Free agency is underway in the National Football League and the biggest early splash may have been made by the Miami Dolphins. Though it cannot become official until Tuesday, it was reported over the weekend that defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh will sign with Miami.
In five NFL seasons, Suh has 36 sacks and four Pro Bowl appearances. Suh should not only help aid Cameron Wake and the Dolphins’ pass-rush, but he should also be able to bolster a run defense that was downright dreadful during the second half of last season.
While the signing of the former second overall pick of the Detroit Lions should have fans in South Florida very optimistic, big time acquisitions and results on the field have not always gone hand in hand for Miami in recent years.
The obvious exception for Miami during the Joe Philbin era has been cornerback Brent Grimes. After a solid career with the Atlanta Falcons, Grimes has put forward consecutive Pro Bowl seasons for the Dolphins.
The most glaring of moves that hasn’t worked out so well for the Dolphins is the addition of wide receiver Mike Wallace. A speedster and former Pro Bowl receiver with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wallace simply hasn’t been the player Miami had hoped for when he was signed prior to the 2013 season.
Whether the blame belongs to Wallace himself, the play-calling, coaching staff or Ryan Tannehill’s struggles with the deep ball, Wallace has averaged less than 900 yards receiving in his two seasons with the Dolphins and his 12.7 and 12.9 yards-per-catch averages with Miami are the two lowest of his career.
The bad luck in free agency for Miami however, isn’t limited to Wallace. Three of last offseason’s big additions, Branden Albert, Louis Delmas and Knowshon Moreno also suffered season-ending injuries while cornerback Cortland Finnegan was a glaring liability in the secondary.
Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, who was signed before the 2013 season, was lost for the year early last season and over the weekend, the Dolphins parted ways with fellow linebacker Philip Wheeler, who struggled in his two years with the team.
Brandon Gibson, another wide receiver signed prior to the start of 2013, was also let go by Miami earlier this offseason. After suffering a season-ending injury midway through the 2013 campaign, Gibson caught just 29 passes for less than 300 yards this past season.
It’s clear the Dolphins will be hoping for better results this offseason and with Suh, there is reason to believe things will be different. The defensive tackle position isn’t always one where scheme is intricately tied to success.
While Miami has had the misfortune of losing five players signed over the last two years to season-ending injuries, Suh unlike Moreno, has been the epitome of durability over his 5-year NFL career. Suh has started and played in 78 of a possible 80 games and the two he missed were to suspension and not injury.
It’s no secret that Suh has had his fair share of issues resulting in fines and the aforementioned suspension and he’ll come with some risk, particularly for a franchise that may not have fully recovered from the league’s first locker room bullying scandal. But for a team that hasn’t had a winning season nor made a playoff appearance in six years, it may be a risk worth taking.
Miami has headed into December alive in the playoff race in each of the last three years, finishing 8-8 in the past two. Though the Dolphins have not been able to take that next step, many feel they’re very close. With now two perennial All-Pros on the defensive line, fans are hopeful that 2015 will finally be the year the Dolphins finish the job.
