Four Dolphins Players on NFL.com Top Free Agent List
The Dolphins have some major belt tightening to do if the team plans to keep last year's 11-win squad together.
Not only does Miami have until March 13 to clear $37.6 million in cap space by restructuring contracts, extending or releasing players, but the Dolphins also have 28 free agents to address, determining if they’ll make an effort to re-sign talents like Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt, Andrew Van Ginkel and DeShon Elliott, who are just a few of the starters becoming free agents.
Miami would need to clear substantially more cap space than the $37.6 million deficit to bid on impending free agents, and court — if not sign — veterans the organization feels might help the Dolphins get to the next level as a franchise.
That likely will be the team’s focus once the front office figures and coaches leave Indianapolis, where they are attending the NFL Combine.
General Manager Chris Grier admitted it will be challenging to keep the nucleus of the team together this week because of how competitive free agency can get.
Complicating things is the fact that the Dolphins are navigating their way through a cap crisis, and other teams usually seize opportunities when they sense weakness, and target free agents of teams having financial issues.
THE NFL NETWORK TOP 101 AND THE DOLPHINS
The NFL Network produced its list of the top 101 free agents, and Miami had four players who made the list.
Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was ranked the fourth-highest free agent. He was slotted behind Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins, and Jacksonville pass rusher Josh Allen.
Carolina Panthers pass rusher Brian Burns rounds out the top five.
“Wilkins is able to play against the run at a high level and is coming off a career-high 61 pressures. The Dolphins are likely to find a way to keep him around,” Gregg Rosenthal wrote in his summary of Wilkins’ situation.
And he’s right because the Dolphins might use the franchise or transition tag on Wilkins by the March 5 deadline to ensure he doesn’t leave South Florida without Miami having an opportunity to match an offer sheet he signs with another team.
Guard Robert Hunt, a four-year starter for the Dolphins, was ranked as the 27th-best free agent prospect according to the NFL.com list.
Dallas offensive tackle Tyron Smith (ranked 13th) and New England offensive guard Mike Onwenu (ranked 17th) are the only offensive lineman rated ahead of Hunt in the NFL.com rankings.
“A great fit for any zone-blocking offense looking for a difference-maker on the ground, Hunt’s experience as a tackle also shows he has pass-blocking chops,” Rosenthal wrote.
Dolphins linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who contributed 69 tackles, six sacks and an interception last year, was ranked the 39th-best free agent prospect after being ranked 97th on the list last year.
"If Bill Belichick was still in New England, the easy joke would be to say Van Ginkel lands with the Patriots. But that’d be selling Van Ginkel short, because his versatile skill set should be sought after by a number of teams looking for a jack of all trades,” the breakdown wrote.
Interestingly enough, Van Ginkel talked to the Patriots before returning to Miami last offseason on a one-year deal worth $2.6 million, primarily because ousted defensive coordinator Vic Fangio saw skills that would benefit his defense.
That’s why it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Philadelphia Eagles, the defense Fangio now runs, were a bidder for Van Ginkel, who is rehabbing a season-ending foot injury he suffered in the regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills.
Center Connor Williams is the final Dolphins player ranked as one of the top 101 free agents of 2024. Williams, who was Miami’s top offensive lineman before tearing his ACL in December, checks in at NFL.com’s 63rd-best free agent.
Williams’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told WQAM that his client will be taking his time in the rehab process and likely won’t be an early free agent signing. Whether the Dolphins will make an effort to retain him is unclear.
“Williams would have been one of the most highly sought-after interior-line free agents if not for a torn ACL late in the 2023 season,” Rosenthal wrote.
Liam Eichenberg settled in at center, serving as Williams’ replacement in the season’s final stretch, and that could be a position he plays in 2024.
The Dolphins have five players on the 2023 list. Along with Van Ginkel, tight end Mike Gesicki was 32nd, linebacker Melvin Ingram was 58th, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was 64th and running back Raheem Mostert was 87th.
Mostert and Ingram re-signed with the Dolphins, though the move with Ingram didn't happen until December; Gesicki signed with New England; Bridgewater signed with the Detroit Lions, for whom he played one season before retiring to become the head coach at Miami Northwestern High School.
