NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
It wasn’t too long ago; some claimed that the Miami Dolphins don’t take care of their own. Allegedly, the team struggled to keep their top-tier talent and would let their biggest contributors go if it meant saving a few bucks. It shows that the Dolphins haven’t been truly competitive outside of a season or two here and there. Now that the team is under new leadership, can we all finally turn the page on the 2000’s Miami Dolphins?
You would think so far it’s more of the same for the Miami Dolphins. You’d be about half right. Despite the team letting go of large contracts they can no longer afford, they’ve actually extended their core playmakers. They cut Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle, a few of their largest contracts. In reality, under a new regime, the only one that had any chance of sticking around was Waddle. With a new coach and GM, they’re going to want to start fresh with their QB. With Tua’s inconsistency and injuries, he was more of a gamble. Tyreek Hill suffered a gruesome injury, which he’s still recovering from. Even if those things weren’t true, this team is in a rebuild/retool mode, and it might be a few years to fix. There’s no need to sit on those contracts.
Yet, this is where we turn the page. The Miami Dolphins extended three core players this offseason: De’Von Achane, Jordan Brooks, Aaron Brewer, and Jordyn Brooks. Those three were easily Miami’s top performers in their position group and some near the top in the NFL statistically. Each of them is on the right side of 30, where careers start to see a decline. Achane signed the longest extension of the bunch at 4 years, but as one of the youngest players who’s consistently performing at a high level, he should be around for future plans in Miami, earning one more contract before turning 30.
That’s the difference between the Grier years and the Sully years. Miami has never had a problem spending money, but not only did they struggle to find young talent; when they did, they’d walk from stalled contract years. Miami would never invest in guys who started in Miami and should finish in Miami. As new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan put it, they don’t want to pay “mercenaries” outside the organization for help, and that’s the right mindset to have.
Miami needed a reset, and with it they needed to find guys who loved the Miami Dolphins. To do so, they’re trying to find guys who have long-lasting effects on the organization that drafted them. The Dolphins need the guy who feels just as much of a part of the Miami Dolphins legacy as the Dan Marinos, Sam Madisons, Oj McDuffies, Zach Thomases, Jason Taylors. The guys who spend more time in the aqua and orange than they do for any other team. The majority of elite players Miami has brought in this side of the millennium have all come from former success on other teams. As soon as their time was up, they’d move on to the next one. They never settled in as a long-term Miami Dolphin.
It’s a new year and a new mindset with these Miami Dolphins. Will it turn into a long, successful run? Make sure to check out my new Dolphins podcast, The Aqua Authority, available on all platforms.
