Phinsider Mailbag: Linebackers, trades, and unladen swallows

A few days ago, I asked Twitter and Facebook for some questions for a new edition of the Phinsider Mailbag. Life then jumped up and got in the way, so there has been about a week lag between asking for questions and actually getting back to being able to answer those questions. That said, it is officially time to open the Phinsider Mailbag and answer your Miami Dolphins questions.

If you would like to submit questions to the Phinsider Mailbag, all you have to do it hit me up on Twitter and include the #PhinsiderMailbag hashtag, or reply whenever I ask for questions. You can also find us on Facebook and leave your questions there. Finally, you can always post questions in the comments below and we can pick those up for the next edition.

On to this week’s (last week’s?) questions:

I actually have not heard Gerald Hodges being linked or rumored to the Dolphins at all. He is probably the best linebacker still on the free agent market, but he is probably now headed toward being a post-Draft free agent addition somewhere. He is still young at 26, and he could fill a need for the Dolphins, but he just may not be a perfect fit for the Dolphins for some reason.

Hodges has said he would like to return to the Minnesota Vikings, who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2013 Draft. He also has visited the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs this offseason, but he is still available. He has played mostly as a reserve inside linebacker, either as a true middle linebacker or as a part of the inside pair in a 3-4 with the 49ers the last couple of years.

He might actually be an option if the Dolphins do not pick up a linebacker early in the Draft later this month, but, as of now, it does not seem like there is a lot of interest there right now.

I think it is a little higher than zero, but maybe not to the point that mock drafts seem to believe with the prominence of Forrest Lamp as Miami’s pick. I would not be shocked to see Lamp - or an offensive tackle Miami feels they can move inside to guard (Garrett Bolles comes to mind) - selected, but I do think the team plans to be highly defensive focused this year, and that means the Dolphins should be looking defense with the 22nd overall pick.

It probably all comes down to how the Draft unfolds. If Haason Reddick, Zach Cunningham, Jabrill Peppers, Taco Charlton, Malik McDowell, T.J. Watt, Chidobe Awuzie, or Obi Melifonwu are still on the board, I think Miami leans that way over an offensive lineman. (In other words, there are a lot of options that could be available for Miami before they think they have to take an offensive lineman.)

If you are making me pick a percent chance, I will say 15 percent. That leaves 85 percent to be split between the defensive line, linebacker, and defensive back. That seems about fair.

Yes.

Facebook: What's a realistic trade we could offer Seattle for Richard Sherman? Do you believe Matt Moore is still with us next season? - Matthieu Lextrait

I do not think there is a “realistic” offer the Dolphins - and 99 percent of the NFL - could offer the Seahawks that would pull Sherman away from the team. The Seahawks seem to want a first-round pick plus a really good player (likely an offensive lineman) in return, as the starting point for the negotiations. Someone like the Bills could be willing to trade away Cyrus Kouandjio, which might be intriguing, but I think the Seahawks are just putting Sherman’s name out there to see what the offers would be, with no real plan to trade him.

That said, if he were traded, I might be surprised, but it would not be overly shocking.

If Miami were to get involved in this, they are going to likely have to get creative with a draft pick package, and possibly include someone like Bobby McCain or Tony Lippett. I am not sure the Seahawks would be interested in either of those two in exchange for Sherman, though.

Facebook: Is Matthieu Lextrait insane for wanting an overpaid diva who only excels in zone coverage and gets burned more than a crackheads fingers? - J.B. Smith

Possibly, but I don’t think so. Byron Maxwell excelled in that same system, then struggled in Philadelphia, before finding himself again in Miami. I would think Sherman would come in and find success in Miami’s system - though the Dolphins do want to be more man-to-man this year, so maybe not.

Facebook: What...is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? - James Donald Henjum

African or European?