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The start of the NFL's 2014 Free Agency period is just days away, with teams able to start talking to agents tomorrow and signings able to start on Tuesday. As we get ready for the madness that is free agency, we take a look at the status of the Miami Dolphins' roster, as well as the needs and potential solutions for each area of the roster. Today we start the series with the secondary.
Current Roster:
|
Number |
Player |
Position |
HT |
WT |
Age |
Exp |
School |
|
37 |
Brown, Jalil |
CB |
6'1" |
205 |
26 |
3 |
Colorado |
|
29 |
Davis Will |
CB |
5'11" |
186 |
23 |
1 |
Utah State |
|
21 |
Grimes, Brent |
CB |
5'10" |
183 |
30 |
8 |
Shippensburg |
|
36 |
Jones, Don |
CB |
5'11" |
191 |
23 |
1 |
Arkansas State |
|
20 |
Jones, Reshad |
S |
6'1" |
210 |
23 |
4 |
Georgia |
|
44 |
Kovacs, Jordan |
S |
5'10" |
205 |
23 |
1 |
Michigan |
|
24 |
Patterson, Dimitri |
CB |
5'10" |
200 |
30 |
7 |
Tuskegee |
|
22 |
Taylor, Jamar |
CB |
5'10" |
192 |
23 |
1 |
Boise State |
|
31 |
Thomas, Michael |
S |
5'11" |
196 |
24 |
2 |
Stanford |
|
27 |
Wilson, Jimmy |
S |
5'11" |
205 |
27 |
3 |
Montana |
Potential Free Agents:
|
Number |
Player |
Position |
HT |
WT |
Age |
Exp |
School |
|
28 |
Carroll, Nolan |
CB |
6'1" |
205 |
27 |
4 |
Maryland |
|
30 |
Clemons, Chris |
S |
6'1" |
214 |
28 |
5 |
Clemson |
|
41 |
Owens, Chris |
CB |
5'9" |
180 |
27 |
5 |
San Jose State |
|
25 |
Stanford, R.J. |
CB |
5'10" |
185 |
25 |
3 |
Utah |
Roster Status:
The secondary may be the deepest for the Dolphins heading into free agency. Even if the team loses Nolan Carroll, who is reportedly garnering interest from the Minnesota Vikings with the potential of several other teams joining the chase, the cornerback position has plenty of options. The re-signing of Brent Grimes gives Miami the shutdown corner for one side of the field while Dimitri Patterson takes the starting spot on the opposite side. The nickel cornerback position could still belong to Jimmy Wilson, or one of the younger guys could fill in that spot.
Obviously, the question among the cornerbacks will remain Patterson, who was unable to stay healthy last year and comes into this year with a high salary cap number. The Dolphins could decide to release Patterson, rather than eat up $5.4 million against the cap. They could re-work his contract as well, which would make it more palatable, but for now, it's hard to say for sure Patterson will be with Miami when he cannot stay on the field and would have no dead money if he were released.
If the team were to lose both Carroll and Patterson, perhaps cornerback becomes more of a need than it appears to be currently, but with both Jamar Taylor and Will Davis essentially redshirting their rookie years, it's possible the coaching staff even feels they already have the replacement for the two cornerbacks who started opposite Grimes in 2013.
Safety is a little more interesting, as the team could bring back Chris Clemons, who is scheduled to be a free agent, much like they did last year. They could allow Clemons to leave, moving Wilson into the position opposite Reshad Jones, or looking for an upgrade via free agency or the draft.
Top 5 Free Agents:
Cornerback:
|
Rank |
Player |
2013 Team |
|
1 |
Aqib Talib |
|
|
2 |
Tracy Porter |
|
|
3 |
Tarell Brown |
|
|
4 |
Vontae Davis |
|
|
5 |
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie |
Safety:
|
Rank |
Player |
2013 Team |
|
1 |
Jarius Byrd |
|
|
2 |
Antoine Bethea |
Indianapolis Colts |
|
3 |
Donte Whitner |
San Francisco |
|
4 |
T.J. Ward |
|
|
5 |
Mike Mitchell |
Top 5 Draft Prospects:
Cornerback:
|
Rank |
Player |
School |
|
1 |
Darqueze Dennard |
Michigan State |
|
2 |
Justin Gilbert |
Oklahoma State |
|
3 |
Kyle Fuller |
Virginia Tech |
|
4 |
Jason Verrett |
TCU |
|
5 |
Bradley Roby |
Ohio State |
Safety:
|
Rank |
Player |
School |
|
1 |
HaSean Clinton-Dix |
Alabama |
|
2 |
Calvin Pryor |
Louisville |
|
3 |
Jimmie Ward |
Nothern Illinois |
|
4 |
Deone Bucannon |
Washington State |
|
5 |
Terrence Brooks |
Florida State |
Nogle's Offseason Projection:
Not a lot will likely change between now and the start of the season, when it comes to the secondary, at least. Miami is said to want to bring back Carroll, and they will likely try to make that happen, though it is probably 50-50 at best at this point. As for the safety position, adding an upgrade to Clemons seems to be the direction the team wants to go, most likely looking to the Draft to accomplish that goal.
In the end, Caroll and Clemons are likely gone, with Miami adding a rookie safety to develop behind Wilson as the strong safety.
Projected Depth Chart:
