All Dolphins

Dolphins Player Profile: DB Eric Rowe

Miami Dolphins figures to play a prominent role for the Dolphins secondary in 2020 after moving from cornerback to safety in his first season with the team

Alain Poupart

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

As we continue through this offseason without minicamps, we'll be breaking down the players on the roster, review their 2019 performance and see how they fit for 2020.

We continue this series with defensive back Eric Rowe.

How he got to Miami

Rowe joined the Dolphins as an unrestricted free agent March 14, 2019 after he had spent three seasons with the New England Patriots. He entered the NFL as a second-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2015 draft before being traded to New England for a 2018 fourth-round pick. The Eagles ended up trading that pick to the Dolphins, who used it to select running back Kalen Ballage.

Contract status

After signing a one-year contract last March, Rowe signed in December a three-year extension through the 2022 season. The contract is worth $14.25 million with about $6.6 million in virtual guarantees at signing, according to overthecap.com and spotrac.com.

2019 season

Rowe's contract status pretty much tells you all you need to know about his 2019 season, both in terms of the Dolphins' expectations coming in and his play on the field.

By signing him to a one-year contract as a 26-year-old (he turned 27 in October), the Dolphins essentially wanted Rowe to prove to them he deserved to be part of the long-term plan. By signing him to a contract extension in December, the Dolphins validated Rowe's status.

But it's fair to suggest there might not have been a contract extension without the move of Rowe from cornerback to safety.

Rowe had played only cornerback in his days after seeing time at both corner and safety at the University of  Utah, and it's fair to say he really struggled on the outside early in the 2019 season.

In the utterly forgettable opener against the Baltimore Ravens, Rowe allowed a perfect passer rating of 158.3 on the six times he targeted, according to advanced stats.

In the first five games, he was targeted 25 times and allowed 17 completions, and his only good performance in those games came in the loss at Dallas.

But then Reshad Jones was sidelined by a shoulder injury, and the Dolphins moved Rowe to safety, and he thrived.

After allowing an opponent passer rating of 92.7 or more when targeted four times in his five games at cornerback, the number was under 80 nine times in 11 games at safety.

While, yes, numbers typically will be lower at safety, there was a clear difference in Rowe's play. It's probably not a coincidence that the top three passing performances against the Dolphins (in terms of passer rating) came with Rowe at cornerback and the six worst came with Rowe at safety.

To cap his season off, Rowe picked off his former teammate Tom Brady and returned the interception for a touchdown in the Dolphins' stunning victory at Gillette Stadium in Week 17.

2020 outlook

The Dolphins made a few big moves in the offseason to bolster the secondary, but nothing major at safety, which says a lot about their confidence level in Rowe.

Along with newcomer Byron Jones and Xavien Howard at cornerback, Rowe appears to be the one piece in the secondary that's set, with battles looming at one safety spot and for the nickel corner job.

Rowe started 15 games in 2019 and played 96 percent of the defensive snaps, and he's likely to play a significant role again in 2020.

The only question is whether he can have the same kind of performance at safety he had after making the position switch last season.

Published
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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