There are all sorts of traditions this time of year. The smell of spring training. The filling of NCAA Tournament brackets.
This is about the other one:
Miami Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier’s opening free-agent moves make sense. They seem like fits. There’s nothing overwhelming just yet, but they’re checking off items on their to-do list.
On Tuesday they agreed to a deal with Connor Williams, an offensive lineman from Dallas, who has 51 starts at guard on a good team, but also could play tackle. Experience. Talent. Versatility. He’s only 24. And they didn’t break the bank at two years and $14 million.
They still have enough money for a tackle, even the top prize in New Orleans left tackle tackle Terron Armstead. They’ve already upgraded the offense by picking up underutilized Dallas receiver Cedric Wilson Jr. and nifty Arizona running back Chase Edmonds to go with retaining tight end Mike Gesicki.
That gives quarterback Tua Tagovailoa some help. And if he gets injured or struggles, there’s the solid insurance policy of Teddy Bridgewater, a hometown kid who finally came home on the Dolphins’ third attempt to sign him.
That’s how it will work, just like it sounds every March like it will work. That’s not to say it doesn’t come together this time. It’s just to say Grier’s third or fourth chance to get it right can’t just have everyone looking good coming in the door again.
Edmonds, for example, averaged 5.1 yards a carry in Arizona and looks like a fit for this new outside-zone running scheme at two years, $12.6 million. But veteran running backs Malcolm Brown‚ Jordan Howard and Matt Breida were busts the previous two years.
The formula for this offseason was set when coach Brian Flores was fired after last season. It is to trust in Grier and: 1) Keep the defense intact, including the coaching staff if possible; 2) anoint Tua Tagovailoa as The Man and end the dance with Deshaun Watson; 3) hire a coach who not only buys into the first two provisos but can build an offense.
New coach Mike McDaniel comes with the right background. He was San Francisco’s run-game coordinator, the idea being he knows what makes offensive-lines tick. So does offensive coordinator Frank Smith, who was the Los Angeles Rams offensive line coach, and new offensive line coach Matt Applebaum.
Grier wasn’t able to draft an offensive line with expensive picks the past three years. Now he’s hired coaches who surely know what they want in linemen and can coach them up. That’s why there’s hope for Williams. It’s why if they don’t get Armstead, who anyone could pick out, you think they still can get an answer at tackle.
That’s the marriage that matters here: Grier and McDaniel. They had Grier and Flores for a few years, and that got the defense into good shape.
If Flores was still around, the Dolphins would be in the middle of the Deshaun Watson Sweepstakes just as they were right up to the trade deadline. This was another fork in the road for the franchise, another one they have to prove was right.
Option A: Flores and Watson.
Option B: Grier, McDaniel and Tua.
The AFC looks like a heavyweights division next year. Denver got quarterback Russell Wilson and defensive end Randy Gregory to go with a strong team. San Diego, with the fifth-rated offense, signed stars such as edge rusher Khalil Mack and cornerback J.C. Jackson to improve the 29th scoring defense. Neither team made the playoffs last year.
The Dolphins’ big move thus far was re-signing defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah for four years and $65 million. It makes sense. He reinforces this plan to keep the defense intact. Maybe Ogbah goes down as the big-money deal once this is all over.
It’s an annual injection of hope, March’s signings and April’s draft. But Dolphins fans know by now September and October are the months that matter. Grier doesn’t have a blank slate after the past three years. But McDaniel and his staff do.
The lone Dolphins general manager who got everything right, Joe Thomas, used to say, “This is the big tent. Not everyone who gets here can play in the big tent.” He found enough who could play to help Don Shula win two Super Bowls.
That was long ago, so very long ago no one’s thinking Super Bowl anymore. But maybe they got some names who can play in the big tent.
