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Miami Dolphins News & Rumors

Dolphins OC Frank Smith Expected To Receive HC Interest

December 15th, 2023 at 9:08am CST by Sam Robinson

Frank Smith did not join Mike McDaniel under Kyle Shanahan, but McDaniel hired him as a right-hand man last year. The results over the past two seasons will point Smith to the HC carousel.

Although Smith is a non-play-calling OC, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes he is likely to generate interest on the market. Seeing how eager teams have been to hire offense-oriented HCs and pretty much any coordinator from the Shanahan and Sean McVay trees, Smith receiving interview requests next month should be expected.

Tua Tagovailoa showing signs of a turnaround in 2022 did not garner Smith any HC interviews this year. With the former top-five pick’s ’22 season marred by concussions, the Dolphins finished just 9-8 and needed to start three quarterbacks. Tagovailoa staying healthy this season has increased the appeal of McDaniel’s offense. The unit ranks second in scoring, first in total offense and second in DVOA. Tyreek Hill is also on pace to break Calvin Johnson‘s single-season receiving yardage record, albeit in one extra game, while Raheem Mostert leads the NFL with 18 touchdowns.

Smith, 42, came to Miami after a season as the Chargers’ offensive line coach and run-game coordinator under Brandon Staley and Joe Lombardi. McDaniel held the job of run-game coordinator for four seasons in San Francisco. As far as position groups go, Smith has coached the offensive line and tight ends — at stops with the Saints, Bears, Raiders and Chargers — prior to the Miami move. While Smith did not study under the trendy offensive HCs of the moment, he spent five years under Sean Payton and has now worked well with a Shanahan disciple. He profiles as the first prospective McDaniel tree branch.

Teams cannot interview coaches employed elsewhere until after the divisional round this year; the NFL made that change recently to help allow coaches to focus on their teams’ playoff assignments. The Dolphins have not lost a coordinator to a head coaching job since the Broncos hired Vance Joseph over Shanahan in 2017. Barring a Dolphins freefall to close out the season, McDaniel’s right-hand man on offense stands to join other assistants in receiving interview summons.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/13/23

December 13th, 2023 at 7:31pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Agnew has missed the four games required to return from injured reserve, and though he’s not been activated yet, the Jaguars took the first step towards that outcome today in returning him to practice. It was shoulder and rib injuries that led to the return specialist’s placement on IR. During his absence the team had turned to rookie sixth-round receiver Parker Washington to return punts and veteran backup running back D’Ernest Johnson to return kickoffs. Jacksonville still has a few days to determine whether or not they’ll activate him right away for this weekend. If not, the team will have 21 days to activate him before his practice window closes and Agnew is reverted to season-ending IR.

Dolphins To Sign C Jonotthan Harrison, C Matt Skura

December 13th, 2023 at 3:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

In the wake of Connor Williams‘ ACL tear, Mike McDaniel said the Dolphins would consider outside options. The AFC East leaders will act on that, signing two experienced centers.

The Dolphins are adding Jonotthan Harrison to their active roster and signing Matt Skura to the practice squad. Harrison will take Williams’ roster spot; the Dolphins placed their two-year starting pivot on IR.

The structure of this two-center plan is a bit unusual, considering Skura started eight Rams games last season and Harrison has not played in a regular-season game since 2019. But both will head to Miami as emergency depth options. The Dolphins are preparing to slide Liam Eichenberg from guard to center, where the third-year lineman played in place of an injured Williams in Week 4.

Harrison, 32, has 42 career starts on his resume. Skura, 30, has 73. Both have bounced around over the past few seasons, but the most notable centers available either announced plans to retire recently or were linked to considering it.

Last seeing action with the Jets in 2019, Harrison has journeyed the Eastern Time Zone since. Starting 10 games for the 2019 Jets, Harrison has since joined the Bills, Giants and Falcons. After spending much of last season on Atlanta’s practice squad, Harrison went to camp with the team this summer. The Falcons cut Harrison in August; he has been out of football since. Harrison is best known for his time in Indianapolis and New York. He started 23 games for the Colts and 19 for the Jets.

Skura, who joined a battered Rams O-line during the 2022 season, would seem a more likely candidate to contribute. But he will join Miami’s P-squad. The Ravens used Skura as a four-year starter, deploying him at guard and center. A modest market awaited the former UDFA in free agency, leading him to the Giants in 2021. It took until late September of last year for Skura to land a gig. As injuries decimated the Rams’ front, Skura stepped in and started eight games. Pro Football Focus graded Skura as an adequate pass blocker last season but maligned his run-blocking performance.

