Dolphins, Chris Carson Close To Deal?
Shortly after adding Will Fuller to their receiving corps, the Dolphins are believed to be in discussions to make a big splash in their backfield.
They are discussing a deal with Chris Carson, with the Pro Football Network indicating those talks are on the cusp of producing a contract agreement (Twitter link). Carson has played all four seasons of his career with the Seahawks, and despite being a seventh-round pick, he held Seattle’s starting job for most of his rookie contract.
The Dolphins have their own seventh-round success story, in Myles Gaskin, and made a move to add ex-Rams contributor Malcolm Brown this week. It would then be interesting to see the team add two veterans to its backfield. It is unclear if the Seahawks are engaged in substantial discussions with Carson. They are believed to have an offer out to Leonard Fournette, however.
Carson has two 1,100-yard rushing seasons on his resume, amassing those totals in 2018 and ’19, but is coming off an injury-limited 2020. That stands to affect his market. But the three-year Seattle starter did average 4.8 yards per carry last season. The Seahawks have already lost Carlos Hyde and have Rashaad Penny coming off a season in which he barely played due to a 2019 knee injury.
Dolphins, WR Will Fuller Agree To Terms
Long rumored to be targeting wide receivers in free agency, the Dolphins made a big move Thursday. They are signing former Texans wideout Will Fuller, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (on Twitter).
Fuller agreed to a one-year deal to join the Dolphins, and Rapoport tweets that pact will include more than $10MM. Incentives are present in the deal as well, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets. While Fuller’s PED suspension will prevent him from playing in Week 1 next season, he represents an upgrade for a Dolphins team that did not have much in the way of receiver depth in 2020.
Although the former first-round pick battled injuries from 2016-19, never eclipsing the 14-game mark in any of those seasons, Fuller stayed healthy during his contract year. One of the NFL’s premier deep threats, Fuller established new career-high marks — 879 receiving yards, 16.6 yards per catch, eight touchdowns — despite only playing in 11 games.
The Dolphins are believed to be targeting both an outside receiver and a slot threat, but Fuller represents a promising start to the team’s 2021 plans at this position. Deshaun Watson‘s QB rating was noticeably higher with Fuller in the lineup than it was without him, and prior to the Pro Bowl passer requesting a trade, was lobbying for the Texans to re-sign the wideout. The Texans opted not to use their franchise tag on Fuller, who will bet on himself via this one-year deal. With Watson on the Miami radar, this Fuller signing should trip some alarms on the trade front.
Fuller has suffered a broken collarbone, a torn ACL and multiple hamstring injuries as a pro. The ACL tear occurred in 2018, and Fuller’s 2020 would support that he has fully recovered from the severe knee malady. Fuller will join DeVante Parker in Miami, with the Dolphins potentially prepared to add an impact slot player to help Tua Tagovailoa (or Watson) as well.
Dolphins To Sign Matt Skura
The Dolphins are set to sign former Ravens center Matt Skura (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). The lineman’s one-year deal is worth $1.75MM, per Garafolo on Twitter.
Skura had issues snapping the ball at times last year and wound up getting the hook in favor of Patrick Mekari. In total, he made 12 starts, giving him 51 total first-string appearances over the course of four seasons in Baltimore. Originally an UDFA out of Duke in 2016, Skura spent his rookie year on the practice squad. As a sophomore he was called on to start 12 games at guard when Marshall Yanda missed most of the season.
The following year he became the team’s center, starting all 16 games. After starting 11 games in 2019 Skura tore an ACL and had significant other damage in his knee, but he made it back in time for 2020 training camp and started the season on time.
He projects as the new starter in Miami, and it’s possible his struggles last year were due to coming off such a serious injury in such a short amount of time. He turned 28 in February.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/21
Today’s “minor” moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: S Deon Bush
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: CB Tony Brown
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Tae Davis
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed off waivers (from Texans): DT Andrew Brown
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: DT Gabe Wright
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed: OL Adam Pankey
- Signed: WR Robert Foster
New England Patriots
- Re-signed: DL Cody Davis
New York Jets
- Re-signed: RB Josh Adams
Philadelphia Eagles
- Re-signed: RB Adrian Killins
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun, TE Daniel Helm
Tennessee Titans
- Re-signed: TE Anthony Firkser
Dolphins To Sign Adam Butler
Adam Butler will reunite with Brian Flores. The former Patriots defensive tackle has agreed to a two-year deal with the Dolphins (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The contract could be worth up to $9.5MM with bonuses. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the contract has a listed value of $7.5MM, including $3.75MM in guaranteed.
Last year, the Patriots kept Butler from the open market (and, likely, the waiting arms of Flores) with a second-round tender. This time around, the Patriots allowed Butler to walk amidst their own free agency spending spree.
The former Vanderbilt standout has spent his entire four-year career with New England, and he won a Super Bowl championship during his second year in the NFL. He’s missed just one a regular season game as a pro and he’s made an impact, despite making just six combined starts across the last two seasons. In 2019, he set a new career high with six sacks. Last year, he registered four sacks with a new watermark of 34 total stops.
Butler will be joined in the Miami front seven by fellow newcomer Benardrick McKinney. The Dolphins acquired the inside linebacker earlier this week by shipping OLB Shaq Lawson to the Texans.
