AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Jets, Pennel
One source in the Dolphins building tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that rookie defensive tackles Davon Godchaux and Vincent Taylor are a bit too green right now to be rotation players. The Dolphins were planning on using either Godchaux or Taylor as a No. 3 tackle, so that’s an issue for Miami. As Jackson points out, Dan Williams, Vance Walker, and Paul Soliai are still available.
Recently, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ran down the best available defensive free agents at each position and Williams topped his list on the interior line.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- In today’s article, Jackson also gave an update on Dolphins starting center Mike Pouncey and noted that former Jet Nick Mangold is still not in Miami’s plans.
- Right now, Darryl Slater of NJ.com doesn’t see defensive lineman Mike Pennel making the Jets‘ cut. The Jets claimed Pennel off waivers from the Packers in February. Last year, Pennel served a pair of four-game bans for substance abuse, but that did not dissuade the Jets from taking a low-risk gamble on him. Now, it looks like the last DL spot may go to Lawrence Thomas instead of him. In Pennel’s best year, 2015, he established career highs in games (16), starts (five), tackles (24) and sacks (one).
- Wesley Johnson has the unenviable task of serving as Mangold’s replacement at center for the Jets, Brian Costello of the New York Post writes. Johnson isn’t 100% guaranteed the starting job, Costello notes, but it would be a surprise if he lost the battle to offseason addition Jonotthan Harrison. Assuming the job is his, Johnson will have to command an offensive line that has three new starters, which means that there will be lots of communication issues.
Latest On Dolphins C Mike Pouncey
The expectation is that Mike Pouncey will be ready for Week 1, a source “very close” to the Dolphins center tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Although Pouncey has not been cleared by team doctors for action yet, he apparently feels that he is just about ready to play. 
[RELATED: Dolphins LB Koa Misi Still Not Cleared]
Pouncey missed 11 games during the 2016 season thanks to his troublesome hip. Apparently, that problem was compounded by a bacterial infection in his inner thigh. The infection has been treated, however, so Pouncey is almost back to normal.
This is all very good news for the Dolphins since they did not put a ton of resources into a Plan B for Pouncey. If Pouncey is not good to go, then they’ll likely use Kraig Urbik as the starter in the middle with support from free agent addition Ted Larsen and Anthony Steen. Players apparently prefer Urbik over Steen at center because Steen sometimes took too long to make calls last year.
In related news, the Dolphins have not checked in on free agent center Nick Mangold lately. Miami did reach out to Mangold’s team at one point this offseason, but there has been zero movement on that front this summer.
Dolphins Limited Cameron Wake's 2016 Snaps
- Given that he was coming off an Achilles injury, the Dolphins attempted to limit defensive end Cameron Wake‘s snaps at the beginning of the 2016 season, but head coach Adam Gase now admits that strategy was an oversight. “I made a mistake. I should have been playing him more early,” Gase tells Adam Walker of ESPN.com. “We were trying to think long term. … We thought we were being smart and it backfired on us. What we should have done was just let him play.” Wake, 35, ended up playing on roughly half of Miami’s snaps, compiling 11.5 sacks and grading as the league’s No. 10 edge defender, according to Pro Football Focus. In February, Wake agreed to an extension that will keep him with the Dolphins through 2018.
Dolphins LB Koa Misi Still Not Cleared
Dolphins linebacker Koa Misi is still recovering from spinal fusion surgery and has yet to be medically cleared, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Misi recently with a doctor and will do so again in July, but it’s unclear whether he’ll be allowed to participate in training camp, per Jackson.
When Misi was originally placed on injured reserve last October, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reported that Misi’s neck injury had the possibility to be career-threatening. To this point, that hasn’t been the case, as Misi expressed confidence in March that he’d be ready to suit up for the 2017 campaign. But the severity of his ailment clearly (and understandably) is giving the Dolphins pause.
Miami made several additions to its linebacking unit during the offseason, and Misi isn’t being counted on as a starter. The Dolphins signed former Steelers ‘backer Lawrence Timmons to a two-year, $12MM deal in March, and then used a second-round draft choice on Ohio State’s Raekwon McMillan. Both Timmons and McMillan figure to start alongside Kiko Alonso, while depth options include Mike Hull, Neville Hewitt, and Trevor Reilly.