The Dolphins, who let backup Michael Deiter walk in free agency, still have Lester Cotton as an interior backup option. But Skura and Harrison are now part of the contingency plan.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

December 13th, 2023 at 2:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two different teams have held the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive years since 2017. Amid a radical rebuild effort, the Browns carried the top pick into the 2017 and ’18 drafts. The Jaguars did the same in 2021 and ’22. It is possible the Bears will follow that up in back-to-back years. The big difference here would be the Bears traded the 2023 top choice and may unload the 2024 top pick for another windfall, depending on their evaluation of Justin Fields.

The Bears and Panthers’ March trade, giving Carolina access to Bryce Young, has become a seminal moment for both teams. As it stands now, Chicago holds two top-five picks. The Panthers are 1-12, giving the Bears a two-game lead on the Patriots and Cardinals for the top slot with four games left. Chicago finishing with the first overall selection, providing access to the quarterback of its choice, would create a big-picture decision for a Bears team that already passed on the 2023 quarterback class to stick with Fields — a QB the Ryan Poles regime did not draft. North Carolina’s Drake Maye has declared for the draft, while USC’s Caleb Williams is widely expected to follow suit.

A new Cardinals regime is also evaluating its QB, though Kyler Murray‘s $46.1MM-per-year contract (which runs through 2028) will be much harder to escape compared to Fields’. This creates an interesting scenario that will have teams who do not land two-two draft slots monitoring how Chicago and Arizona proceed. The Patriots are widely expected to pursue a quarterback in the draft, and they are likely to do so without Bill Belichick.

With gridlock forming in the AFC and NFC wild-card races, considerable movement will take place over the next month. The winner of the NFC South will likely lose several spots in the ’24 draft, as the Buccaneers did this year by winning the ’22 division title at 8-9. Here is how the draft order looks going into Week 15:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. New England Patriots: 3-10
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 3-10
  4. Washington Commanders: 4-9
  5. Chicago Bears: 5-8
  6. Las Vegas Raiders: 5-8
  7. New York Jets: 5-8
  8. New York Giants: 5-8
  9. Tennessee Titans: 5-8
  10. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-8
  11. Atlanta Falcons: 6-7
  12. New Orleans Saints: 6-7
  13. Seattle Seahawks: 6-7
  14. Los Angeles Rams: 6-7
  15. Denver Broncos: 7-6
  16. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  17. Buffalo Bills: 7-6
  18. Cincinnati Bengals: 7-6
  19. Green Bay Packers: 6-7
  20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-7
  21. Indianapolis Colts: 7-6
  22. Minnesota Vikings: 7-6
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-6
  24. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  25. Kansas City Chiefs: 8-5
  26. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-5
  27. Detroit Lions: 9-4
  28. Philadelphia Eagles: 10-3
  29. Miami Dolphins: 9-4
  30. Dallas Cowboys: 10-3
  31. San Francisco 49ers: 10-3
  32. Baltimore Ravens: 10-3

Dolphins To Bring Back DE Melvin Ingram

December 12th, 2023 at 9:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Unable to secure as several veteran edge rushers came off the free agency board this summer, Melvin Ingram paid a visit to one of his former teams. This will lead to the Dolphins bolstering their edge-rushing contingent.

The Dolphins brought in the former Pro Bowler for a Tuesday workout, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. This will lead to a quick agreement, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, who reports the Dolphins and Ingram have a deal in place.

[RELATED: Dolphins C Connor Williams Out For Season]

Miami has been without top sack artist Jaelan Phillips for the past two games; Phillips suffered an Achilles tear in Week 12. Ingram operated as a rotational edge rusher for the Dolphins last season. The team used Ingram as a three-game starter in 2022, doing so after signing him to a one-year deal worth $4MM. Ingram, who recorded six sacks (his most since 2019) last season, discussed a contract with the Browns this offseason. But Cleveland completed a trade with Minnesota for Za’Darius Smith.

As players like Leonard Floyd, Frank Clark, Yannick Ngakoue and Jadeveon Clowney signed between May and August, Ingram has been in free agency since his Dolphins contract expired. But the 11-year veteran will make a late-season return to an NFL roster.

