Hyde5: Five simple steps for Dolphins with free agents

[SQuinn17]

Hartline for 40 million? Ahhh hahahaha

[hooshoops]

fellas sean smith unless he falls off the table is well on his way to $10 mil a year especially if they don't work out something in season...i just wasn't thinking he was gonna be commanding $26.5 mil guaranteed in that...i was more along the lines of $20 mil guaranteed...

with smith miami has painted itself in a corner given our current cb depth we have no choice but to pony up...

[Phinatic8u]

fellas sean smith unless he falls off the table is well on his way to $10 mil a year especially if they don't work out something in season...i just wasn't thinking he was gonna be commanding $26.5 mil guaranteed in that...i was more along the lines of $20 mil guaranteed...

with smith miami has painted itself in a corner given our current cb depth we have no choice but to pony up...

If he keeps how he's playing up, then he deserves it IMO

[hooshoops]

If he keeps how he's playing up, then he deserves it IMO

if you didn't have pretty much 3 seasons of bad play in your mouth prior sure he does...i'd pay him all day if he can keep up his level of play that we have seen this year...and maybe he will...maybe he just needed time...

chance we got to take anyways...i'm not even sure if he keeps at this level $10 mil per gets it done if he hits free agency...

[MadDog 88]

if you didn't have pretty much 3 seasons of bad play in your mouth prior sure he does...i'd pay him all day if he can keep up his level of play that we have seen this year...and maybe he will...maybe he just needed time...

chance we got to take anyways

Lets see how the season plays out. His hands are still a question.

[Finland]

All of those salaries are reasonable. Plus, if you lose these guys, where do you plan on getting their replacements.

This is a good plan.

I am amazed that we see RT improving and some want to take his LT and most productive receiver away. lol.

I agree we should sign Hartline, but he can likely be had a bit cheaper.

[FinaticalOne]

Before I read this article, I was thinking about the prospect of letting Starks walk too because we have other priorities that will be costly. It would be a very unpopular move with everyone, including me. Starks is a very good player, but we are also deep at that position too. We still could move Odrick inside and rotate him with McDaniel, and start Olivier Vernon at DE. We could also draft a DT in the mid-late rounds to groom. That would save us some money because we need to focus a large portion of our available money on the offense this year.

Before this season, I was not a fan of Sean Smith, but he has played well above expectations this year and I'm happy about that. But one could wonder, if this sudden improvement in play is motivated by his contract year; or should credit go to Kevin Coyle's ability to motivate his secondary, which he is known for around the league. If we do invest in Smith (which at this time would be a wise decision), I hope he continues to play at this level and higher in the future.

Reggie Bush is going to be another tough decision because he is our playmaker and a true PROFESSIONAL. His approach to the game is like no other, and his teammates emulates his behavior. He works hard everyday, and he's become a well respected leader on the team. This type of player creates and maintains a positive locker room. Those attributes alone is enough to re-sign him, but IMHO, we really need to see what Lamar Miller brings to the table in games. Since Daniel Thomas will need some time to get his bearings, and Bush has some minor injury issues, they should activate Miller and let him take on a shared role to alleviate the former until he's completely healed. If Miller emerges as we all expect, this would dictates Bush's future with us. If I were Ireland, I would do my best to ink Bush to a 2-3 year contract at around $6-7 million per year. It would be cool to have Bush retire as a DOLPHIN, after all, we are the team who believed in his ability as an every down back...not the Saints.

Re-signing Hartline is a no-brainer, and I believe we can do this with a reasonable contract that won't hurt the bank. He has proven to be be a very good #2 WR. We can think Henne for that, after all; Henne is the one who lobbied for Hartline after he threw some passes to him at a workout.

Franchising or signing Long to a long term deal is a no-brainer too, no matter whch direction Ireland goes, Long is not to leave this team.

[WesternNYDolfan]

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Dave Hyde
7:32 AM EDT, October 11, 2012

There are some tough but common-sense decisions to be made for the Dolphins as they move forward with their sizeable salary-cap space and impending free agents. Here’s a five-step plan I expect to be put in place
1. Sign cornerback Sean Smith. The Dolphins should be working on his contract right now. He’s at an impact position and has shown in the past two games against Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald and Cincinnati’s A.J. Green the kind of player he is. The risk is he wasn’t this player last year. In his contract year, he’s focused. Will he stay that way? You have to hope so and pay him big. The cost? Cortland Finnegan signed a five-year, $50 million contract ($26.5 million guaranteed) as a free agent with St. Louis this off-season.
2. Slap the franchise tag on left tackle Jake Long. He won’t like this. No player wants a one-year deal, even if it’s for big money ($12 million to $15 million). The idea is you can’t keep opening up important holes on your roster, but you’re not sure you want to sink so much money into any left tackle, much less one with some injury concern. This is good middle-ground for the Dolphins to walk. You don’t lose a great talent like Long. And you don’t sink the seven-year, $84-million deal ($44 million guaranteed) that Cleveland gave Joe Thomas. You sing him for next season and push the larger decision off a year.
3. Sign receiver Brian Hartline. Another deal that should be in the works right now. Hartline isn’t a No. 1 receiver – you need to get into the end zone more for that – but he’s shown he’s instrumental for moving forward. It’s hard to gauge just who he compares to contract-wise, but an idea would be Pierre Garcon, who signed a free-agent contract in the off-season with Washington for five years and $42.5 million ($20.5M guaranteed).
4. Let Randy Starks walk. Tough to say that considering how well he’s playing and he only turns 29 this season. But defensive tackle isn’t a premier position, the Dolphins have depth on the defensive line and the idea would be to draft and develop another Starks. If Starks wants to take a Dolphin-friendly deal, that's another matter. Jeff Ireland played this smartly last year, letting DL Kendall Langford go to St. Louis (four-year, $24 million - $12M guaranteed) while re-signing Paul Soliai for two years, $12 million.
5. Decide on Reggie Bush this off-season. He’s your best playmaker on offense. But running back, while an important position, isn’t one to overpay for. Bush was signed for two years and $10 million. That sounds about right in re-signing him, assuming the rest of this season plays out accordingly.


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He had me up to "Let Randy Starks Walk" lol, DT isn't a premier position? Tell that to Vince Wilfork, JJ Watt, and Haloti Ngata. All game changers for their respective defenses, and Starks is one for ours.

[datruth55]

and i'm betting that all you guys who want ireland to let jake long walk are gonna be upset...i see about a zero percent chance ireland lets go there...probably not gonna like the contract #'s once they are released...

I'm starting to get swayed to the "let Jake Long walk" crowd. That money is just nuts and by letting him walk not only could we re-sign all of our own free agents but we could have more than enough for two big free agents like Greg Jennings and Cliff Avril or a Deshon Goldson. Texas A&M has two OT coming out this year that Sherman and Turner should be very familiar with and we can move Martin over to the LT spot.

I just struggle with paying Jake Long more than $10 million a year when he's not playing like a guy that should be getting that kind of money...and I just know his agent is going to want Joe Thomas type money.

[FinaticalOne]

He had me up to "Let Randy Starks Walk" lol, DT isn't a premier position? Tell that to Vince Wilfork, JJ Watt, and Haloti Ngata. All game changers for their respective defenses, and Starks is one for ours.

DT isn't considered a premier position, and the players you named do NOT play DT. Ngata and Watt are DEs, and Wlfork is a 3-4 NT.