Dolphins To Sign Ricardo Louis
Former Browns receiver Ricardo Louis has agreed to terms with the Dolphins on a one-year deal, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Louis, a holdover from the Sashi Brown era, was cut loose earlier this month as a part of the Browns’ spring cleaning. 
The former fourth-round pick missed the entire 2018 campaign with a neck injury and his status going into 2019 is not entirely clear. In 2017, Louis enjoyed the best season of his young career with 27 catches for 357 yards, a step up from his 18 grabs for 205 yards as a rookie.
If healthy, the 25-year-old could profile as a potent deep threat for the Dolphins’ new look offense. He’ll compete for Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s targets with DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, Albert Wilson, Brice Butler, and others. The Dolphins might not win a ton of games in 2019, but Louis could be primed for a bounce-back season in Miami.
Executive Mike Tannenbaum Joins ESPN
It sounds like Mike Tannenbaum has officially left the Dolphins. The former executive is set to join ESPN as an analyst, as Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com relays. Besides appearing on NFL programming, Tannenbaum will also be participating in the network’s 2019 draft coverage on ESPN Radio.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity,” Tannenbaum told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “I’ve always admired the people and professionals at ESPN, and I’m excited to be a part of the team.”
The Dolphins re-assigned the executive vice president of football operations back in January, and while he was still technically an employee for the past few months, he wasn’t expected to contribute to the team’s offseason plans. The move was considered to be “quiet sendoff” for the longtime front office executive, with Tannenbaum still receiving money for the final two years of his contract. General manager Chris Grier earned a promotion and will now oversee all football operations.
Tannenbaum spent more than a decade with the Jets organization, compiling a 57-55 regular season record and three playoff births during his seven years as general manager. Tannenbaum joined the Dolphins as a consultant in 2014, and he was soon hired in a front office role. Since he stepped into the football operations role in 2015, the Dolphins had a 29-35 record with only one playoff appearance.
Jaguars Tried To Acquire Robert Griffin III?
While the Jaguars doled out by far the biggest contract to a free agent quarterback this offseason, their pre-Nick Foles plans look to have featured Robert Griffin III.
At multiple junctures last season, Jacksonville attempted to acquire the former offensive rookie of the year from Baltimore. The Jags attempted to trade for Griffin at the end of the 2018 preseason and made another bid to land the Ravens reserve at the trade deadline, Griffin said during an appearance on the Ravens’ The Lounge podcast (via ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley).
Leading up to free agency, the Jaguars were heavily linked to Foles. But Griffin still waited until that deal was done to sign his two-year, $4MM Ravens contract.
“We knew that was an opportunity and there’d be a chance if things didn’t work out with Nick Foles,” Griffin said. “We just wanted to wait and see what would happen.”
Additionally, the 29-year-old passer said this offseason he discussed a deal with the Dolphins, who were in on multiple other free agent passers who spent all or most of 2018 as backups. Tyrod Taylor and Teddy Bridgewater ended up accepting offers to continue has backups, Taylor with the Chargers and Bridgewater with the Saints. Miami pivoted to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Griffin will return to be Lamar Jackson‘s backup after sitting behind both Jackson and Joe Flacco for most of last season.
“I ultimately felt like those situations weren’t good,” said Griffin, who noted he discussed deals with other teams as well, of possible fits with other teams. “I’m not looking to go somewhere and be a bridge or be there for a season and go somewhere else. I’m looking for stability and opportunity. For me right now, Baltimore is the best situation.”
The Jaguars indeed possessed one of the league’s worst quarterback situations last season, benching Blake Bortles for Cody Kessler and then giving Bortles the reins back during a 5-11 season. They since cut the disappointing former top-five pick. Both Flacco and Jackson were healthy for the Ravens at the deadline, with Flacco’s hip injury not sidelining him until November, yet the eventual AFC North champions kept Griffin.
The former Heisman Trophy winner has not started a game since doing so for the 2016 Browns. He did not play in 2017. After being a cut or trade candidate during the preseason, Griffin made the Ravens’ 53-man roster last year and threw six passes.
Duke QB Daniel Jones Met With Four Teams
Daniel Jones is generating interest from several NFL teams. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Duke quarterback recently had “private meetings and workouts” with the Giants, Broncos, Dolphins, and Chargers. Schefter also echoes previous reports that Jones is set to meet with the Redskins next week.
Jones, a three-year starter at Duke, is generally considered to be the fourth-best quarterback in this year’s draft, with mock drafts pegging him on a tier below Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, and Drew Lock. However, there’s still a good chance that the signal-caller hears his name called during the first round, especially considering the lack of quarterback depth behind him (West Virginia quarterback Will Grier is the only other player at the position who’s generally being mentioned as a first- or second-rounder). Jones completed 60.5% of his passes for 2,674 yards, 22 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 2018.
The Giants interest in Jones isn’t all that surprising, as we heard in late March that the organization could be eyeing the prospect with the 17th-overall pick. The Dolphins and Redskins are also a pair of QB-needy teams that have a pick in the teens, so their inclusions also make plenty of sense. The Dolphins moved on from Ryan Tannehill earlier this offseason, leaving them with no clear-cut starter. The Redskins acquired Case Keenum to fill in for the injured Alex Smith, although neither player should be seen as a long-term option for the organization.
The Broncos are in a unique position, as they acquired veteran Joe Flacco earlier this offseason. Their new signal-caller is only 34-years-old, although he has shown signs of decline in recent years. The Broncos are also armed with the 10th-overall pick; if the team is focused on acquiring their quarterback of the future, they should have a shot at both Haskins and/or Lock. If Denver is particularly interested in Jones, perhaps they could explore a trade to move back (although this is merely my speculation).
The Chargers may simply be doing their due diligence on the Duke quarterback, or maybe they’re hoping that the rookie will slide down to the 28th pick. Philip Rivers is 37-years-old, but he did have one of the best seasons of his career in 2018. The Chargers also finished with 12 wins before bowing to the Patriots in Divisional Round; if they want to build off last season’s success, it might make more sense to use their first-rounder on a player who could contribute right away.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/5/19
We’ve got a bunch of minor moves today, with a handful of players being signed from the recently defunct AAF:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: G Kitt O’Brien, C Parker Collins (both from AAF)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: P Kasey Redfern
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OL Michael Dunn (AAF)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DB Duke Thomas, DB Derron Smith
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Alex Barrett, S Jordan Richards
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: C J.C. Hassenauer, DB Jack Tocho (both from AAF)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Damontre Moore (AAF)
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DE Andrew Ankrah (AAF)
Josh Sitton Retires From NFL
Josh Sitton is calling it a career. On Thursday, the four-time Pro Bowl guard announced his retirement from the NFL. 
In an interview on ESPN Wisconsin, Sitton dropped a double dose of major news. First, he announced the birth of his son. Then, he told the radio hosts that he was done with football.
Sitton, an 11-year vet, spent the first eight years of his career with the Packers. That run came to an end just before the 2016 season when the Packers made the surprising decision to release him. The next day, he inked a three-year, $21.75MM deal with the rival Bears. That deal was terminated after two seasons, leading to him signing with the Dolphins last year as a free agent.
Throughout his Packers tenure, Sitton was known for his toughness and durability. However, injuries have held him back in recent seasons. With the Bears, he still managed to play at a high level, but he missed six games across his two seasons in Chicago. Then, last year, he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 1 that sidelined him for the rest of the year.
Sitton is the fourth former Packers Pro Bowler to retire this offseason, joining fellow guard T.J. Lang, receiver Jordy Nelson and fullback John Kuhn. We here at PFR wish Sitton the best in retirement.
Dolphins Host Tyree Jackson
- Buffalo quarterback Tyree Jackson recently met with both the Lions and Dolphins, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. Teams are interested in Jackson primarily due to his “rare physical traits,” per Pelissero, and the three-year starter certainly offers intriguing size at 6’7″, 245 pounds. Detroit could be searching for a developmental passer to play behind Matthew Stafford, while Miami simply needs warm bodies under center.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/3/19
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Adam Gettis
Cleveland Browns
- Re-signed (original round restricted free agent): WR Rashard Higgins
- Re-signed (exclusive rights free agent): DL Trevon Coley, DB Jermaine Whitehead
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed (ERFA): LB Reggie Gilbert, G Justin McCray
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed (ERFA): WR Marcus Kemp
- Waived: CB Step Durham
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Quadree Henderson
New York Jets
- Re-signed (ERFA): RB De’Angelo Henderson, LB Frankie Luvu
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed (ERFA): G Isaac Asiata, G Jesse Davis, DE Jonathan Woodard
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed (ERFA): S Isaiah Johnson, OL Mike Liedtke
Dolphins Will Try To Trade Reshad Jones?
The Dolphins have already parted ways with a number of veterans as they head into a rebuilding season in 2019, and Miami could next choose to move on from safety Reshad Jones. As Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes, the Dolphins are likely to place Jones on the trade block in advance of the regular season.
Thanks to the extension he signed in 2017, Jones isn’t a realistic candidate for release right now. He’s due more than $13MM in guaranteed base salary for the upcoming campaign, and given that three years of signing bonus proration would immediately accelerate onto the Dolphins’ salary cap if Jones is cut, he’s not going to be released. If Miami parts ways with Jones before June 1, it would take on $25.15MM in dead money, nearly $8MM more than it will cost to keep Jones on the club’s roster.
Trading Jones remains a possibility, however. In the event of a trade, guaranteed base salaries become the responsibility of the acquiring team. If the Dolphins are able to deal Jones before June 1, they’d incur $12.135MM in dead money but open up more than $5MM worth of new space. After June 1? Miami would see just $4.045MM in dead money and create ~$13MM in cap space (with roughly $8MM of dead money being moved into 2020).
Of course, it’s unclear whether any club would have interest in acquiring Jones, especially given his hefty 2019 salary. Pro Football Focus ranked Jones as the No. 33 safety among 93 qualifiers in 2019, but he’s also coming off surgery for a partially torn labrum. As such, Salguero speculates the Dolphins will likely be able to reap only a late-round pick in 2020 in exchange for Jones.
Trading Jones would not only clear cap space for the Dolphins, but allow the team to play 2018 first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick at safety, which is where they reportedly prefer to position the versatile defensive back. If Jones is gone, Fitzpatrick would line up alongside T.J. McDonald in Miami’s secondary.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/31/19
Today’s minor moves:
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed (exclusive rights free agent): T Zach Sterup
New York Jets
- Re-signed (ERFAs): OL Ben Braden, S Doug Middleton
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed (ERFA): OL Matt Feiler