Miami Dolphins: We've Seen This Move Before

The Miami Dolphins have had an interesting offseason. The team with the most salary cap isn’t going out and getting all these big-name free agents. Instead, they’re settling for signing their current free agents to short deals and finding role players to fill needs. It’s a bold move that is leaving fans wondering if it will pay off. Unfortunately, it’s not a new strategy as it feels all too familiar.

Let’s rewind the past two years. In an effort to cut costs and free themselves of wasteful contracts, the Dolphins went on a spending spree. Not one that would give them the best players available, but one that would give them gap fillers while they developed their young talent acquired through the NFL Draft. The Dolphins would spend their offseason picking up guys on 2-4 year deals that were team friendly and filled needs.

Last year they seemed like they were poised to make a big splash in free agency and again they chose to shore up depth and their lone splashy move was Will Fuller. Dolphins saw just how little that worked out as Fuller barely suited up for Miami last season. While being conservative with your salary cap is key to building depth, the Miami Dolphins need game-changing playmakers who set the tempo on either side of the ball.

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Sure their newly added talent will show up on the stat sheet on Sundays but just how much will the needle move when it comes to wins and losses. The Dolphins seem to have shifted into bargain shopping mode and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The only problem with that theory is Miami has to hit on their draft picks. there’s no guarantee to do that. They have to find guys who can’t make a splash right away.

If the team is being honest with themselves then they need more than just role players. If they want to keep up with the Bills, Chiefs, or the rest of the AFC they need game-changing plays. We’ve seen the Dolphins hang in and win football games in the past, but its when they face the powerhouse teams that they revert back to their struggling ways. Hopefully, these moves pay off but we’ve definitely seen this offseason before.