Miami Dolphins: 5 Quarterbacks Team Should Look at in Free Agency
Recently, the Miami Dolphins' general manager explained passing up Ryan Mallett in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
In essence, Jeff Ireland said that this wasn't their best opportunity to take a quarterback in the draft. Additionally, he also said that the team "wasn't desperate for a quarterback." That's an interesting statement, considering most fans think the team needs another quarterback.
However, Ireland didn't say the team wasn't going to address the quarterback position. He later said that they would "look in free agency" to address their quarterback issues.
Of course, there are quite a few names out there who are free agents. If you're looking for anything from veteran leadership to young talent, free agency seems to be the answer in terms of quarterbacks.
And that's what this list is about. The following are some key free agents that the Dolphins should take a look at when the NFL is back in business from this silly lockout.
5. Alex Smith
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Alex Smith has underachieved in San Francisco. The bro sucked in his tenure with the 49ers, although you can attribute that to the Niners' lack of real leadership at the coaching position.
This is an odd pick, because while Smith has still shown some flashes of potential, he's pretty damn flaky, something many fans believe Chad Henne is, despite his flashes of potential. We don't want to perpetuate shit in Miami.
What's different, though, is that Smith has quite a few more weapons here in South Beach, especially now, after the Fins picked up speedy wide-out Edmond Gates and running back Daniel Thomas in the draft.
In theory, you can plug in any quarterback who won't make a ton of mistakes and he'll work in Miami's system, which is based off of hard, high-time-usage running and staunch defense. If Alex Smith can learn to play at a minimalist level and can make the deep throws needed to a guy like Gates, he'll work in South Beach.
4. Matt Hasselbeck
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This is where things get tricky for Miami, because you don't want to pass up a once-Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback without giving him a chance. Even less when that same quarterback led his mediocre, 7-9 team to a monstrous playoff upset over a team that was destined to repeat as champions.
On the other hand, though, Hasselbeck has been terrible at worst, shoddy at best. Last year, Hasselbeck threw for 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions and accumulated a 73.2 quarterback rating.
But if Hasselbeck can right his ship, and if the Dolphins can do what they want to do offensively—which includes pounding-and-grounding the ball effectively and consuming time with lengthy drives while making sure the opposing team's offense stays off the field—then Hasselbeck will fit right in.
Matt-ster definitely has the capability to sustain long drives—he's cerebral enough to make those short-field passes and has the arm strength to launch the ball deep and stretch the defense.
But his age is a problem for a team that's relatively young and wants to stay in contention for quite a few years. He's had injury problems, too, and again, he didn't play too well last season.
Of course, he could come in for a year, help groom Henne and be solely a veteran leader, coming in only when Henne isn't performing well.
Dude brings a lot of options, but he's fourth on this list for a reason.
3. Matt Leinart
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Ugh.
It's tough to vouch for this guy nowadays. The bro is a total party animal, is extremely cocky and is slightly delusional. He has this smug sense of entitlement that is unparalleled, outside of his fellow 2006 draft-mate, Vince Young.
But, the dude still has some talent. Because while the Cardinals exposed a lot of his character issues, no one else wanted this guy as a starter right out of the gate, and the Texans picked him up to back Matt Schaub.
He's got a hell of an arm, and he is still relatively young at the age of 27. He sat some valuable time behind hall-of-famer Kurt Warner, and he might be a bit more cerebral than we think.
That said, the Dolphins could use him to give Chad Henne that push to compete. The remarkable idea of capitalism within the quarterback position in Miami could drive some quality play out of the frustrating Henne.
Additionally, Leinart can be a starter in South Beach should he learn the offense and play the role that the Dolphins expect any incoming quarterback to play—a game manager who can make deep throws when needed, but never actually control the offense nor its pace.
Is he worth the risk, though?
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2. Billy Volek
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Not to sound like a hipster, but you've probably never heard of this guy, before.
Billy Volek has been the Chargers' backup quarterback for five years now. The dude hasn't played much, mainly because Philip Rivers is pretty damn good.
However, a ton of people seem to forget just how effective Volek can be.
Rewind to 2007, Norv Turner's first season as head coach in San Diego. When Rivers tore his ACL, Volek came in with the Chargers trailing the Colts and led his team downfield for a go-ahead score.
Since then, Volek's been seeing the bench.
That's not to say he hasn't been good, though. We don't know this guy's potential, considering he's only had one season where he played at least 10 games back in Tennessee in 2004 (He threw for 18 touchdowns, ten interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 87.1.).
I don't know how good this guy is. All I know is that he was a solid, veteran backup in San Diego and had his best moment as a quarterback in the playoffs, which is pretty awesome.
Of course, he's 35 years old, now, so he may not have all that much swagger left. Regardless, he's worth having at least as a backup, especially when Chad Pennington is made of paper and glass.
1. Caleb Hanie
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Oh, and you thought that the number one free agent the Dolphins should look at was going to be a big-name, huh?
Sadly, no. You get the undrafted, emergency quarterback for the Chicago Bears who played in an admirable debut against the rival Green Bay Packers in an NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field.
Yeah, no biggie.
Caleb Hanie did pretty damn well, considering the circumstances. He went 13 for 20, threw a touchdown pass and ran for 155 yards. Sure, he had two interceptions, but the Packers' defense was virtually impenetrable last postseason.
Hanie's also young—he's only 25 and has been in the league for just two years. He seemed to show a great deal of leadership skills during his short time playing for the Bears, while Jay Culter acted like a baby and sat out the rest of the game after a small knee injury.
The problem? He's still a risky dude, but how much money are you going to have to pay the dude, anyway? He went undrafted and is still relatively unknown.
He's also pretty mobile, too, which could be useful should the Dolphins' want to throw some bootlegs at the defense.
Other than that, I'm not so sure what we can go off of in terms of going after Hanie. Maybe it's cool to know you have quarterbacks with the last names "Henne" and "Hanie."
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