Remaining Guards the Miami Dolphins Must Consider in Free Agency

Rome wasn't built in a day, and the Miami Dolphins offensive line wasn't built in one offseason.

The good news is the Dolphins are much closer to a finished product now than they were 13 months ago. The bad news is that "closer" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. 

And with two holes at guard, the interior of the Dolphins offensive line is only 60 percent complete.

Young guards Sam Brenner and Billy Turner could compete for starting spots, and head coach Joe Philbin has continually expressed confidence in Dallas Thomas despite his struggles, but there are still some free agents available to potentially give that group the lift they need in the middle. 

Here are a few of their options.

Dan Connolly

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The opportunity is waiting, if the Dolphins want to take it. They could strengthen their own offensive line and weaken an opponent in one move by signing free-agent guard Dan Connolly.

Connolly has played eight years in the NFL and has proven to be one of the most versatile linemen in the league over the past five years. He's lined up at left guard, center and right guard, starting a full season at each position. His best fits are at left guard and center.

He would instantly become the Dolphins' best pulling guard, with an ability to hunt down defenders in the open field and open up bigger plays for screen passes and perimeter runs. The Dolphins have been missing that kind of player for quite some time and only got close to it last year when Mike Pouncey slid over from center to guard.

Whatever the Dolphins' future looks like on the offensive line, Connolly could find a way to fit into the picture. 

Daryn Colledge

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It's safe to say that Daryn Colledge was not what the Dolphins were hoping for when they signed him to a one-year deal last offseason. If he was, they probably would have made a more concerted effort to re-sign him. 

Colledge finished the 2014 season graded 74th out of 78 qualifying guards, according to ProFootballFocus.com; he yielded nine hurries, five hits and seven sacks in pass protection but earned an even worse grade in the running game. 

But if the Dolphins don't like their other options, they could do a lot worse than to bring back a veteran who is familiar with the system and with his teammates on the offensive line. Colledge has nine years of experience and has been almost as dependable as the sun rising in the east except for three games last season, when he was absent with a back injury. 

The Dolphins may have to be pretty desperate to call on Colledge, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Justin Blalock

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Eight years in the league is a long time, but at 31 years old, guard Justin Blalock may still have some gas left in the tank. 

He played every snap of every game from 2008-2013 according to ProFootballFocus.com, and despite his age, he has not finished a season with a negative grade since 2009. So if nothing else, Blalock could be a veteran stopgap until someone else steps up and proves worthy of a starting spot on the offensive line.

He has been exclusively a left guard in his career so far and would most likely be slotted in as the starter at left guard for the Dolphins. 

That being said, if the Dolphins are going to tie themselves up for a year with a veteran, they might just be better off not doing anything at all. Which brings us to the final slide...

None

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The Dolphins don't necessarily have to sign a free-agent guard at all. They have three young options in the fold: Sam Brenner, Billy Turner and Dallas Thomas.

With Daryn Colledge out of the picture, the stage is set for two of those three upstarts to assume the mantle on the starting offensive line.

Brenner is listed as a center on the team's website but filled in at guard in 2013 when the Dolphins were still beginning to patch things together. Turner and Thomas are both listed as guards, but each was a tackle in college; Thomas was a starter at both guard and right tackle in 2014 but did not play well at either position.

It may not be ideal to have a competition between the three over two starting spots, but if the Dolphins would rather just move into the future instead of focusing on the right-now, their young guards could be fighting for starts.