Latest On Dolphins' Left Guards
- There’s a chance Dallas Thomas will beat out first-round pick Laremy Tunsil as the Dolphins’ starting left guard, which would be a nightmare for the team’s fans, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Thomas – whom Pro Football Focus ranked as the league’s second-worst guard among 81 qualifiers last season – seems to be ahead of Tunsil in the pecking order after the rookie struggled in minicamp, per Jackson. Tunsil, the 13th overall pick, was a dominant left tackle at Ole Miss and acknowledged that it’s not easy to learn a new position and playbook.
Looking At Where 2016 Draftees Currently Stand
- Anthony Chiang of PalmBeachPost.com takes a look at where each of the Dolphins‘ 2016 draft choices stand entering training camp. Both Laremy Tunsil and Xavien Howard, the team’s top two selections, have a good chance to become starters in their rookie campaigns, but both will need to make considerable strides in training camp to do that. Third-rounder Leonte Carroo, meanwhile, might have been the most impressive rookie in offseason workouts and already looks primed for a significant role in Miami’s offense.
Dolphins Counting On Improvement To Offensive Line
- The Dolphins added plenty of reinforcement to the offensive line this past offseason. The team selected Laremy Tunsil in the first round, and they also added free agents Jermon Bushrod, Kraig Urbik and Sam Young. With this newfound depth, Mike Pouncey is expecting a bounceback season from the unit. “Obviously, we feel like we got a lot of talent on [the] offensive line,” Pouncey told ESPN.com’s James Walker. “We feel comfortable about the guys that we got in our room. This will be one of the first years in a long time we’ll have depth going into the season. As long as everyone stays healthy, we look forward to having a good year.”
- Speaking of Tunsil, ESPN.com’s AFC East reporters explain how the first-round pick could ultimately help Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
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Kiko Alonso Entering Important Year
- Kiko Alonso headlines a group of notable Dolphins players who are entering contract years, James Walker of ESPN.com writes. Alonso looked like a budding star in his rookie year with the Bills, but he now finds himself on his third team in four years and has little certainty as he looks ahead to the open market. However, Alonso has a great opportunity to rebuild his value as Miami’s starting middle linebacker and should have all the motivation he needs to succeed. Walker also spotlights outside linebacker Jelani Jenkins, tight end Jordan Cameron, and wide receiver Kenny Stills as walk-year players who need to prove themselves this season.
Dolphins High On Kiko Alonso
- Linebacker Kiko Alonso is starting over again with the Dolphins after being traded to Miami in March and there is a lot of positive buzz surrounding him right now, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. Injuries have held Alonso back over the last couple of years, but he now seems to have his knee problems behind hm. Alonso came out firing in his rookie year in 2013 and one GM allegedly told Alonso’s agent prior to the draft that Alonso was the best linebacker prospect he had seen since Brian Bosworth.
Dolphins Notes: Rolle, Tunsil, Tannehill, Gase
The Dolphins continue to have free agents Antrel Rolle and Louis Delmas on a list of safety options should they have an injury at the position or if Reshad Jones should reverse course and holdout during the season, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. Rolle, 33, is listed as PFR’s eighth-best defensive free agent still on the market. Delmas, meanwhile, has familiarity on his side as he has been with Miami for each of the past two seasons.
If Jones surprises everyone and has a change of heart after reporting to minicamp earlier this month, he still might not have much in the way of leverage. Even a person close to Jones conceded to Jackson that Miami doesn’t have any incentive to re-do the current deal, which pays Jones $7.2MM and $7.1MM over the next two seasons.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- Rookie Laremy Tunsil is not guaranteed a starting spot on the Dolphins’ offensive line, as Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post writes. However, it would be a stunner if Dallas Thomas, Pro Football Focus’ worst-rated NFL guard last year, manages to beat him out. Meanwhile, Tunsil says that the adjustment from guard to tackle hasn’t been a difficult one. Coach Adam Gase agrees, noting that the transition isn’t a tough one since he is staying on the same side of the line. “When you put a guy on the left side, he’s playing the two positions that really they’re making the calls together whether it be in the run game or the pass game,” Gase said. “So it’s not like he’s learning something completely different.”
