Dolphins’ hopes to land Pro Bowl free agent go up in smoke after AFC Championship
Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier knows he has to fix the offensive line, and if he doesn’t, he only needs to look at the four teams that played in the NFL’s championship weekend. That includes one guard who is heading back to the Super Bowl.
On Sunday night, Trey Smith had another strong game against the Buffalo Bills’ defense. While it wasn’t always perfect, he was part of the reason the Kansas City Chiefs are heading to another Super Bowl.
According to Pro Football Focus, Smith allowed zero sacks and only one pressure in the AFC Championship Game, building on his Pro Bowl season.
As an impending free agent, he made himself a lot more money.
While Smith was giving teams a reason to throw cash at him, the Dolphins can probably scratch him off their wish list. Smith is going to get paid more than Robert Hunt did last year from the Panthers. Grier didn’t want to pay that salary, and he likely isn’t going to pony up and pay Smith, who is projected to become the highest-paid guard in NFL history.
Smith would be a perfect fit on the Dolphins’ offensive line and immediately make them better, but the problem is the salary cap. While it can be manipulated to the point it almost doesn’t exist, Miami will have a lot of other holes on the roster that will require money as well.
Dolphins want to upgrade the offensive line, but it comes with a price tag
It’s hard to imagine Grier spending big on the line despite acknowledging that it needs to be fixed.
The allocation of cap space also has to fill defensive needs on the line, possibly two starting safety spots, linebacker, edge rusher, and cornerback depth. Then, when he switches back to the offense, wide receiver and backup quarterback are areas to address.
Miami could have up to 24 free agents by the time the new league year starts in March. Most of those can be replaced with one-year contracts or retained on short-term deals, but those pieces still need to fit.
Luckily for the Dolphins, only the top 51 players will count against the salary cap, and Miami should find relief on June 1 should they designate anyone a post-June 1 release.
Still, I wouldn’t pencil Smith into the Dolphins’ plans just yet.
