Chris Culliver to Dolphins: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

Veteran cornerback Chris Culliver reached an agreement Tuesday with the Miami Dolphins on a contract.

NFL Media's Mike Garafolo first reported Culliver was headed to South Beach. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirmed the report and noted it's a one-year deal.

Rapoport added the contract is "worth up to" $5 million.

Culliver endured a rocky 2015 campaign with the Washington Redskins after signing a four-year contract with the team last offseason. He got suspended for one game for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, then his season came to an early end due to a torn ACL and MCL.

The 27-year-old corner finished the year with just 16 combined tackles and no interceptions across six games. Washington opted to release him in early May rather than hope for a bounce-back season. Keeping him would have counted for $9.25 million against the cap, per John Keim of ESPN.com.

Although there will be questions about his health, it's not uncharted territory for him. He missed the entire 2013 season after suffering a torn ACL and returned to have the best statistical year of his career with 45 combined tackles, 15 passes defended and four interceptions in 2014.

Culliver told Zac Boyer of the Washington Times back in January he expected to get back to full strength for the 2016 campaign:

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You know I'm a worker and I'm going to continue to do what I do best. That's not going to stop me. The progression, and me doing what I'm doing, is there. Things are ramping up for me. I'm walking pretty decently now, and you know, just light things doing on, and like I said, maybe not the OTAs—you might see me in and out—but definitely during the season.

"

While things didn't go as well as Culliver or the Redskins had hoped, he had a solid track record before 2015 after three productive seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. It made him an intriguing option with the free-agent frenzy already in the rearview mirror by the time he hit the market. 

Culliver decided the Dolphins represented the best chance for him to make an impact. Now it comes down to how quickly he can start looking like the corner who enjoyed success in San Francisco so he can earn consistent playing time.

Culliver will need to compete with a talented group that includes Byron Maxwell, Tony Lippett and Chimdi Chekwa, but there's opportunity for him to emerge as a dependable back-end player if he shines in preseason action. 

It's a nice signing at this stage of the offseason based on his prior success. At the very least, he should provide some valuable depth in the secondary.