Dolphins Release Holliday, Left Thin On Line

<!--StartFragment-->

The Miami Dolphins continue to make an impact in free agency, only it’s just not the way that you thought it would be. The Dolphins continue to release/let go players that contributed a solid amount of playing time last season. Today, the trend continues with the release of defensive end Vonnie Holliday. Holliday, was not the most prolific guy on the roster, but he still contributed to the teams success. This move makes little sense at this point because the Dolphins main need in free agency was a cornerback, and the one that they were supposedly interested in, Andre Goodman, they let get away. Holliday would have counted $5.5 million against the cap after he was due a salary raise on Tuesday of $1.5 miilion. That money that we just got could have went towards re-signing Goodman. Holliday’s stats were solid for a player playing a position that isn’t exactly stat friendly. Holliday, 33, contributed 46 tackles, which led all defensive lineman, recorded a team high 4 forced fumbles, and 3.5 sacks. Not only did Holliday put in a solid performance, but Holliday also provided the veteran influence that was critical in the maturation of rookie defensive ends Kendall Langford, and Philip Merling. With the release of Holliday, both 2nd year players are expected to start. The only other defensive ends on the roster are Randy Starks, Lionel Dotson, and Rodrique Wright. All three of the aforementioned players are unproven and are not exactly what you would call productive players. Starks is the closest one out of those three to Holliday’s contributions with a big interception against the Patriots in the big week 3 victory, and also recorded 29 tackles and 3 sacks throughout the season. Now, you can add defensive end to the list of needs that the Dolphins need to address this off season. The Washington Redskins have just released Jason Taylor, but beyond Taylor, there are no other defensive lineman besides Bertrand Berry, who is 33, recorded 5 sacks to go along with 22 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  Taylor had a disappointing season this year and would likely welcome a return to his former team, but the Dolphins brass isn’t too high on him right now, especially after the main reason that Taylor was released was because he refused to commit to come to more than half of the off-season workouts. Other than that the Dolphins would have a major decision to make if they would let this position go unfilled through the draft because they currently have multiple positions that they want to fill through the draft such as offensive line depth, wide receiver, and corner back help. What to do, what to do Dolphins fans, again, by tomorrow we could trade for or sign a player that could completely change our draft needs. At least we know that the Big Tuna knows what he is doing.