Dolphins To Sign Justin Coleman
Former Lions cornerback Justin Coleman has agreed to terms with the Dolphins (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). He’ll receive a one-year deal worth up to $2.75MM. The actual base value of the deal is not yet known.
[RELATED: Dolphins To Sign RB Malcolm Brown]
The Lions signed Coleman to a four-year, $36MM pact back in 2019, but he only ended up making it halfway through that deal. His contract made him one of the highest-paid slot cornerbacks in the league, but he wasn’t able to perform at that level. A hamstring injury capped his 2020 season at just eleven games and he registered only one pass defended.
Still, in 2019, Coleman turned in a 16-game slate with 54 tackles, three forced fumbles, 13 passes defended, and an interception. Now, the Dolphins have him for a fraction of his would-be $8.9MM for this coming year.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/21
Tomorrow is the deadline for NFL teams to extend tender offers to their own restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Chiefs: G Andrew Wylie
- Colts: S George Odum
- Cowboys: DT Antwaun Woods
- Dolphins: OL Adam Pankey
- Packers: CB Chandon Sullivan, TE Robert Tonyan (second-round tender)
- Raiders: K Daniel Carlson (second-round tender)
- Texans: DT P.J. Hall, CB A.J. Moore
Non-Tendered:
- Packers: DL Tyler Lancaster
- Seahawks: LB Shaquem Griffin
- Vikings: RB Mike Boone, DL Ifeadi Odenigbo
Dolphins To Sign RB Malcolm Brown
This Tuesday in the NFL will produce multiple Malcolm Brown agreements. Following the Jaguars acquiring the former Saints defensive tackle, the Dolphins will add a running back.
The Dolphins agreed to terms with the former Rams running back, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Brown has played his entire career with the Rams, beginning that run in St. Louis and staying with the team for its first five seasons back in Los Angeles.
The Rams drafted Darrell Henderson and Cam Akers in consecutive years, minimizing Brown’s status going forward. But the soon-to-be 28-year-old back received interest and will head to south Florida. He will join a Dolphins team that has acquired a few running backs under GM Chris Grier.
Miami signed Jordan Howard and traded for Matt Breida last year. Neither move resulted in much production, and the Dolphins made seventh-round pick Myles Gaskin its primary running back. Both Howard and Breida are no longer with the Dolphins. Gaskin remains under contract, and he will have a veteran complement in Brown.
A former UDFA out of Texas, Brown has posted a 4.0 yards-per-carry average as a pro. Brown spent five seasons backing up Todd Gurley in L.A. but received more work after the Rams cut their previous starter. Brown rushed for a career-high 419 yards last season, helping the Rams transition from their Gurley era. He will now help the Dolphins assemble a backfield in Year 3 of the Grier-Brian Flores regime.
Dolphins To Sign Jacoby Brissett
The quarterback market is really starting to heat up now. Just moments after news broke about Andy Dalton signing with the Bears, we’ve got word of Jacoby Brissett‘s next destination.
Brissett will be signing a one-year contract with the Dolphins, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The former Patriots and Colts quarterback will sign for a guaranteed $5MM, according to the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin (on Twitter). The deal can max out at $7MM.
Ryan Fitzpatrick left for Washington last night, and Miami wasted no time in finding their new veteran backup for Tua Tagovailoa. After all the controversy last season from the Fitz/Tua flips that Brian Flores initiated, it’s a little eyebrow-raising to see them go with another high profile player behind Tagovailoa.
If Tua falters in his second season, Flores will once again have another player with lots of starting experience waiting in the wings behind him. The Dolphins have sought to establish themselves as committed to Tagovailoa ever since the season ended, amid lots of speculation that they’d try to make a move for Deshaun Watson.
Brissett’s time in Indy came to an end with the Colts trading for Carson Wentz earlier this offseason. After a shoulder injury to Andrew Luck in 2017, the Colts traded with the Patriots for Brissett and he started 15 games for them that year. In 2018 he backed up Luck but after Luck’s sudden retirement, he again started 15 games for them in 2019.
His play in 2019 was subpar, causing the Colts to go out and sign Philip Rivers last offseason, once again relegating Brissett to clipboard-holding duties. In his last season as the starter he had 18 touchdowns and only six interceptions, but averaged just 6.6 yards per attempt as he was often too conservative with the ball and failed to push it down the field.
Dolphins To Re-Sign LB Vince Biegel
The Dolphins will re-sign linebacker Vince Biegel, as Josh Tolentino of The Athletic tweets. It’s a one-year deal for the veteran as he looks to rebound from a lost season. 
[RELATED: Dolphins Trade Shaq Lawson To Texans For Benardrick McKinney]
Biegel suffered an Achilles’ tendon tear last August, stopping his 2020 campaign before it even began. Previous to that, the former Packers draftee started ten games for the Dolphins in 2019 and led the team with 13 quarterback hits. It was a big step forward — Biegel had zero QB hits in 2017 or 2018. He finished 2019 with 59 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one interception.
Biegel bounced from the Packers, to the Saints, to the Dolphins, but he now seems to have made a home for himself in Miami. If Biegel performs on his one-year, prove-it deal, he could be in line for a much larger pay day next March.