Kelly: Dolphins Roster Has Been Gutted. Can It Be Rebuilt?

Dolphins roster is vacant because of the team's numerous free agents, and it's on General Manager Chris Grier to address the many holes

The Miami Dolphins might have 44 players under contract heading into the March 13 start of the NFL's new league year, but if there was a special tournament to be held Sunday it's doubtful that the roster Chris Grier has been constructing for the past five seasons could participate.

The roster the Dolphins' General Manager has been building since 2019, which is when this scorched-earth rebuild started, seemingly has been gutted.

The Dolphins roster has a ton of holes on it heading into the start of the free agent negotiating period, and it might gain a couple more gaps since Miami has $19 million in cap space to create through roster purging, contract restructuring and extending, and player releases.

As things stand in the first week of March, the Dolphins have one established defensive tackle (Zach Sieler) on the roster. There's one safety (Jevon Holland) presently under contract, and he's seeking a multi-year deal this offseason.

All three of the Dolphins' 2023 season-opening starters on the interior of the offensive line are free agents, and two of them — Connor Williams and Isaiah Wynn — are working their way back from serious injuries.

Both of Miami's starting edge rushers are rehabbing serious injuries that might delay their participation in training camp, if not the season's first month or two.

And this laundry list of roster voids doesn't even address the team's needs at various other spots, like receiver, inside linebacker and cornerback.

Here's my breakdown of what Miami's top five position needs are moving forward.

This list is important because it could help us understand some of the choices Miami's decision makers could make in the coming days.

Miami Dolphins top five position needs

Defensive tackle — Sieler and Brandon Pili, an undrafted rookie who spent most of the season on Miami's practice squad, are the only 300-pound defenders the Dolphins have on the roster because Christian Wilkins, Raekwon Davis and Da'Shawn Hand are all free agents who will be shopping their services to the highest bidder. Miami could re-sign all three. But if they all leave and sign elsewhere, the Dolphins will be forced to fill the massive roster void by signing inexpensive veterans, or using an early draft pick to land one of best defensive tackle prospects available in the 2024 draft. 

Safety - Holland was having a productive season before his knee issues flared up, sideswiping the second half of what was supposed to be his breakout year. He'll have a chance to redeem himself in 2024, which happens to be the final year of his rookie deal. It's obvious that Holland will be Miami's starter moving forward because he's the only safety on the roster. Miami shouldn't have too much trouble re-signing DeShon Elliott, Brandon Jones and Elijah Campbell if that's their desire, but it would benefit the defense if the Dolphins found a safety with more range to his coverage skills. That would allow Holland to play a more versatile role. No matter how we slice it, the Dolphins will have to add at least three safeties, maybe five, to the training camp roster.

Interior Offensive linemen - Williams is rehabbing a troublesome knee injury that probably won't allow him to be ready for the start of the regular season. Wynn is working his way back from a quadriceps injury, and Robert Hunt missed games for the first time in his career aftger he sustained a hamstring injury. Coincidentally, all three of Miami's season-starting interior linemen are free agents, and the Dolphins must decide if they want to run it back with some, or all of them, or start fresh with a new batch of interior starters. As the roster presently stands, Liam Eichenberg and Lester Cotton are two of the three potential starters at the interior spots, but neither of them has proven he is a bona fide NFL starter with upside. Depth is also a concern with the offensive line because Robert Jones and Kendall Lamm also are free agents.

Edge rushers - There isn't a single healthy edge rusher with NFL experience on the Dolphins roster. Not one! Jaelan Phillips (Achilles) and Bradley Chubb (ACL tear) each suffered a troublesome injury in the final weeks of the 2023 regular season, so don't expecting this duo to participate in training camp, or be out on the field for September games. It doesn't help that Andew Van Ginkel, who had a career season filling in as a replacement starter, is a free agent looking for more financial security than the Dolphins have previously been willing to grant him. The Dolphins will need to sign cheap veterans with upside just to make it through the offseason program, because as I've previously mentioned there isn't a single healthy edge player on the roster.

Receiver - Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are one of the top five receiver duos in the NFL when healthy, but the supporting cast from last season was lacking in many areas. And then all of those receivers — Cedrick Wilson, Braxton Berrios, Robbie Chosen, River Cracraft and Chase Claypool — are free agents. That makes Erik Ezukanma, a 2022 fourth-round pick who has sparingly contributed in his first two seasons, the front-runner to become Miami's third receiver. The Dolphins offense would benefit from adding a receiver with some size and a slot weapon like Jarvis Landry, a talent who could effectively drop into zones and bring down tough catches.

While the Dolphins have other needs on the roster, like inside linebacker and cornerback, these are the five positions that would prevent Miami from playing a game moving forward.

It will be interesting to see how Grier and company address those needs in the coming weeks.

What's Ahead for Dolphins in this Critical March?