5 Free Agents Miami Dolphins Should Avoid This Offseason
We all have our free agent wish lists for our favorite teams, and in this case, that team is the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins don't have too much money to spend (without releasing a few overpaid players, which will definitely happen), so they will have to spend their money wisely in free agency.
They felt that they did this in 2013, yet that year had mixed results. They felt they did that in 2014, and from what we saw before injuries, they had done a good job.
This time around, they'll have to get it right, because everyone's job is on the line if the season is a failure.
There has been plenty of focus on who should be signed, but now we're going to look at players that the Dolphins would be better off avoiding.
It's not only lack of talent that gets these players on this list, but also the fit to the team and the money it would take to bring them on board.
John Jerry
1 of 5
The Dolphins could use some help at guard, and the free-agent list contains an old friend.
John Jerry's one-year deal with the New York Giants has expired, and if the Dolphins decide to go cheap to find a temporary filler at guard, he's an option in the sense that it's likely he will be available.
I'll admit, this is a straw-man argument, as no one is clamoring for Jerry's services in Miami again. Why would you?
In four seasons with the Dolphins, the best thing you could say about him is that he was adequate at right guard. The unfortunate thing is that "adequate" is an upgrade over Dallas Thomas.
Jerry was known for being a decent pass-blocking guard but struggled in run blocking. If that was all to his story, the Dolphins would have been enthusiastic to bring him back last season, despite the fact that he was implicated in a scandal that turned out to be only around the 84th worst thing to happen in the NFL in the last two years.
Did Jerry improve in 2014 with the New York Giants? Not one bit.
His pass blocking, once his strong point, graded out on Pro Football Focus at minus-1.1 (it was at 7.0 in 2013).
In run blocking, he dipped from a minus-8.0 to a minus-16.4.
This happened in one season.
Those grades and Jerry's play show a player on the decline. He will be affordable, but not only does he not fit (he never did with Joe Philbin as head coach), but he's a diminished player.
DeMarco Murray
2 of 5
He's the NFL's offensive player of the year, leading rusher and a free agent this season.
I don't want him anywhere near the Miami Dolphins; I don't even want to read about the Dolphins entertaining the idea of signing DeMarco Murray this offseason for big money over big years.
That is what Murray will command this offseason, one where he's coming off a season that saw him run for 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns on 392 rushing attempts.
He led the league in all those categories and was a major reason why the Cowboys were but a blown call away from the NFC Championship Game.
So why don't I want him on the Dolphins?
It's not the talent (he has it), and it's not even his age (he'll be 27 at the start of the season, the same age that Knowshon Moreno was at the start of last season).
It's the money, as well as the realization that the Dallas Cowboys have something the Dolphins are still trying to build.
Look at the Cowboys offensive line, a line that was one of the best in the NFL overall and the best in the NFL in run blocking.
How good was it? As a unit, Pro Football Focus graded it out at 55.7 in run blocking. For comparison's sake, the Dolphins graded out at minus-38.5.
Would Murray perform as well with Miami's offensive line? Probably not, but he'll still be an improvement, just not for the price.
What is the price for Murray, though? The Cowboys offered him a four-year deal that would've made him one of the highest-paid running backs in the league back in October.
That's a price too high for a player who's only 66 carries from 1,000 for his NFL career and has had issues with injuries.
That's especially too costly when much of his success came from having the NFL's best young offensive line blocking for him, something the Dolphins don't—and won't—have.
Samson Satele
3 of 5
The answer to this question should be an easy one.
The Miami Dolphins already have a center.
The Dolphins don't just have a center, but an All-Pro center who moonlighted as a halfway-decent guard in 2015.
Miami should go back to center Mike Pouncey, and if Armando Salguero's tweet from January 30 is to be believed, Pouncey will have a new contract.
So why hold onto Samson Satele? He's not versatile and on the decline. While he had his moments in 2014, he's not starter material any longer.
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Cortland Finnegan
4 of 5
I cheated a little bit here.
Cortland Finnegan isn't a free agent; however, when you think about it, he might as well be one.
With Finnegan, there's no more guaranteed money on the books—his base salary and signing bonus from 2014 took care of most of it. If the team releases him, it's still a $1 million cap hit in dead money, but since it's the final year of his contract anyway, it's not a cap killer.
Essentially, bringing back Finnegan would be like signing a No. 2 cornerback for $5.45 million, and that's too much for Finnegan's lack of production following his injury.
It's time for the Dolphins to move on at the position.
Ndamukong Suh
5 of 5
He fits a glaring position of need for the Dolphins, and his addition would make them an elite defense in the AFC.
Why would Ndamukong Suh be on this list then?
I've always been a fan of Suh (I thought he should have gone first overall in the 2010 draft). He's dominant and durable and has just the right amount of mean streak I like in a trench player.
Why would Suh be on this list then?
Yes, this is a take that Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel already shared his two cents on, and I agree with all of it.
However, there's more to it than the money, and that is the style of play with Miami's defensive line.
It doesn't fit Suh.
That's an indictment of the stubborn coaching staff, which won't bend the philosophy to fit the players' talents but instead ask the players to bend to the scheme.
Suh is a player you build your scheme around, and if the Dolphins had coaches willing to do that, I'd endorse this signing no matter how much money he would get.
That's not what's in place though, and it would only put Suh, and the Dolphins, in a position to fail spectacularly.
Let's also not get into how his personality would clash with Joe Philbin.
With those factors going against why Miami should sign Suh, the best thing to do in order to succeed in 2015 is to stay away and save that money for other glaring needs on the team.
If that news depresses you as a Dolphins fan, here's another Nelly song known to cheer up even the biggest curmudgeons in the world.
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