Now 34, Ingram is a three-time Pro Bowler who spent his best years with the Chargers. After a 2021 separation from the Bolts, Ingram has bounced around the AFC. The former first-round pick caught on with the Steelers as a third rusher, but he ended up dissatisfied with the role. Pittsburgh traded Ingram to Kansas City before the 2021 deadline, and the veteran’s arrival helped the Chiefs abandon an ill-fated effort to slide Chris Jones to defensive end. Ingram started six games for the Chiefs, forcing a key fumble that helped the Chiefs to a Week 18 win.

Ingram will rejoin Bradley Chubb, Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel in Miami. Christian Wilkins is also having a strong contract year, leading the team with 7.5 sacks. Post-Phillips, however, the Dolphins obviously feature a less potent pass rush. They will bring in Ingram to help compensate for the key loss.

Making the Pro Bowl from 2017-19, Ingram excelled both before and after Joey Bosa‘s Southern California arrival. He posted 10.5-sack seasons in 2015 and ’17, signing a big-ticket extension in between. Last season, Ingram recovered two fumbles — returning one for a score — and forced one. This will not be as smooth a transition as it would appear, as the Dolphins hired a new defensive coordinator — Vic Fangio — this offseason. Ingram has managed to fit into a few defenses in his career, so it would surprise if he is not on the field for the AFC East leaders soon.

Dolphins C Connor Williams Out For Season

December 12th, 2023 at 2:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins continue to absorb blows along their offensive line. They will lose a second starter to a significant malady. Connor Williams is set to miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, Mike McDaniel said Tuesday.

Williams will join left guard Isaiah Wynn as Miami blockers set to rehab long-term injuries. It is not known if Wynn is done for the season, but early indications have signaled that is the case. Williams, who is in a contract year, left Monday night’s game early.

This is a brutal setback for Williams, who was playing out a two-year, $14MM contract. The former Cowboys draftee had angled for a raise this offseason, but the Dolphins did not buckle. Williams missed offseason time but ultimately returned on the deal he signed in 2022. Going down with a severe knee injury this late in the season will undoubtedly affect the former second-round pick’s 2024 market, as the Texas alum’s rehab effort will run up to, and potentially beyond, Week 1 of next season.

McDaniel said (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson) the Dolphins will consider signing a center. Liam Eichenberg, who has bounced across the Dolphins’ offensive front during his three-year career, is set to move into the role on a fill-in basis. Eichenberg, whom Wynn beat out for the left guard job in training camp, has worked as a utility player this season — for a Miami O-line unable to keep its starting five healthy — before becoming a full-time starter once again.

Williams, 26, had missed four games earlier this season but had started the past five. Converted from Texas tackle to Cowboys guard to Dolphins center, Williams had become an important part of Miami’s top-flight offense. The Dolphins finished their Week 14 game without four of their original O-line starters, with Robert Hunt out after aggravating a hamstring injury and Terron Armstead nursing his latest ailment. Armstead, who suffered a quad injury during the Dolphins’ Black Friday game, returned for the team’s Week 13 matchup against the Commanders; the Dolphins held him out Monday due to knee and ankle injuries. Armstead, whom the team already activated from IR, has missed eight games this season. Miami’s second-stringer-laden front allowed five sacks in a 28-27 loss.

The recently extended Austin Jackson, who has settled in at right tackle, has been the only Dolphin O-lineman to start every game this season. Jackson entered the season after missing 15 games last year. Kendall Lamm started in place of Armstead, while Lester Cotton was in for Hunt. Cotton has a direct path to the starting lineup at guard, while McDaniel said he is the team’s backup center presently. Eichenberg has made one career start at center — in Week 4 of this season — but has played every position up front for the Dolphins since being drafted in the 2021 second round.

Centers who either just retired (Chase Roullier, Justin Britt) or have been connected to doing so (Rodney Hudson, Ben Jones) represent the biggest names available in free agency. The Cardinals and Titans, respectively, released Hudson and Jones this offseason. Jones, 34, had signed four contracts with the Titans and had missed just one game in his 11-year career before a two-concussion 2022 stalled his career. Hudson, 34, made three Pro Bowls as a Raider but was linked to retiring before the 2022 season; he missed 13 games last year. The injury-prone Roullier, 30, retired this summer but had worked out for the Cardinals shortly before making that decision. The Texans released Britt, 32, after he spent almost all of last season on the reserve/NFI list.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/11/23

December 11th, 2023 at 5:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Packers signed Drake to their practice squad last week, doing so as Aaron Jones continues his rehab from an MCL sprain. The Packers ruled out Jones for a third straight game Monday night. Drake has been with four teams (Colts, Ravens, Browns, Packers) since training camp.

