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Agent: Dolphins Not Likely to Tag Ogbah

Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent with the start of the new league year

Alain Poupart

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The deadline for NFL teams to apply the franchise or transition tag on a pending unrestricted free agent is coming up Tuesday, but it doesn't appear the Miami Dolphins will be using either on defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.

This is the prediction of Ogbah's agent Drew Rosenhaus, as he indicated on his weekly segment on South Florida TV station WSVN.

"I've had discussions with the Dolphins and the franchise tag hasn't come up," Rosenhaus said. "So I think it's safe to say that that's not something that they're planning on doing. And it sounds like the more realistic scenario is Emmanuel making it to free agency and us evaluating our options, including the Dolphins. But he'll keep all of his options open and if things work out with the Dolphins, I'm sure he'd be excited to continue his career here."

Ogbah is among 20 Dolphins players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents March 16 and arguably the most important. The franchise tag for defensive ends is almost $18 million.

Ogbah has led the Dolphins in sacks in each of his two seasons with the team, finishing with nine in both 2020 and 2021 after signing a two-year deal as an UFA and coming over from the Kansas City Chiefs.

In 2021, Ogbah also led all NFL defensive linemen with 11 passes batted down.

The other logical candidate for the franchise tag for the Dolphins would be Mike Gesicki, and that tag is about $11 million for tight ends.

If the Dolphins indeed don't tag Ogbah and fail to re-sign him, that would create a major need for a pass rusher, which is why we ranked him as the most important pending free agent on the team.

GM Chris Grier was asked by a group of South Florida writers at the combine whether he planned on using the franchise tag.

"I think all options are open," Grier said. "With the coaching staff coming in, we're just giving them the opportunity to look at the players and evaluate the guys we potentially might tag, but I think we have to leave all options on the table for us. That could be a potential move for us.

"I would say we've probably had more discussions with Drew on Ogbah. Those are going on all throughout the course of the season. ... We know what he is. He's a good guy, good player, good person. Fits all the criteria we're looking for. He's done a nice job for us the last two years."

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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