Dolphins' Last-Minute Guide to 2022 NFL Free Agency
The Miami Dolphins have already had a fairly unpredictable offseason. It could get even wilder with the dawn of 2022 free agency right around the corner.
The Dolphins were the surprise team of coaching carousel season. After a going 19-14 over the past two seasons, Brian Flores was let go as the head coach, and the team brought in Mike McDaniel from the San Francisco 49ers to take over.
The franchise will hope that McDaniel is able to enjoy greater synergy with general manager Chris Grier. With a fairly talented roster, the expectation is that we see Miami in the postseason in 2022.
The McDaniel-Grier partnership will have its first opportunity to show its team-building philosophy in free agency. The Dolphins have multiple needs to fill and plenty of cash with which to make a statement.
Cap Situation
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Cap Space: $48.1 million, per Spotrac.
Grier and McDaniel are going to have plenty of money to use in order make a splash if that's the route they want to go. The Dolphins are among the teams with the biggest available budget heading into free agency.
After the salary cap went down to just $182.5 million last season, it has risen to $208.2 million, which means there are many more teams that have money to spend.
Regardless, the Dolphins should be competitive for anyone they want. Miami brass has done a good job of managing the cap, and having quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on a rookie contract obviously helps.
The Dolphins only have three players on the roster who are set to account for cap hits of more than $10 million next season: Byron Jones ($16.5 million), Xavien Howard ($16.4 million) and Mike Gesicki ($10.9 million).
Essentially, the Dolphins are in a position where decisions can be based on what players will bring to the roster without thinking too much about the financial restrictions of an offer.
Notable Free Agents
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- WR Will Fuller V
- Edge Emmanuel Ogbah
- LB Elandon Roberts
- TE Durham Smythe
- WR Albert Wilson
With a new coaching staff coming in, it will be interesting to see how the Dolphins approach their own free agents. Will Fuller V was brought in last season to be a vertical threat, but between suspension and injury, he only played in two games and caught four passes.
Further down the depth chart, Albert Wilson will hit free agency after spending the past four years in South Beach. He didn't play in 2020 but only had 25 catches for 213 yards in 2021.
The best free agent to keep an eye on will be Emmanuel Ogbah. The pass-rusher has found the best success of his career in Miami. He's had nine sacks in each of the past two seasons and defended 12 passes this season.
Disruptive edge-rushers are always hot commodities when it comes to free agency. Spotrac projects a contract that will pay him $10.2 million in annual average value. With McDaniel retaining Josh Boyer as his defensive coordinator, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Dolphins make a push to keep him around.
The rest of the pending free agents will likely come down to whether the Dolphins like what they have seen from them. It would be surprising if they were signed during the first wave of free agency or paid in a significant way.
Biggest Needs and Top Targets
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Offensive Line
Whether or not you believe in Tagovailoa as a franchise quarterback, there's no debating the Dolphins did him a disservice with the offensive line he played behind last year. The unit finished 32nd in PFF's final season rankings.
Robert Hunt had the highest grade of the group at 67.4 at right guard. No one else should feel safe that they won't be replaced through free agency or the draft.
Top Targets: Terron Armstead, Brandon Scherff, Duane Brown
Wide Receiver
Jaylen Waddle's rookie campaign is something to build on in the receiver room. He showed he could be a No. 1 receiver with more than 100 catches and 1,000 yards. However, the rest of the unit could use work. Mike Gesicki was the team's de facto No. 2 receiver, and DeVante Parker was the third option with 40 catches for 515 yards.
Ideally, the Dolphins can utilize free agency to find a veteran wide receiver who would be an upgrade over Parker. The 29-year-old is still on the roster but could be cut to clear more cap space.
Top Targets: Allen Robinson II, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Edge-Rusher
This one is dependent on whether the Dolphins re-sign Ogbah. Jaelan Phillips had a promising rookie campaign with 8.5 sacks, but Ogbah's impending free agency could leave them looking for someone to rush the passer alongside him.
The Dolphins were third in pressure percentage, but much of that was manufactured by blitzing. Linebacker Jerome Baker and safety Brandon Jones were third and fourth on the team in sacks. Retaining Ogbah or finding another pure pass-rusher is an underrated priority.
Top Targets: Emmanuel Ogbah, Melvin Ingram III, Haason Reddick
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