- Can the offensive-minded Gase succeed in the defense-heavy AFC East? The new Dolphins coach will have to get Ryan Tannehill to elevate his play by a good margin in order to succeed, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com writes. Since his rookie year in 2012, Tannehill has gone 8-16 against AFC East foes with 30 touchdown passes against 25 interceptions and 75 sacks, all adding up to a dismal 35.5 Total QBR.
- Defensive end Dion Jordan says that he’s drug-free as he seeks reinstatement, but Albert Breer of The MMQB hears that they should be worried about more than Jordan’s off-field issues.
Reggie Bush Says Two Teams Have Interest
Free agent running back Reggie Bush says that he has received calls from two interested NFL teams this offseason (Twitter link via SiriusXM NFL Radio), though he did not specify which teams have inquired on him. Bush added that he is taking his time in the process and wants to do things “the right way,” which likely means that no deal is imminent for the 31-year-old. 
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Bush announced in February that he is intent on playing in 2016, though it was unclear at the time whether that feeling was being reciprocated back from any of the league’s 32 teams. Now, if Bush is to be believed, there are at least a pair of clubs that would be interested in having him aboard.
The Lions cut Bush prior to the 2015 season to save money after he missed much of the previous campaign with ankle injuries. Bush went on to sign the 49ers, but he played just five games before tearing his left ACL on the concrete at the Edwards Jones Dome in St. Louis. Bush later sued the St. Louis Regional Convention and Stadium Authority over his injury, which capped his season’s statline at a grand total of 28 yards. Now, Bush says he has recovered from his ACL tear.
“I feel healthy and can make an impact on the field,” Bush told SiriusXM (Twitter link). “I think I’ve benefited from playing in different offenses.”
Despite getting heavy run as the lead back in Miami and Detroit between 2011 and 2013, he probably would only carry value as a third-down specialty back if he returns for the 2016 season. Any deal he signs will likely be light on guarantees.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dolphins Notes: Tannehill, Jones, Suh
New Dolphins head coach Adam Gase is giving Ryan Tannehill more freedom to change plays and making more of the playbook available to him at the line of scrimmage, backup Matt Moore tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap ran down the best and worst contracts on the Dolphins. The best deal on the team, he says, is the team’s deal with strong safety Reshad Jones. Miami inked Jones to a four-year, $28MM deal back in 2013 with $15MM guaranteed. It turned out to be a very team-friendly deal and, of course, Jones was holding out earlier this offseason in an effort to get out of it and draw up a new deal. Ultimately, however, Jones caved and returned to the team midway through the June minicamp. Fitzgerald’s only criticism of the deal isn’t really a criticism at all – he says Miami in hindsight should have made it a five-year pact rather than a four-year agreement.
Dolphins' Stadium Fight Induced Threat Of Move?
- During the Dolphins‘ stadium renovation fight, Miami Gardens mayor Oliver Gilbert feared owner Stephen Ross could move the team if he didn’t receive public money to help fund an upgrade that ended up costing approximately $500MM, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports. Although Ross ended up financing the stadium with private money, Gilbert took the threat seriously, per Beasley. “I worried some, because sometime people don’t necessarily know what they have until it’s gone, and I never want that to be the case,” Gilbert said. “It’s interesting that we like to call ourselves a world-class community. To be a world-class community, you have to have the Miami Dolphins, you have to have the Miami Heat. You also have to have culture and the arts. You have to have all of those things. It’s a composite.” The project, though, only has a chance at being completed by the Sept. 1 deadline, when the Dolphins host the Titans in the teams’ preseason finale.
Giants Claim Logan Thomas
SATURDAY, 10:10am: The Giants have announced the deal on Twitter.
FRIDAY, 2:56pm: The Giants have claimed quarterback Logan Thomas off waivers from the Dolphins, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. To make room for Thomas, the Giants waived fellow QB B.J. Daniels, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (Twitter link).
Thomas, whom Miami dropped from its roster earlier this week, will now join his third NFL organization since the Cardinals selected him in the fourth round of the 2014 draft. The former Virginia Tech standout has thrown just nine passes during his pro career and completed only one of those attempts. He made it count, though, connecting on an 81-yard touchdown against the Broncos in October 2014.
Thomas, 24, is now the third quarterback on the Giants’ roster, as Roster Resource shows, joining Eli Manning and Ryan Nassib.