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The first weekend of free agency is almost at its end and the Miami Dolphins have made little to no moves what so ever.  Keep in mind that I am discounting the moves that the Dolphins made before free agency started. The Dolphins only move this weekend was signing offensive lineman Joe Berger to a 3-year deal. This move came amid speculation that the Dolphins were going to make a big move to get offensive lineman Jason Brown. Brown has been considered the best lineman in this year’s free agent class and was thought to draw some big time looks from many teams needing a versatile lineman.  Amid all of the rumors, our Dolphins were expected to look at Brown and bring him in for a visit on Friday. Well, that plan went out the door when the Dolphins front office found out exactly how much Brown was looking for in a contract, which was about $6-7 million per year.  So, instead of Brown visiting the Dolphins facility on Friday, he paid a visit to the St. Louis Rams facility to interview with their management.

            Then, shortly after the interview was over, out came reports that said Brown was not really interested in playing with the Rams, and that he was looking for an offer from other teams like his former team the Baltimore Ravens, and the Miami Dolphins.  Brown was just looking for any team to match the offer that the Rams were giving him, which was $7 mil per year over 5 years. Both the Dolphins and Ravens were unwilling to match the offer and instead of getting one of the premier players in free agency, the Dolphins settled for Joe Berger. Berger's history is pretty simple. He was drafted by the Dolphins back in 2005 and was about to be given a starting job until he  suffered an injury that pushed him down on the depth chart. He then went to the Dallas Cowboys for three years where he played a total of 4 games. Now, he returns to the Dolphins where he is looking to challenge starting center/guard Samson Satele for a starting job. Whether this is a big move or not, this adds depth to the Dolphins line, and that is where we desperately need it. Our offensive line is relatively young with the oldest player being Vernon Carey, who will be turning 28 in July.  The way I figured it back on Friday was that signing Berger would allow them to go out and sign some other guys in the positions that are open or that needed some depth like linebacker, cornerback, or wide receiver. Well, it looks like I was semi-wrong in the aspect that they would sign somebody who would help out the squad because the only rumors that are going around are that the Dolphins are looking at linebacker Kevin Burnett, a former Cowboy, and that wide receiver Laveranues Coles was considering joining the Dolphins as well. Now we know that the Dolphins are not seriously considering Coles because they don't think that he possesses the #1 type receiver qualities that a true #1 should. Despite the rumors, there are no definite hints whether the Dolphins will sign either of these two free agents, and this leaves us to wonder what exactly the Dolphins plan is.

            Despite the moves that the Dolphins have made, don’t put down this free agency period as a failure just yet. This offseason so far has provided just what the Dolphins needed, answers. With the re-signings of key players Yeremiah Bell, Vernon Carey, and Channing Crowder, the Dolphins did not have to go out and break the bank for a quality player to replace them, they simply just have to go out and draft a player to develop along the way.  Also, with the addition of safety Gibril Wilson, the Dolphins solidifies both their safety positions for years to come, and give the Dolphins some Super Bowl experience, something that they desperately need if they wish to advance past the first round of the playoffs.

            So, this free agency period was nothing short of a success! They got the answers that they needed for the draft, and they got some added depth and kept their key players. Now the Dolphins know whom they need to go after in the draft and what positions they need to more carefully examine in order to prepare for the draft. This offseason may work out to be one of the best in awhile for just keeping the same nucleus of players together and adding good, solid players where they needed to be added. We did not go out and spend ridiculous amounts of money on players that we did not need, we did not sign players that are past their prime and we did not just ignore free agency all together, on the first weekend of free agency, we addressed our most pressing needs and will look to add more depth as the week goes on. Now we can go into the draft with a game plan and draft players to come in and develop instead of hurrying their production and rushing into games. So, to answer the question as to whether this first weekend of free agency was a disappointment, let’s keep it plain and simple, NO. Good job Dolphins staff keep up the good work.