In their first season under head coach Mike McDaniel, the Miami Dolphins finished with a 9-8 record and ended a six-year postseason drought. However, they still couldn’t end the much longer streak of seasons without a playoff win, which has now extended to a 23rd year.
Heading into next year, Miami has 31 free agents set to hit the market this offseason, but there’s a strong likelihood that some of them will find their way back to South Florida for the 2023 campaign.
Here are five pending free agents that the Dolphins should consider bringing back in the new league year:
RB Raheem Mostert
Mostert followed McDaniel to South Florida, and he rewarded his new team with his most productive season yet. In 16 regular-season games, he recorded 891 yards and three touchdowns on 4.9 yards per attempt despite an offensive line that was shaky at times.
At 30 years old, Mostert probably won’t receive a huge deal this offseason, but he could be a productive back again in 2023.
RT Brandon Shell
When Austin Jackson went down in Week 1, Miami signed Brandon Shell to the practice squad, and he was the starter at the position before long. Of course, Shell, himself, got hurt in the season finale, which kept him out of the postseason game, but he was solid when he was in.
General manager Chris Grier would be wise to bring Shell back on a short-term deal and have him compete with Jackson for that spot. At worst, he can be a capable backup.
WR Trent Sherfield
Like Mostert, Sherfield also followed McDaniel to Miami from San Francisco, and he also had his best season. Sherfield recorded career-highs in receptions (30), receiving yards (417) and touchdowns (two) despite entering the season as the last wideout on the depth chart.
Sherfield can provide on offense and special teams and is a strong blocker at the position. The Dolphins may want to try and get more from Erik Ezukanma in his second year, but they also may try to unload Cedrick Wilson Jr., allowing Sherfield to still have a role in 2023.
P Thomas Morstead
After an inconsistent year from Michael Palardy in 2021, Morstead’s performance in 2023 was refreshing. Across the league, he wasn’t in the top 20 in terms of punt average or net average, but Miami wasn’t often punting to completely flip fields.
He did, however, finish in the top 10 for punts inside the 20-yard line, and his coverage team did such a great job that they only allowed two touchbacks on punts the whole year.
CB Nik Needham
Needham had shown some great growth and development in his first three seasons after being an undrafted rookie in 2019. He turned into a solid slot cornerback before a torn Achilles six games into this season ended his contract year short.
While it was nice to see Kader Kohou rise as another undrafted player in 2023, Miami’s cornerback room has a lot of question marks, mainly the health and future of Byron Jones. Needham’s return on a shorter deal should make sense for Grier.