AFC East Rumors: Eichenberg, Hines, Pats

December 10th, 2023 at 7:53pm CST by Ely Allen

With a little more time and a lot more publicity, Dolphins offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg could have a case for Comeback Player of the Year. Not really, but Eichenberg has done an impressive job of turning around his career, which was trending downwards through his first two years in the league.

An offensive tackle at Notre Dame, Eichenberg struggled as a rookie full-time starter at left tackle in Miami. In 2022, Eichenberg slid inside to the left guard spot and delivered a more admirable performance before having his season derailed by injuries.

Eichenberg opened this year as a sixth-man for the Dolphins’ offensive line, specializing on interior play. When injuries held out starting center Connor Williams, Eichenberg stepped in to complete his trifecta of starting at every position on the left side of the line. Later on, he filled in with starts at right and left guard, as well. He’s reportedly more comfortable at right guard, but the Dolphins opted to start him at left guard last week ahead of Lester Cotton, who had started there the past two weeks.

In fact, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Miami’s staff has been so impressed with Eichenberg that, barring a miraculous return by Isaiah Wynn from a significant quadriceps injury, Eichenberg could have won the starting left guard job for the remainder of the season.

Here are a few other rumors from around the AFC East:

  • Patriots star pass rusher Matt Judon has now missed the team’s last nine games on injured reserve. Judon has certainly missed enough time to come off of IR, but there’s been no word of that possibility yet. According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, when head coach Bill Belichick was asked about the possibility of Judon returning this year, the long-time skipper replied, “We’ll see. That’s a good question.” He continued, “I know he’s working hard. Matt’s been in here, works hard on a daily basis, but again, that’s a medical question that I wouldn’t be able to answer.”
  • When Bills running back Nyheim Hines suffered an off-site jet ski injury that would end his 2023 season before it even began, that put the veteran rusher in an uncomfortable position concerning his contract. Since the injury occurred away from play, Hines was placed on the non-football injury list, “which technically doesn’t require the team to pay him anything,” per Zak Keefer of The Athletic. Hines was out millions in incentives and bonuses. It took the two sides a few months to hammer out the details, but eventually, they “agreed on a smaller sum” than the $9MM over two years that they had originally agreed to. This allows the Bills to stay on good terms with Hines when he’s able to return to the team next year while saving them from having to pay his full contract for a year in which he won’t see the field.
  • When it was reported that Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown failed to make the trip to Frankfurt with the team for personal reasons, Brown took exception to the speculation that followed. Per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Brown felt the need to clarify that the reason he was unable to make the trip was because of the second opinion he sought on his ankle sprain. While he did attend a funeral during the team’s visit to Germany, he was not able to spend much personal time with his family as he was due back in New England for rehab.

Dolphins Place LB Jerome Baker On IR

December 9th, 2023 at 12:41pm CST by Ben Levine

Jerome Baker is heading to injured reserve. The Dolphins have placed their starting linebacker on IR, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

[RELATED: Dolphins To Host LB Reuben Foster]

Baker suffered an MCL injury last weekend that limited him to a season-low 22 defensive snaps. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t described as a season-ender, and while Baker will be forced to miss the next four weeks, there will still be plenty of time for him to get right before the postseason.

A 2018 third-round pick, Baker has turned into one of Miami’s most dependable defenders. Through his first five seasons in the NFL, the linebacker collected 509 tackles, 21 sacks, and 42 QB hits. It’s been more of the same in 2023, as the 26-year-old has compiled 69 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions (including a pick-six) in 12 starts.

Duke Riley was inserted into the lineup last Sunday when Baker exited the game. The veteran ended up playing in a season-high 31 defensive snaps in the win over the Commanders, and he’ll likely be in line for more playing time on Monday night against the Titans.

After taking a look at Reuben Foster earlier this week, the Dolphins decided to move in a different direction as they look to temporarily replace Baker. Per Schefter, the Dolphins have signed linebacker Calvin Munson off the Patriots practice squad.

Munson has effectively split his career between Miami and New England; this latest transaction marks his third stint with the Dolphins and ends his third stint with the Patriots. The veteran has seen time in 46 career games, collecting 88 tackles. He’s been limited to four appearances with the Patriots over the past two seasons, with the majority of his playing time coming on special teams.

Additionally, the Dolphins placed linebacker Alexander Johnson on the practice squad/injured list.

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