The Plans for Wynn and Barrett (Maybe)

Alain Poupart | 2 Hours Ago

Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn (77) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 7 of the 2023 season. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins are staring at the possibility of adding two longtime starters to their lineup, but head coach Mike McDaniel used words of caution Tuesday in regards to Isaiah Wynn and Shaquil Barrett.

In the case of Barrett, the Dolphins have to decide in the first place whether they want to bring him onto their 53-man roster after he left the team before the start of training camp because he wanted to retire, only to change his mind four months later.

In the case of Wynn, the question is what kind of role to give a player who hasn't played a regular season game in 13 months but who was a solid starter for the first seven games of the 2023 season.

THE BARRETT QUESTION

McDaniel aptly pointed out that if the Dolphins signed Barrett in the offseason in the first place, it was because they wanted him on their team.

But McDaniel also has bigger concerns right now than what to do with Barrett, and he's also got to worry more about all the players who have been with the team through good times and bad since the start of training camp.

News of Barrett's desire to return to football and apply for reinstatement from the NFL came Tuesday morning before the Dolphins stepped on the practice field for a walk-through ahead of their Thanksgiving night game against the Green Bay Packers.

"I was fully caught off guard or caught by surprise this morning, as I found out, and I would be, it wouldn't be reasonable, or I really haven't had a chance to think about it," McDaniel said. "I think the team is counting on me to think about the Packers. And I'll get with (GM Chris Grier), and we'll work through that. But there's a ton of implications that go along with it in terms of team and roster stuff, so we'll work through that."

As McDaniel indicated, there are roster implications because if Barrett winds up getting activated to the 53-man roster at some point, somebody has to come off. It's a seamless move if somebody gets hurt and has to go on IR, but who winds up being released if there is no such obvious corresponding move.

And the Dolphins also are going to have to ask themselves exactly how much Barrett could bring to the defense. After all, he had only 4.5 sacks in 16 games last season after having three in eight games in 2022.

Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver also discussed Barrett during a Zoom media session Tuesday morning.

“I think with Shaq, it was his veteran presence," Weaver said. "He’s obviously a guy that has a bunch of pelts on the wall, that has a Super Bowl ring. There isn’t anything schematically that he hasn’t seen and he’s been impactful throughout his time in the league. So that was obviously what we saw in him, and if he chooses to come back here or whatever that is, then God bless him, but right now I’m focusing on the guys who have been here, who have been committed to us and are currently in the fight.”

The words "who have been committed to us" kind of stick out there, don't they?

Bottom line: Barrett playing for the Dolphins in 2024 is no slam dunk.

A WYNN-WYNN SITUATION

As for Wynn, he already is on the 53-man roster after being activated from Reserve/PUP on Monday, but the question is how he'll be used.

There again, the idea that he'll jump right back into the starting lineup and retake his starting job ahead of Robert Jones always was premature, as McDaniel confirmed.

"Isaiah is a competitor, so he's working to be his best each and every practice," McDaniel said. "And as coaches, we don't always have the most patience in the world. But I think it would be silly of me not to take into account there was almost a calendar year where he didn't play football. So you're trying to put players in positions to succeed. I love him as a player, but I'm careful not to put him in situations that isn't prudent to his success.

"Rob Jones is really playing at a high level, and the facilitation of (Aaron Brewer) Brew and both Rob and Liam (Eichenberg) has been a strength of ours during the course of the season. But yet, you love those problems. There's only so many spots in the field that guys can play, and so I'm happy for Isaiah to continue to work and feel better and better each each and every practice, so that becomes more and more difficult for us."

The best guess here is that Wynn will remain a backup until/unless Jones has a very difficult performance or two.