Misi, 30, managed only 127 defensive snaps in 2016 before going down with injury, and hasn’t appeared in a full 16-game slate since his rookie campaign in 2010. Earlier this year, Misi accepted a paycut for the second consecutive year, as he agreed to slash his salary by ~$3MM.
Adam Gase Contacted Peyton Manning Last Season
In the wake of quarterback Ryan Tannehill‘s season-ending knee injury last December, Dolphins head coach Adam Gase reached out to the retired Peyton Manning about a possible comeback. “It started with Gase,” Peyton’s father, Archie Manning, told Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. “He said, ‘Hey 18, Tannehill went down.’ He said, ‘I think he’s going to miss some time. The first question I’m going to get at the press conference in the morning is if I’m going to try to bring you to Miami. What do you want me to tell them?” Peyton Manning was resoundingly successful under Gase when he was Denver’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 2012-14, but neither a reunion with Gase nor joining a playoff-bound club late in the season could entice the future Hall of Famer to return. Continued Archie Manning: “The text message came back from Peyton, ‘You tell them I could probably come play, but there’s no way I can miss carpool the next two weeks.’ So, he was done.” With Peyton Manning unwilling to come out of retirement, the Dolphins turned to backup QB Matt Moore toward the end of the regular season and in the first round of the playoffs, in which Pittsburgh soundly defeated them.
A few more notes from around the NFL…
- At $25MM per year, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr‘s newly signed contract is a record deal in terms of average annual value, but it still doesn’t match up to Colts signal-caller Andrew Luck‘s pact, writes Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com. While Luck is collecting less per season (just over $23MM) on the six-year, $139.1MM extension he inked last summer, he outpaces Carr in terms of both three-year value ($75MM to $67.6MM) and four-year value ($96.125MM to $87.7MM). Those are better gauges than the overall value of a contract, suggests Barnwell, who argues that the last year of a quarterback’s deal is essentially irrelevant. By then, the QB will have either landed a raise, thereby eliminating what was left on the previous contract, or gotten cut.
- Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins isn’t going to sign a long-term deal worth less than $52MM over the first two years, contends JP Finlay of CSNMidAtlantic.com. That figure represents the combined totals of the $24MM franchise tag for 2017, which Cousins is slated to play under, and the $28MM transition tag for next year. Even that might not be enough for the Redskins to lock up Cousins by the July 17 deadline, observes Finlay, who’s not particularly optimistic that a deal will come together.
- Fourth-year Steelers defensive tackle Daniel McCullers is facing a make-or-break summer, notes Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 352-pound McCullers is coming off his first 16-game season, but he only played 17.4 percent of defensive snaps, and the Steelers opted against giving him first-team reps in minicamp while starter Javon Hargrave dealt with an injury. When speaking with the team’s official website about McCullers’ status, Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell didn’t mince words, saying: “Dan McCullers, he’s got to grow up. It’s time to make a move right now. This is going to be his fourth year. And usually in this league, after about four years, you have got to make a move. Or, either, you move somewhere else.”
Damien Williams On Pats Flirtation
- When the Patriots were exploring the idea of signing Damien Williams this offseason, the running back kept in contact with the Dolphins throughout the process, ESPN.com’s James Walker writes. Ultimately, the Pats signed Mike Gillislee instead, another restricted free agent running back from an AFC East rival. When things didn’t pan out with New England, Williams signed his one-year, $1.8MM tender, a deal that marks a significant pay bump from his 2016 salary. Williams says he’s excited to continue playing in Miami.
Dolphins’ Jarvis Landry Sets Deadline
Jarvis Landry won’t hold out in an effort to get a new deal, but he is drawing a line somewhere. The agent for the Dolphins wide receiver says that he will not engage in contract talks after the season opener. 
“We want to respect the Dolphins. When the season kicks off, we want to continue to respect that,” agent Damarius Bilbo told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “We don’t want every game to be about a new contract. This is not a tactic; that is not an approach. This is who Jarvis is and what he wants out of the upcoming season.”
