Big Milestone Coming For Dolphins' Tannehill
- Next week marks a big milestone for Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, as Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes. Dolphins doctors, coaches and the QB will meet soon to decide how much work the quarterback will do during OTA sessions that begin on Tuesday and run into mid-June. The expectation is Tannehill, who missed the last month of the 2016 season with a partially ACL tear and all of last season with a complete tear, will be able to participate with little or no limitations, sources tell Salguero. But, even if doctors give him the go-ahead, coaches could still opt to take it easy with Tannehill in an effort to keep him healthy and get extra reps for backups Brock Osweiler and David Fales.
Dolphins To Have Open Kicker Competition Despite Picking Jason Sanders
- Former Florida Atlantic kicker Greg Joseph, who signed with the Dolphins after the draft, is expected to be in an open competition with Jason Sanders, who the team selected in the seventh round of the draft, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Joseph spent time last season working with former Dolphins kicker Cody Parkey, who signed with the Bears this offseason.
- Dolphins special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi explained some of the rationales behind drafting Sanders in the seventh round of New Mexico, despite his 71-percent conversion rate in college. Rizzi stated, via Jackson, that the team didn’t look heavily into his percentage due to faults in collegiate special teams operations, such as faulty snaps and holds.
Dolphins' Tannehill On Track In Recovery
- Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill remains on track in his recovery from a torn ACL, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Should Tannehill go down with another injury, head coach Adam Gase says the team will not reprise last year’s Jay Cutler situation. The Dolphins have Brock Osweiler and David Fales under contract as backups to the 29-year-old (30 in July).
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/10/18
Here are Thursday’s minor moves.
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: RB Bronson Hill
Detroit Lions
- Waived: RB Tion Green
Miami Dolphins
- Waived/Injured: CB Tracy Howard
New England Patriots
- Waived: OL Jason King
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Matthew Thomas
Dolphins Add 13 UDFAs
With several teams yet to hold their rookie minicamps, more undrafted free agent classes are being finalized. Here is the latest one, coming out of Miami:
- Johnathan Alston, CB (North Carolina State)
- Cayson Collins, LB (North Carolina)
- Jalen Davis, CB (Utah State)
- Lucas Gravelle, LS (TCU)
- Connor Hilland, C (William & Mary)
- Buddy Howell, RB (Florida Atlantic)
- Greg Joseph, K (Florida Atlantic)
- Claudy Mathieu, DE (Notre Dame, Ohio)
- Mike McCray, LB (Michigan)
- Anthony Moten, DT (Miami)
- Jamiyus Pittman, DT (Central Florida)
- Quincy Redmon, DE (Fairmont State)
- David Steinmetz, T (Purdue)
Davis earned All-American acclaim for his 2017 season — five interceptions and 20 passes defensed — and set the Aggies’ school record with 48 passes defensed. In addition to the two Florida Atlantic-honed talents, the Dolphins brought in two players from Division II’s Mountain East Conference in Mathieu and Redmon.
Joseph and Gravelle figure to be competition for seventh-round rookie kicker Jason Sanders and longtime long snapper John Denney, respectively. Denney has been Miami’s specialty snapper for 13 seasons. Joseph has more experience kicking in higher-stakes games than Sanders, with the UDFA being a four-year kicker for the Owls. Sanders was New Mexico’s kicker for two seasons, so this could be a fairly even competition at its outset. Joseph finished as Florida Atlantic’s all-time scoring leader.
Dolphins Notes: Gase, McDonald, Fitzpatrick
On Thursday, Dolphins coach Adam Gase did a Q&A with local reporters. Here’s a look at the highlights, via Chris Perkins of the Sun Sentinel:
- Don’t expect the Dolphins to make a major splash in the late stages of free agency. “It feels right for us right now,” Gase said of the roster. “I feel like we’re in a good place. It feels like we’ve got the type of people all working in the same direction and working toward the same goal.”
- The Dolphins stood pat at No. 11 in the draft and did not select a quarterback in the first round, even though some expected them to consider a signal caller. Gase says that has to do with the team’s confidence in Ryan Tannehill‘s knee as well as the potential of backups Brock Osweiler and David Fales. “We felt like those guys were going to go before 11,” Gase said of Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, USC’s Sam Darnold, Wyoming’s Josh Allen, and UCLA’s Josh Rosen, who were all selected within the top 10. “And we knew that was probably going to be the case, and we felt good about what we had as far as Ryan starting and Brock and Fales competing for No. 2.”
