. No such expectations with Timmons. He’s a stopgap, and he’s a sure tackler, which will help a lot.
Also to bitch slap Jenkins and make a man out of him
Jenkins is a UFA, has he signed anywhere?
Oh right I forgot about that
We just signed S Nate Allen according to Armando, no details.
Sorry Rambo.
He’s a UFA too. LOL
I know but he’s been sitting by the phone and hoped he’d get a call.
Son, what do you think of the moves we’ve made?
I like them all. I think the team is being molded now instead of just thrown together. These guys would never have drafted Jordan or Martin among many others. They know what they want and get it.
I agree. We’re not going bonkers in FA, we’re taking care of our own and filling some voids. Every player that enters the building says they love the energy of this team. Love it! 🙂
Many fans don’t want us to build thru FA but we’re not doing that. Look at many of our core players who were drafted – Pouncey, James, Tunsil, Landry, Parker, Tannehill, Ajayi, Drake, Williams (UDFA), Phillips, Misi, Hewitt (UDFA), Lippett, McCain, Howard, Jones etc.
Now we need to add some more to the core from the draft, and DE and LB are positions that need a jolt of youth.
Mike GarafoloVerified account
@MikeGarafolo
Three-year deal for $25.5m, $12.75m guaranteed for Jabaal Sheard, @RapSheet Just said on air
The team is the Colts.
If Gase is building a “smart” team, he sure as hell could have fooled me. We were one of the most undisciplined teams in the NFL last year and one of the most penalized teams. Where does this BS come from? Lol
Bah Humbug
The key word is building, not accomplished. LOL
WOW, now we signed Timmons & Nate Allen who can be a ball hawk with good play up front.
Mike E. says:
March 10, 2017 at 4:43 pm
Move Ja’Wuan to OG?
—————————————
No more along the lines of just in case Ja’Wuan isnt re-signed, next man up replacement.
Larson covers the annual Pouncey injury woes.
Guys you draft positions the average fan doesnt see as a need. Who replaces Ja’Wuan if we dont get him re-signed, or god forbid he has a career threatening injury, etc. You dont draft a guy thinking how am i going to use him today, sometimes its, a well if i get a guy now and get him use to my system, makes the “what if” with this other guy not as big a deal. I re-sign him, or he makes it through the contract into the next one, great, if not, im also prepared for that. If they find an OT and he is a BPA, for them, they should definitely think about it
All true. That said we have a 5th year option on James so we don’t have to worry about him until 2019 if we choose to go that way.
Smart is a goal at least we aren’t dumb any more so that’s good
Ted Larsen is…or should be…a backup. The nice part is he can play both guard positions and maybe center. He gives you a versatile, steady but not real good veteran backup. I’d just prefer he not start.
Even if he plays well and earns the spot? 😉
He can play center, it’s not a maybe, he’s done it. He’s not elite or anything, but he’s one of those guys you can plug in and he won’t hurt you.
Timmons is a bad ass…I like that signing…if only to bring some toughness to this defense.
I dont really see Larsen signing much different than i saw Bushrod last year. In fact its almost identical with the one exception of us signing a guy who plays/has played the position before. I still think Bushrod is a good OL, he did pretty well adapting to not only a shift to OG, but also shifting from the left side to the right side (and dont underestimate that change). By the end of the season he had made it to pretty serviceable standards. Larsen is probably no more talented than Bushrod, and maybe not as talented, but he is use to the position they are signing him to play and that probably evens it out and means he likely starts like Bushrod finished.
Timmons signing is a pretty good one i think. Like Randy said he is a solid run defense guy, might have a little bit of liability in certain areas just because he is use to a 3-4 and he is not a really fast guy, but if Burkes wanted him, then he knows what he wants him for and there are definately things he brings to the table that we were short in last year.
I think Timmons brings professionalism, leadership and the ability to play LB with instincts. Oh yeah he can tackle. LOL
Nate Allen, was a good replacement for Isa who was also a more temporary solution opposite Jones, granted i think how temporary was not to be expected, but oh well. I dont see Allen as a hawk, but he is a solid coverage guy, with strong run support skills. I really would have liked to have landed Wilcox, but Allen brings us back to the level we were at with Isa and with Jones back Safety isnt a major concern.
^
Tim,
A blind squirrel could earn a starting guard spot on this team right now! Lol
Well Thomas and Turner must be dead rats then. LOL
D, going back to what we both were saying earlier. This coaching staff wants to build on players they trust to do the job. We’re not just signing guys who are the hot FAs, but players we feel can show up and do their jobs. Gase had to learn what he had and didn’t have last year. We’re seeing phase 2.
This is what I’ve been hoping for and it’s happening. Good article summing it up.
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article137677108.html
Hey man, I’m here for the starting guard job . . .
Poor little guy….what did Tim do to you!
I personally would re-sign Bushrod as well to another lower money, short year contract but to be a backup at OT
Bushrod is good for the Dolphins I like him.
Well i guess i dont care what he backs up, but i think he would be a solid one.
I think we’ll see more of that type of thing down the road. I can also see us adding a guard in the draft now for sure.
Tim, i completely agree, this “trio” or the trinity or whatever we are calling them these days are definitely in a zone. They have some in, observed the mess, come up with a plan to resolve it and are executing their plan stage by stage. I hope we continue with success coming from it because it is a lot better FA season this year and thats without any flashy signings. Its really amazing to me that we seem to collectively feel better about this so far, and not one big blockbuster name has landed in our lap.
We approached FA the same way last year with the exception of some of our own going elsewhere. But most of our FA signings were of the same short-term type deals as this year. We’re using FA to fill voids with solid pros, not building thru FA with blockbuster deals.
The draft will be key. That and the last few drafts stepping up their games and it’s a totally different team.
D,
We need to build good depth on the OL overall. That’s why even though I think Larsen is a very average player he does represent a growth in our overall depth. I just really hope he ends up being depth not a long term starter. But hey….he’s at least as good and probably a little better than what we have now. Bring in a couple more nice draft picks, and try to build a strong overall unit. Kinda like you’re saying with James. It never hurts to have a lot of good OL on your roster to keep it rolling when guys go away or get hurt.
***
Bushrod can back up every position but center, so I think he has really good value…as a backup.
If on opening day we have 7 on the OL on the active list and Larsen and Bushrod as the guys to step in……happy camper will I be.
Big year for Tannehill coming up.
Take us Ryan take us to the promised land.
You got this
Tim,
I never liked Thomas or Turner to begin with! It’s like everyone has turned a deaf ear to my negative, curmudgeon comments over the years. Imagine that! Lol
I’m not saying you were. What I see happening is a new coach trying to retool his team around what was already good and what wasn’t. Then add his own guys like every coach does when they take on a new job. It all comes down to results. This is always a fun and exciting time of year. But many teams and their fans have their hearts broken after all the hype. 😉
So did anything happen today?
I guess I will refresh the page and scroll back the top to find out
Indeed, we’ll wait for you to come back with what is known. LOL