Dolphins To Host Taco Charlton
- Michigan edge defender Taco Charlton has visits lined up with the Buccaneers, Cowboys, Dolphins and Saints, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports. Registering 9.5 sacks during a season in which he played with a high ankle sprain, Charlton believes he’s a top-15 player. He met Thursday night with the Steelers, Ravens, Titans and Saints. There’s definitely one team that appears to be interested here, if the overlap is any indication.
Details On Kiko Alonso's Extension
- Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso‘s three-year extension adds an even $25MM to the $3.91MM he’ll earn in 2017, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. The $28.91MM deal includes $16MM in fully guaranteed money for Alonso, who’s now slated to remain with the Dolphins through the 2020 season.
Latest On Dolphins, Zach Brown
Although the Dolphins and free agent linebacker Zach Brown are fairly far apart in negotiations, the club still believes it has a chance to land him, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). In order for an agreement to happen, though, Brown will have to reduce his asking price, which is in the range of $6MM per annum on a multiyear deal.
Dolphins Met With Fabian Moreau
- Prior to possibly injuring his pectoral while bench pressing on Tuesday, UCLA cornerback Fabian Moreau spent time with the Lions, Dolphins, Saints, and Bengals, reports Pauline. Additionally, Moreau met with Cowboys defensive backs Joe Baker, per Pauline. Rob Rang of CBSSports.com projected Moreau as a back-end first round pick (and the third-best cornerback on the board) before news of his injury broke.
Dolphins Sign Avery Young
- The Dolphins have signed offensive tackle Avery Young and waived cornerback Daniel Davie with a non-football injury, the club announced today. Young, 24, went undrafted out of Auburn in 2016, and ended up spending the entirety of his rookie campaign on the non-football injury list. He was waived by the Saints last month. Davie, too, was a 2016 UDFA (Colts), and had agreed to a futures deal with Miami earlier this year.
Latest On Dolphins’ Free Agent Targets
The Dolphins still want to sign free agent linebacker Zach Brown, but Brown is likely looking for a multi-year pact in the range of $6MM annually, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Miami, meanwhile, would be more comfortable paying $3-4MM per year. Brown, who’s been linked to the Bills, Raiders, and Colts in addition to the Dolphins, is “exploring all options” at the moment, as his agents tell Mike Rodak of ESPN.com.
Miami has also inquired on defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, and have in fact called on him “a half dozen times,” reports Salguero, but Hankins is still looking for more money than the Dolphins are willing to expend. Hankins, 25, is hoping to reel in $10MM annually on a multi-year contract, an asking price that appears unlikely to be met at this juncture. The Giants want to re-sign Hankins, but are reportedly hoping for a quick response on their outstanding offer.
Clearly, the Dolphins are searching for a defensive tackle to play alongside Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Phillips, but former Miami defender Jared Odrick won’t be returning to town. While Odrick would like to reunite the Dolphins, the club won’t be placing a call to Odrick for “multiple reasons,” per Salguero, who doesn’t specify what those reasons may be. The Patriots worked out Odrick last month, but Odrick isn’t interested in playing for New England, says Salguero.
Finally, free agent defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois won’t be on the Dolphins’ radar as the team doesn’t view him as a scheme fit, according to Salguero. Jean-Francois has visited the Packers, Seahawks, and Bears since being released by the Redskins.
Dolphins LB Koa Misi Accepts Pay Cut
Dolphins linebacker Koa Misi has agreed to restructure his contract, Andy Slater of 940 AM tweets. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (on Twitter) has confirmed the news. Under the terms of the new deal, Misi gets $1.15MM guaranteed whether he passes a physical or not, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The linebacker does expect to play again and anticipates getting the green light in May. 
Misi, 30, was due a $4.175MM base salary for 2017. Given that Misi only played in three games in 2016 and has likely been squeezed out of the starting lineup, it was an untenable figure for Miami. The good news is that Misi is expected to be fully recovered from his neck injury time in time for the 2017 season and his pay cut should allow him to stick on the roster.
In one way or another, Misi’s restructure is likely tied to Zach Brown‘s free agent visit on Tuesday. It’s possible that Misi’s pay cut could pave the way for a Brown signing, though the Dolphins are still pretty tight against the cap. At minimum, the Brown visit probably gave the Dolphins additional leverage in the restructuring talks with Misi.
In 2015, Misi’s last predominantly healthy season, he totaled 78 tackles and had one pass defensed. Though he’s never had huge sack totals, he did have 12 sacks from 2010 through 2014. Pro Football Focus, for the most part, has always been high on the former second-round pick. In 2014 and 2015, he had scores of 81.5 and 80.8, painting him as a top-30 linebacker in the league.
Releasing Misi outright would have left the Dolphins with $578K in dead money. This marks the second straight year in which Misi agreed to a pay cut in order to stay with the Fins.
Kiko Alonso Excited To Play With Lawrence Timmons
- The Dolphins signed linebacker Kiko Alonso to an extension earlier today, only a few weeks after the team inked free agent linebacker Lawrence Timmons. Alonso told Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) that he’s excited to play with the former Steelers defender, noting that he’d be willing to play either inside or outside linebacker.
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Dolphins Not Willing To Pay Big For Zach Brown
- The Dolphins hosted free agent linebacker Zach Brown yesterday, and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets that the team “wants” the former Bill. However, he also notes that the organization isn’t willing to pay big or engage in a bidding war. Meanwhile, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com writes that Brown could also be an option for the Raiders. The 27-year-old fired his agent earlier today.
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Dolphins, Kiko Alonso Agree To Extension
The Dolphins and linebacker Kiko Alonso have agreed to an extension, according to a source who spoke with Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (on Twitter). It’s a three-year deal worth up to $29MM, an NFL source tells Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). That includes $18.5MM guaranteed. Alonso’s original deal, per the terms of the first-round tender assigned to him this offseason, was slated to expire after the 2017 season with a $3.91MM cap number. 
The former second-round pick has yet to really cash in at the NFL level, but his new deal will likely change that. The 26-year-old (27 in August) has bounced around the NFL since entering the league in 2013. Alonso was dealt from the Bills to the Eagles in exchange for LeSean McCoy in 2015, and he was subsequently traded to the Dolphins along with Byron Maxwell last offseason. In between all of that, he missed the entire 2014 season due to injury.
In 2016, Alonso turned in one of his best seasons to date as he recorded 115 total tackles, two interceptions, and one forced fumble. He graded out as the 48th best linebacker in the NFL last season out of 87 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus. His 72.9 mark was a huge improvement over his 2015 score, though not quite as strong as the 85.9 posting from his rookie year (2013).
Recently, he made it known that he has little interest in moving to outside linebacker in 2017. It remains to be seen what Miami has in mind for him, but his role was probably discussed before he signed on the dotted line.