Dolphins' Last-Minute Guide to 2023 NFL Free Agency
The Miami Dolphins enter 2023 free agency fresh off the heels of picking up Tua Tagovailoa's fifth-year option hoping to improve a team that finished 9-8.
Mike McDaniel's first year on the job had some positives. The addition of Tyreek Hill changed the Fins passing game and helped guide them to their first playoff berth since 2016 despite three consecutive winning seasons.
Now, general manager Chris Grier and McDaniel will have the opportunity to continue building the Dolphins into a team that can challenge the Buffalo Bills for AFC East supremacy.
There are some specific needs this roster has and the Dolphins have the means to address some of them. Here's your last-minute guide to how much money Miami has at its disposal, key internal free agents and the needs that could be addressed over the next few weeks.
Cap Situation
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Cap Space: $29.9 million, per Spotrac.
For the second year in a row, the league's salary cap has seen a significant increase. The $208.2 million limit imposed last season is now $224.8 million this season.
Grier has done a good job of setting up the Dolphins with cap flexibility while still under Tagovailoa's rookie contract. They started the offseason in the red, but quickly cleared enough room to work with by restructuring the contracts of Bradley Chubb, Terron Armstead and Tyreek Hill.
Any time a club restructures a contract, it typically pushes money into future years. It's a bad move if it's a player that you aren't going to want around. That's not the case for any of those three as they all figure to be part of this team's core for a while.
In the short-term, it's going to allow them to address some key needs or keep any of the team's free agents they'd like to keep around.
The Dolphins are in good shape here.
Notable Free Agents
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- OT Brandon Shell
- TE Mike Gesicki
- LB Elandon Roberts
- Edge Melvin Ingram III
- Edge Andrew Van Ginkel
- RB Raheem Mostert
The first question every NFL team has to answer in the offseason is what to do with their in-house free agents. The Dolphins have several key contributors from last year's team that have expiring contracts.
Brandon Shell started 11 games for the Dolphins at right tackle. The 31-year-old filled in after Week 6 due to injury and the poor play of Greg Little. While the Dolphins might entertain bringing him back at the price point of a swing tackle, he shouldn't be a priority.
It's a safe assumption that Mike Gesicki won't be back after playing on the franchise tag last season. Gesicki is simply a bad fit within McDaniel's offense. The former San Francisco run game coordinator needs his tight ends to be able to block and that's not Gesicki's strong suit.
Elandon Roberts was a free agent last season, but the Dolphins brought him back on a one-year deal. They should be able to find an upgrade to play beside Jerome Baker.
What they do on the edge will be interesting. They traded for Bradley Chubb and have Jaelan Phillips, so they are in a good spot with their starting pass rushers. The question is whether they think they can do better with their depth or just bring back some combination of Ingram and Van Ginkel.
Biggest Needs and Top Targets
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Running Back
The Dolphins have four running backs hitting free agency including Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson. Both of whom were leading rushers on the team last year and familiar with McDaniel from time in San Francisco.
Mostert is 30 years old however and Wilson's numbers in a wider context show he wasn't all that effective last year. Fortunately for the Dolphins, this is an incredibly deep class of free agent running backs. It's a position that should have several useful players available who will be forced to take team-friendly deals.
Top Targets: Miles Sanders, Devin Singletary, Kareem Hunt
Cornerback
The days of Xavien Howard and Byron Jones forming one of the better cornerback duos in the league are gone. Jones missed the entire 2022 campaign with an Achilles injury. The Dolphins will reportedly cut him when the league year starts with a post-June 1 designation, saving the team $13.6 million toward the cap.
That leaves the Dolphins with a serious need to upgrade the cornerback position. It's likely to be addressed through the draft as well, but getting a starter on the outside or at least a rotational player should be a priority.
Top Targets: Jamel Dean, Jonathan Jones, Byron Murphy Jr.
Right Tackle
As previously mentioned, the Dolphins were forced to go with Brandon Shell at right tackle. He was fine as a one-year stop-gap, but he's not a multi-year plan at the position. Getting Austin Jackson might not be the answer either. His 2021 season featured a meager 49.9 grade from PFF.
There are actually a good amount of right tackles on the market this year that could serve as long-term starters. The Dolphins have the advantage of employing a lineman-friendly system that would maximize the talents of someone like Mike McGlinchey who was a good starter for the Niners.
Top Targets: Mike McGlinchey, Kaleb McGary, Jawaan Taylor
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