Several teams have pursued Zach Brown this offseason, but the UFA linebacker may be down to his final two choices. Brown is believed to be deciding between the Dolphins and Raiders, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports.
Brown has visited the Dolphins, Raiders and Bills, while the Colts have expressed interest as well. While Oakland and Miami believe they’re in the running for the non-rush linebacker, neither looks set to meet Brown’s asking price of $6MM per year, Salguero notes. The south Florida-based writer reported earlier this week the Dolphins would be more comfortable paying Brown a deal in the $3MM- or $4MM-per-year range.
The Dolphins have been active this month in reshaping their linebacking corps, signing Lawrence Timmons as a UFA, restructuring Koa Misi‘s deal and extending Kiko Alonso. Brown would seemingly take Misi’s place in the lineup, with the 30-year-old middle ‘backer taking a pay cut to stay in south Florida, if he were to sign with the Dolphins.
Either way, Brown would be moving from a 3-4 defense to a base 4-3 look. The Raiders signed former Dolphins outside linebacker Jelani Jenkins to likely play the weakside spot but have a need inside. Bruce Irvin plays as an outside linebacker in the Raiders’ 4-3 base but slides to defensive end in pass-rush situations, leaving an opening in nickel sets. Raiders 2016 middle linebacker Perry Riley remains a free agent. He of 149 tackles in a standout season in Buffalo, Brown ranks as PFR’s No. 1 linebacker remaining in free agency. Riley sits No. 2 on this list but hasn’t generated nearly as much interest.
If Oakland sought to outmuscle Miami for Brown, the team has $32MM-plus in cap space compared to the Fins’ $15MM. But the Raiders have a possible Derek Carr extension coming this year, almost certainly contributing to their free agency plan.
Previously viewed as a plus-coverage ‘backer with the Titans, Brown experienced a tepid market for his services as a first-time UFA last year. A deal in the $3-$4MM-AAV range would put him below lesser names like A.J. Klein ($5MM AAV), or $4MM-per-year players Tahir Whitehead or Damario Davis on the inside linebacker salary spectrum. Fellow UFA Kevin Minter signed a one-year, $4.25MM deal with the Bengals last week.
Both teams are up and coming. Either team would benefit a great deal from him.
Raiders a lot better than the Dolphins!
Raiders better than Dolphins? We’ll find out the answer to that one this season my friend. They’ll play each other for the first time in what 3 or 4 years now. Sure remembered the days the Raiders & Dolphins played each other dang near every year against each other! I think the game is in Oakland this year, so I’ll try to go to the game if I don’t have to work. John Fins UP!
Yes we are better our QB is a lot better our O Line is a lot better and Mack is better than your entire team!
George how all are you? And do you know anything about what you are talking about and also about football? Lol you are a joke! I’m a Pats fan and I rather play Oakland 5 times than the Dolphins just once !
And I would rather plan the Raiders 10 times than the Patriots at all. When will Brady retire? I can help him find a great home in West Palm Beach lmao.
That’s because you’re an idiot! We have the best young QB in the game with the best defensive player in the league.Great offensive line and continue to build. Once Tuck Brady is done you will be irrelevant! Just like your comments!
He’s a starter in Miami, and an integral piece of future success. He’s just an expensive backup in Oakland.
Bring your talents to the dark side. Get yourself a ring
This is a player the Dolphins need to get signed! It would give the team it’s starting LB corps set before the draft. The Dolphins could then enter the draft with BPA with almost any of their draft picks! Brown(27) is in his prime along with Alonso(26). If Dolphins could sign Brown, & make an offer to L.A. Rams FA safety T.J. McDonald? The team would almost have it’s entire starting defense if the team could sign bought of these two players!! John
If I was him I would choose Raiders because the team is coming up. Also because the Patriots are the the division with the dolphins. So the means the dolphins will never be # 1. The Raiders division is easy because they have bet the Chiefs last year. The Broncos defense is not as good as it was and QB problems. The Chargers are not even looking at playoff.
Your right about the Raiders could finish first in their division, compared to the Dolphins having to contend with New England! But, which one of them is the better fit? Also, Florida doesn’t have any state taxes! It’s one of the really easy ways players whined up in South Beach. John
People going crazy over a guy with one good season…in a Rex Ryan defense that makes LB’s look better than they really are.
Think about that, Lorenzo Alexander and Zach Brown have never been anything…and they were both pro-bowlers in their one and only season playing for Rex Ryan in Buffalo.
And the only reason they were starters is because Shaq Lawson and Reggie Ragland got hurt. Lol.
Well put Booger; some solid, against the grain analysis there. If it weren’t for the Raiders’ glaring need for a disruptive, pocket-breaking force up the middle, I’m sure that the hype on Zach Brown would be far less dramatic. Both Miami & Oakland fans (particularly the former) talk about this guy in life & death terms; as though signing Brown would solve their defensive issues in their totality in one fell swoop. As far as Oakland is concerned, they already have a proven & more experienced middle LB in house who is capable of performing at Brown’s peak level during his one standout season under linebacking guru Rex Ryan; the fact that Riley remains unsigned is one of the more disconcerting factors in Oakland’s free agency efforts to date. When observations are made in reference to the obvious late-season improvements by the Raiders on defense, they rarely include the fact that the pass rush in particular was visibly more effective following Riley’s return from injury. Suddenly it seemed both Mack & Irvin seemed to have the previously absent extra second or two that they needed to get to opposing QB’s off the edge (I actually lost count of how many times Mack had a hand on the quarterback just as he was releasing the football!) This often overlooked element of a team’s defensive game by the casual or peripheral fan is critical to it’s success, particularly in passing situations as secondaries are oftentimes made to look lost & disorganized with cornerbacks frequently getting torched when in fact the actual weakness is a lack of inside pressure from LBs & defensive tackles; if a quarterback is allowed to comfortably survey the field while he stands unmolested in a perfectly sustained pocket for 5+ seconds at a time, his receivers are eventually going to be open downfield and the opposing secondary will in turn begin to wear down & fatigue prematurely, leading to ensuing situations of even greater vulnerability & ineffectiveness.
