Miami Dolphins Top Priorities the Rest of the Offseason

The Miami Dolphins were able to sign Calais Campbell to bolster the defensive line and extend Jaylen Waddle this offseason. What is left to do in the final month of the offseason?

Jun 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) looks on during mandatory minicamp at Baptist Health Training Complex. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Dolphins offseason has been a productive one. They added the likes of Kendall Fuller, Calais Campbell, Jordyn Brooks, to name a few defenders. Offensively, Odell Beckham Jr., Jonnu Smith and Aaron Brewer are the noteworthy offensive additions. The draft addressed important needs with the selections of Chop Robinson and Patrick Paul.

With the summer dead period, the Dolphins players can enjoy a brief vacation, or hiatus, before camp begins in late July. For the organization, there is no such break. The Dolphins still have work to do this offseason. The question is what, or whom, they should prioritize.

Two key players looking for contract extensions, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, are who many would think will take top priority going forward, particularly Tua given that he's currently scheduled to play on his fifth-year option.

However, ESPN's Aaron Schatz wrote in a recent story outlining the biggest remaining issue for each team that the contract the Dolphins should prioritize is that of safety Jevon Holland.

"Holland, whose contract ends after this season, is an important core piece of the Miami defense," Schatz wrote. "Last year, he ranked eighth in coverage DVOA among safeties and had only five broken tackles in 12 games. He's still only 24 years old. The Dolphins should get him locked up through the next three or four years before the upcoming season."

In a recent list of the Top 100 players in the league by CBS Sports' Pete Prisco, Holland was ranked higher (No. 63) than Tagovailoa (No. 65). Prisco wrote that Holland should thrive in new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver's scheme.

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Holland has been a good player for the Dolphins, though he hasn't quite yet reached the potential that's had many predicting the Pro Bowl in his future.

Holland is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason and he was very clear this spring about his desire for a new contract.

"I mean, it'd be great to get it done," Holland said after a Dolphins OTA. "I mean, it's on my mind like, obviously, it's my career, so I'm thinking about the brea, but, I mean, it's gonna come when it's gonna come. I'm still getting paid, still on payroll and whatnot, still employed, so I'm just keep going, playing ball whatnot, and then let the chips fall where they may."

Tyreek and/or Tua?

Tua's contract situation is the one that has drawn the most attention by far.

Tagovailoa led the league with 4,624 passing yards last season, while throwing 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In 2022, he led the league in passer rating. Everything seems to point to an upward trend for Tagovailoa.

Again, it helps that Tagovailoa has a stacked offense with Hill, another elite talent at wide receiver in Waddle, and arguably one of the best running back duos in the league with Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane. Tagovailoa's struggles in cold weather and big games has cause for concern. His injury history has to be taken into account, too.

Where things get sticky for the Dolphins is the market. Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence will both be making over $50 million annually. Tagovailoa deserves to be paid, but the point of contention is whether he deserves to make that sort of money, given the ailments to his game.

The wide receiver market is no easier for the Dolphins to wade through. Hill's own teammate, Justin Jefferson's $140 million deal, with $110 million guaranteed, set a new bar. Hill likely is the best at the position, and the price will be steep.

As the most dominant wide receiver in the league, coming off back-to-back 1,700-yard campaigns, Hill is the focal point of the Dolphins offense. His mere presence changes how defenses play the Dolphins, and it opens up the field for the running game or Tagovailoa to attack underneath.

Publisher Alain Poupart contributed to this story.