Bilbo added that Landry would love to spend the rest of his career as a Dolphin. And, while he would like to sign an extension this summer, he “understands the business aspect” and won’t rock the boat if he doesn’t get what he wants on the timeline that he wants.
At the moment, it sounds like the two sides have a long way to go before a new deal can get hammered out. While the Dolphins have internally discussed the idea of extending Landry, Bilbo says that he has not discussed money with team brass yet. As of this writing, Landry is slated to play out the 2017 season for less than $894K.
Jackson speculates that Bilbo may seek a deal that puts him in the top 10-12 range for wide receivers in the NFL, though the agent did not say that personally. That range would give Landry an average annual salary above $11MM.
No NFL player in league history has caught more passes in his first three years in the league than Landry. The 24-year-old (25 in November) caught 288 passes from 2014-16.
Breer: Parker Progress Could Affect Landry
- DeVante Parker has drawn immense praise from the Dolphins this offseason. OC Clyde Christensen said he expects the third-year wideout to have a “gigantic year.” Breer wonders where Jarvis Landry fits into this equation, especially if Parker follows through on this offseason promise. Miami re-signed deep threat Kenny Stills to a four-year, $32MM deal. Parker would be on course to surpass that should he progress, but the 24-year-old wideout is under team control through 2019 — provided the Fins pick up his fifth-year option next May. Landry is entering a contract year and confirmed the team and his camp are discussing an extension, but the slot dynamo said those talks aren’t in the serious stage yet. Landry does not plan to hold out, but with the 24-year-old wideout having been the Fins’ most reliable receiver over the past three years, this wideout contract puzzle is a situation worth monitoring.
Anquan Boldin Looking To Play In Florida?
Anquan Boldin says that he wants to continue playing in 2017, but he won’t necessarily accept any gig that comes his way. The wide receiver would like to play near his home in Florida, people close to him tell Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. 
Unfortunately for Boldin, all three Florida teams seem pretty well set at wide receiver. The Dolphins have their big three of Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills, and DeVante Parker with 2016 third round pick Leonte Carroo and Jakeem Grant in support. The Bucs have Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Adam Humphries, Chris Godwin, and Josh Huff with talented receivers like Freddie Martino and Donteea Dye on the fringe. In Jacksonville, standouts Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee, and Allen Hurns are joined by rookie Dede Westbrook and former Buc Arrelious Benn. That’s not to say that Boldin couldn’t crack the roster with those teams, but there is not a clear path to significant playing time.
Meanwhile, it doesn’t sound like the Lions are looking for a reunion. Even though Boldin all Lions WRs in touchdown catches (eight) and finished second in receptions (61) in 2016, coach Jim Caldwell says that he’s content with his current group.
“You never say never,” Caldwell said. “Obviously, he contributed quite a bit for us, just not certain at this point in time. I think we’re in good shape where we are right now. I think we have a really good core.”
Boldin, 37 in October, averaged a career-worst 8.7 yards per grab last year. Even though he still has solid route running skills and soft hands, he’s not quite as fleet-footed as he used to be.
Dolphins Notes: Aikens, Aponte
- Searching for versatility in their defensive backfield, the Dolphins haven’t yet decided whether Walt Aikens will play cornerback or safety, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details. “[Aikens] is a big athlete,” said defensive coordinator Matt Burke. “He’s obviously a huge asset to us on (special) teams. We like having a versatile player in that role on the roster, so Walt has done a good job. Again, we’re trying to put him maybe in a spot that he’s not as comfortable and see how he responds, and he’s done a good job working for us so far.” No matter where the 25-year-old Aikens lands position-wise, he’s likely to act as a reserve, as he saw only 15 defensive snaps in 2016. But as Burke suggested, Aikens is a key special teams player, as he played on nearly 80% of the Dolphins’ ST snaps last year.
- Former Dolphins executive Dawn Aponte has been hired as the NFL’s chief administrator of football operations, reports Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link). Aponte, who had also spent time with the Browns and Jets, left Miami’s front office in September to work for Dolphins owner Stephen Ross‘ Drone Racing League. Per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Aponte will now report to vice president of football operations Troy Vincent in the league office.