While it appears as though Reggie McKenzie is intent on finding a long-term solution to the Raiders’ hole at defensive tackle in the early rounds of next month’s entry draft, he needs to address the ILB situation by signing either Riley or Brown; failing to do so will restrict his ability to use one of the team’s early round draft picks on a viable long-term solution at running back. While this year’s draft does indeed boast a fairly deep RB class, nevertheless it’s unreasonable to expect one of the comparatively few prospective marquis halfbacks to still be on the board beyond the 2nd round; certainly not with the heightened demand from several other teams in the same boat as the Raiders. And while Zach Brown may currently be rated above Perry Riley, the latter is actually the better value at what I’m hearing is a comparable cost, considering his extensive experience in a 4-3 defensive system and his comparatively superior career numbers.
That being said, I wouldn’t be entirely disappointed if the Raiders do in fact manage to land Brown, irrespective of the fact that his is a considerably smaller sample size. While I agree that his one good season came last year under the tutelage of Rex Ryan, it’s not as though he’s likely to flounder under the leadership & coaching acumen of Ken Norton, nor is he likely to suddenly forget everything he learned from Ryan in Buffalo nor is his high level of confidence likely to wane in Oakland’s winning & supportive environment.
I doubt that I’m far off the mark in speculating that the impediment in signing either of these players is purely a question of finances, however based on developing rumours, it would appear that the gap has closed in ongoing negotiations, particularly in Brown’s case. Frankly I’m a bit surprised that Zach Brown remains in negotiations with Oakland following his ill-conceived & arguably unprofessional Twitter outburst that coincided with his premature departure from the Raiders’ facility following what was reported to be a brief & unsuccessful negotiation with the Raiders’ GM. I’m assuming è that Brown didn’t find financially greener grass during his ensuing flights to Miami and Buffalo.
If the Raiders do in fact (eventually) sign Zach Brown to a contract, I genuinely hope that he’s not the self-important, reactionary prima donna that he appeared to be in that insulting tweet. The last thing that the Raiders’ team-oriented locker room needs is to have it’s chemistry altered by a disruptive new presence.
Sorry….got carried away! Man was that a long reply!
Forgot to mention that Brown has the edge as a coverage linebacker, providing him with immense value to the Raiders. To FINALLY have a LB who can cover a f$&@#%g tight end?? Hand the man a pen!!
Booger, your absolutely right on both accounts. The starters got hurt, their backups came in & were put in the right playing scheme that matched their skill sets to were they performed to their best play of their carriers! But, when you look at Brown, he’s in his prime at 27, & when put in the right place with the right scheme, your getting a very good player who’s in his prime years! John
Rex was there two years
Yes he was, & Rex Ryan for all of his B.S., he’s still one of the top DC in football! Daddy Buddy Ryan showed both of his boys how to coach defensive football! Of the two sons I think Rex is the better DC.John
Bro u trippin when u say the raiders division is easy it’s arguably the best division in the NFL! JUSTWINBABY!
FINS!!
Raiders lost to the Queefs both times last year
Raiders need to pay the man his money. Re-Sign Reilly Jr and then focus on the DT and RB spot in the draft.
The raiders are twice as good let’s go over this
Better QB
Better Oline
Better receivers
Better special teams
Better tight end
Better rushers with Mack Irvin Edwards and posssivly Alfonso smith if reinstated
better safeties
You only have better linebackers and cornerbacks
Better RB
O-Line, Lol
I’ll take Miami’s receiver trio and TE
Don’t recall the Raider having a Pro Bowl safety.
2 Pro Bowlers on DL
Oline we had 3 pro bowl oline men and were ranked like 3 on the best o line rankings
our TE is Jared Cook so who is Miami’s anyway
Reggie nelson is a pro bowl safety and karl joseph was a rookie who had injuries but the 14th overall pick last year and is told by espn and bleacher report articles that he is up and coming and will be a stud
we have mack and Irvin rushing the passer and Mario Edwards jr who is good when healthy
so doe you even watch football?
Reggie Nelson got into the Pro Bowl because Reshard Jones got hurt buddy. As for coaching, Dolphins have the better team. Gase took a team of rejects and broken down pieces and made them a Playoff team. We ALSO lost our starting QB and didn’t collapse like a big baby in the Playoffs. Dolphins fought hard against the Steelers who were just totally healthy and ready to go. Chill with your Raiders squad. I have the Broncos coming back anyways and taking the crown again.
our receivers are all pro bowlers so…
all you have that is better is a RB, corners, and linebackers
Do you know football because player by player Oakland is better and we play the patriots this year so les see who wins because I guarantee you Oakland will put up a better fight or win unlike Miami who will get crushed, if you look Miami barely made the playoffs unlike Oakland and the dolphins had a easy schedule on hard team they played was the patriots twice other than that I don’t think they had it bad would rather play the dolphins 49 times than play the Broncos once
Raiders have had trouble with Miami the last few games they’ve played them. Miami has won the last three, if I recall correctly, and the games weren’t even close. With that said, this is a new year, and each team will have new additions. Personally, I think both teams have improved and I think it’ll be a good and tough matchup for both teams. I like how fans of both teams are sticking up for their teams, but let’s be respectful to one another and enjoy the sport.
How many Super Bowls do the Dolphins have? And Broncos suck