- The Dolphins, of course, used that No. 11 selection on Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The addition of Fitzpatrick will not result in T.J. McDonald moving to linebacker, Gase says. McDonald will instead serve as the first safety off of the bench, behind Fitzpatrick and strong safety Reshad Jones.
Dolphins Owner Confirms Trade Back Push
Over the weekend, it was reported that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross pushed his front office to trade back in the first round in order to save money. On Tuesday, Ross told Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald that wanted the Dolphins to explore moving back from No. 11, but not for financial reasons. 
“Correct,” Ross said in an email when asked about whether he wanted the team to consider alternative strategies. “Saving money will never be an issue when it comes to winning.”
The Dolphins, ultimately, stood pat at No. 11 and selected Minkah Fitzpatrick. Ross didn’t explicitly slam the pick, but he did indicate that he wasn’t sold on the Alabama defensive back, or second round tight end Mike Gesicki, or third round Ohio State linebacker Jerome Baker. The Dolphins did not move from any of those Day 1 or Day 2 selections, which seems to bother Ross.
“We’ll see,” he said when asked about his team’s haul. “Nobody knows for sure with this stuff.”
Ross says he is hopeful about this year’s rookie class because his people have told him that there is a plan in place for these first-year players. Even if Ross isn’t thrilled about Fitzpatrick, GM Chris Grier is ecstatic about what he can offer.
“He’s like a Swiss army knife,” Grier said of Fitzpatrick after selecting him. “He does a lot of things really good. You’ve heard everybody talk, it’s his skill set. He gives your defense a chance to be flexible and do a lot of different things. It’s his football intelligence, his love for football and he’s been a productive player from the minute he stepped on campus at arguably one of the best programs in college football.”
Dolphins Considering McDonald LB Move?
Here’s the latest from the East divisions, continuing with a Dolphins draft what-if.
- Here’s a nice chain reaction from the fourth round: the Ravens appear to have sought Miami running back Mark Walton with their fourth-round pick, but the Bengals took him at No. 112. This led to Baltimore selecting Alabama cornerback Anthony Averett at No. 118. This, in turn, depressed some in the Dolphins‘ war room. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears the Dolphins sought Averett with their fourth-rounder (No. 122), but they ended up drafting Notre Dame tight end Durham Smythe. This came after Miami already took Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki in Round 2.
- The Dolphins have T.J. McDonald signed through 2020, but they may be considering moving him to linebacker, per Jackson. Miami extended McDonald last September and deployed him as a starting safety in eight games after his eight-game suspension ended. He graded as a middle-of-the-pack safety in the view of Pro Football Focus, but the analytics site rated McDonald as an upper-echelon run defender. Set to have Kiko Alonso and Raekwon McMillan start at two of their three linebacker spots, the Dolphins may have an interest in stationing McDonald at one of their outside positions. Although, they did draft former McMillan Ohio State teammate Jerome Baker in the third round.
Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross Wanted To Trade Back In First Round
There was chatter before the draft that the Dolphins could move up in the first round to select a quarterback who could take over for Ryan Tannehill in the near future. However, when Miami was on the clock with its No. 11 overall selection, team owner Stephen Ross stepped in and implored his team to trade back, per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.
Volin reports that Ross wanted the Dolphins to acquire additional draft capital and to save money on the first-round selection (and, as the top four QB prospects were off the board by that time, perhaps he felt it made more sense to trade down). Ultimately, however, Ross’ football people talked him out of it, and the team turned in the card to select Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Time will tell whether the pick was a good one, or whether the Dolphins should have made more of an effort to land a signal-caller, but it cannot be argued that Fitzpatrick’s upside and versatility make him a logical fit for the Fins. Indeed, Miami needed help all over its defense, and the Crimson Tide standout — who can play safety or cornerback — was one of the best defenders in his class. He is also a playmaker, having recorded 60 tackles, 1.5 sacks, seven passes defensed, and one interception in his last collegiate season to go along with two pick sixes in both the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Even if they had traded back just one spot, Fitzpatrick may not have been on the board for Miami. The Buccaneers, who were sitting at No. 12 after trading its original No. 7 overall selection to the Bills, were in the market for a high-end DB, and many mock drafts had Fitzpatrick going to Tampa Bay at No. 7.
It is also unclear if the Dolphins actually had an offer for their No. 11 overall pick, or if Ross wanted them to work the phones more to seek out a deal.
More Details On Akeem Spence Trade
- The undisclosed 2019 pick that the Lions acquired from the Dolphins in the Akeem Spence trade is a conditional seventh-rounder, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates. Miami originally acquired the selection in the deal that sent Jarvis Landry to the Browns.
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