Miami Dolphins Sign NFC Special Teams Superstar With Defensive Upside

The Miami Dolphins are continuing to make offseason moves to give them the best chance to make a significant run in the AFC in 2024.

Everything was lined up for the Dolphins in early December. The team was 9-3 and seemingly ready to run away with the AFC East crown. But a stretch of three losses in its last five regular-season games derailed Miami’s division title hopes and led to an ugly road playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in a brutally cold wild-card game. It continued a troubling season-long trend of Miami struggling against the league’s better teams.

Still, the Miami Dolphins boasted the NFL’s No. 1 offense in yards per game, led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and guided by head coach Mike McDaniel. With an explosive offense like that, and assuming a little better injury luck on defense than it had in 2023, this is a team that should continue to win a lot of games. But the first question Miami and general manager Chris Grier must answer this offseason is what to do with Tagovailoa: sign him to his first long-term extension or exercise his fifth-year option and figure out the rest later?

The Dolphins have already lost in free agency or cut for salary cap reasons a handful of established, impactful veterans this offseason.

The loss of Christian Wilkins can’t be overstated as he has become one of the NFL’s premier defensive tackles, grading as Pro Football Focus’ second-best run defender while also putting up a career-high nine sacks this past season. It’s why the Las Vegas Raiders agreed to give him a four-year, $110 million deal, a blow to Miami who let Wilkins walk west. Miami also lost offensive guard Robert Hunt, who is getting a huge payday from the Panthers and LB Andrew Van Ginkel, who got a two-year deal with the Vikings

The team also let Center Connor Williams walk after reaching a reported three-year deal with Aaron Brewer.

Between the free agency of Williams and the loss of Hunt, the Miami Dolphins could be left with a bunch of holes up front on offense, though veteran lineman Terron Armstead is expected to return and they addressed center with their pending signing of Aaron Brewer. And it’s no mystery the team could use a reliable pass-catching tight end to take pressure off the receiving tandem of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The reached a two-year deal with TE Jonnu Smith. Cornerback also suddenly becomes a need with the team opting to cut Pro Bowl CB Xavien Howard. Miami reportedly plans on bringing back Nik Needham.

For now, no. Spotrac projects Miami to be $3.4 million over the cap. Naturally, the team can push money into future years by restructuring highly paid players like Hill, Jalen Ramsey and Bradley Chubb, but the situation might also explain why it couldn’t win a bidding war for Wilkins.

Miami Dolphins Sign Giants Special Teams Star Cam Brown Who Could Have Upside At LB

Miami’s plan is to not overpay (especially at the defensive tackle and guard positions) and backfill with at-least competent pros as bridges to future players with high ceilings.

That’s what the NFL’s salary cap forces teams to do.

On Wednesday, the Miami Dolphins followed this plan by inking a deal with former New York Giants special teams standout Cam Brown, who was drafted as a linebacker out of Penn State but has yet to reach his potential outside of dominating on special teams.

Brown was a 2020 sixth-round pick of the Giants and he spent the last four years with the team. He only played 103 snaps on defense, but racked up 1,328 snaps on special teams and was one of the team’s captains.