Should the Miami Dolphins Sign Evan Mathis And If So At What Cost?

Usually at this time of the year all the off-season work has ended or is wrapping up for NFL teams. By now there is not much more for the players or the team to really do except maybe take a vacation and enjoy some down time before the grind of training camp and the regular season begin. By now you know who you are heading in to training camp with. That's of course unless by some twist of fate a high profile free-agent that you had previously shown interest in and even tried to trade for all of a sudden hits the free market.

The player of course is Evan Mathis. The question now is what if anything the Dolphins should actually do. If all the reports are accurate the Dolphins were willing to give up something for Mathis pre-draft but the Eagles were at the time not satisfied that it was enough. One has to assume that they now wish they had taken whatever it was that Miami had offered at the time. Another safe assumption would be that the Dolphins were aware that Mathis was being moved, at least in part, because he was unhappy with his contract and was willing to rework his deal in some way to make him happy.

The Dolphins offense suffered last season due to multiple issues along the offensive line and Mathis, its assumed, would be an upgrade at one of the guard spots. Part of that assumption is based on one of the young guards already on the Dolphins roster not stepping up or making any substantial progress in their development. The other part of that assumption is the fact that Mathis, over the last two seasons, has graded out near the top of the NFL at his position. Mathis at 33 (will turn 34 during the 2015 season) may only be a stop gap at the position and his signing would certainly be counter to the youth moment that the team has embraced with most of it's personnel moves over the last two off-seasons.

The Dolphins at present sit 10 million under the cap for 2015 but almost 5 million over the cap in 2016 (based on a 150 million cap estimate for next season). At some point the team is going to have to start looking at some belt tightening budget wise. If they were to sign Mathis it would not be surprising to see another vet cut to alleviate some of the financial pressure that Mathis' contract would put on the teams cap number, not only for this season but for next year as well. Which veterans could the Dolphins be looking at moving on from to save cap money if they do in fact decide to sign Mathis?

Mathis was due to earn 5.5 million from the Eagles this upcoming season before being cut. He of course "wants" a contract that averages more than that but he might find that he was better off staying put and just collecting his 5.5 million (we should all have such problems in life). How does any team now give him a contract that he is happy with/does not embarrass him, making him look like a total idiot for forcing his way out of Philly?

So what is your take on the situation? Should the Dolphins sign him or stick with the youth moment? Do you want him but hope that the team does not sign him because of the cap implications? Who does the team cut to start making cap room now and for later if you do sign him? Do you wan the Dolphins sign him no matter the cost because the offensive line must get fixed at all cost? Be sure to vote on the poll and give us your comments below.