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The 2013 offseason is a critical one for the turn around of the Miami Dolphins. The team has the third most cap space in the league, as well as five draft picks in the first three rounds of the draft, and nine overall. The future of the Dolphins will be determined by what happens in March and April of this year.
While the Dolphins have needs like wide receiver and cornerback that they are going to have to address, the team also has to answer a question about the quarterback position. For the first time in a long time, it does not appear that the Dolphins have to answer a question about their starting quarterback, however, as Ryan Tannehill holds down the position heading into his second year. However, the Dolphins currently have no signed quarterbacks behind Tannehill.
Last year's backups, Matt Moore and Pat Devlin are both scheduled to be free agents this year. While Devlin is a restricted free agent, and will likely return to the Dolphins, Moore is thought to want to see what starting positions are available to him through free agency. However, the Dolphins players seem to want Moore to come back to the team.
Moore served as the Dolphins starting quarterback for most of the 2011 season, after Chad Henne was injured early in the season. He was expected to be the starter, or at least compete against veteran free agent David Garrard for the position, this past year. Instead, Garrard was injured before Miami's first preseason game, and Tannehill claimed the starting position, becoming the first rookie to start all 16 games for the Dolphins in franchise history.
Now, after spending nearly the entire season on the bench (Moore played the majority of one game when Tannehill was injured against the Jets), Moore could be one of the most coveted free agent quarterbacks this year (depending on the status of Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Flynn and San Francisco 49ers QB Alex Smith).
According to a Miami Herald report yesterday, Tannehill and several other Dolphins have reached out to Moore, asking him to re-sign. The Dolphins would obviously like to keep the veteran in Miami, giving them a capable backup behind Tannehill, as well as a veteran presence to help their young quarterback continue to develop.
The Dolphins have said they are comfortable with Devlin as the primary backup for Tannehill, but if Moore is willing to stay with the team, at a reasonable price, the team would have to feel they are in a better position.