Gase: Jay Ajayi In Lead For Starting RB
- Speaking on WQAM in Miami, Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said that second-year running back Jay Ajayi is the man to beat in the club’s backfield rotation. “He’s been one of those guys he’s been here every day,” Gase said of Ajayi, according to Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel. “The rest of that group has done a good job to try and keep up with him, but obviously he’s kind of separated himself from that group as far as the consistency of what he does day in and day out.” Ajayi is part of a contingent, including Damien Williams, Daniel Thomas, rookie Kenyan Drake, and others, that will try to replace Lamar Miller, who left for the Texans in free agency.
After Missing 2015, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu Cleared To Practice
- Recently claimed cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu has been cleared to practice with the Dolphins after missing his entire rookie season with the Browns, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports. The Browns waived the former Oregon seventh-rounder in April. Miami sports a revamped cornerback contingent that could benefit from a success story after the Fins moved on from Brent Grimes, Brice McCain and Jamar Taylor.
Jay Ajayi Likely To Be Dolphins' Primary Back
- Second-year Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi is the front-runner to receive the lion’s share of carries this season, head coach Adam Gase told WQAM-560 on Thursday (via Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel). In regards to Miami’s other backs – including third-round rookie Kenyan Drake, who hasn’t practiced with the team yet – Gase said, “The rest of that group has done a good job to try and keep up with him, but obviously he’s kind of separated himself from that group as far as the consistency of what he does day in and day out.” The 228-pound Ajayi didn’t get a ton of action as a fifth-round rookie last season, totaling 187 yards and a touchdown on 49 carries. However, the departure of Lamar Miller and Miami’s inability to reel in an established back via free agency combined to open the door for Ajayi.
Injury At Root Of Laremy Tunsil’s Draft Slide
THURSDAY: The Dolphins aren’t worried about Tunsil’s ankle, executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum told WQAM-560 on Thursday.
“He’s full go. He’s fine. We never had a concern about his ankle,” Tannenbaum said, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
On drafting Tunsil, Tannenbaum stated, “It was an easy decision. It was unanimous… We had an area scout, Matt Winston, who went into Mississippi more than once. We knew about the kid. We knew about his character. He was a good teammate… I’m really glad he was there when we picked. I think we’re going to be happy for a long time.”
WEDNESDAY: A potentially chronic ankle injury helped induce Laremy Tunsil‘s slide down the draft board after previously being slotted as the No. 1 overall projected pick, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reports (video link).
While some teams — the Ravens, for one — potentially shied away from the Ole Miss product because of the bong video that surfaced jus
t before the start of the draft, others, Cole reports, may have been concerned about the left tackle talent’s ankle troubles that surfaced late during the pre-draft process.
Although no news emerged of Tunsil struggling with the ailment at Dolphins rookie minicamp, multiple sources told Cole the No. 13 overall pick is dealing with a pre-arthritic ankle condition. Two sources also informed the Bleacher Report NFL insider that the condition Tunsil is battling is “worse than Myles Jack‘s knee.”
Tunsil broke his leg and dislocated an ankle during the 2014 Peach Bowl at the end of his sophomore season. He returned an became a second-team All-American as a junior despite playing in just six games due to a suspension, but Wednesday’s revelations suggest he may not be fully over that setback.
A slew of grim diagnoses emerged about the Jaguars second-round pick’s condition after a knee malady caused the ex-UCLA star to tumble into the second round after previously being slotted in as a potential top-5 pick. Jack missed most of his junior season with the Bruins in 2015 as a result of a torn meniscus that had some concerned before the draft he’d need microfracture surgery down the line. Although Jack dispelled some of those concerns recently, he won’t be able to distance himself from those knee concerns until he proves he can stay healthy for the Jaguars.
As for Tunsil, one source disagrees with others’ analyses, telling Cole that Tunsil indeed has an ankle issue but one that is not on the level of Jack’s knee. So, this could be a topic of Dolphins discussion this offseason, though to what degree is debatable.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images
Latest On Dolphins, Reshad Jones
Reshad Jones wants a new deal, but Miami doesn’t seem overly eager to rework his contract, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. As it stands, Jones is slated to earn $7.2MM in 2016 and $7.1MM in 2017. He is said to be seeking a deal that would pay him roughly $10MM/year, putting him in the same neighborhood as the league’s highest paid safeties. 
In an effort to compel the Dolphins to give him a more lucrative and longer-term deal, Jones has been staying away from voluntary workouts. When it comes time for summer minicamp, it’s possible that Jones will continue to stay home if he does not get his way. For his part, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph says that there are other players in-house who could fill the void if worst comes to worst.
“We’ve got four [safeties] who are very capable,” Joseph said. “Obviously, Reshad is a great player. Walt Aikens has corner movement,…is going to grow into a pretty good free safety or strong safety. Mike Thomas is very, very efficient. Isa Abdul-Quddus can really run, a low 4.4 (40 time) guy.”
Of course, the Dolphins would be missing a big part of their secondary without Jones. A fifth-round pick in 2010, Jones has been a starter for the Dolphins for most of his career, and played all 16 games in 2015, setting new career-highs in tackles (135), passes defended (10), and interceptions (five), returning two of those picks for touchdowns. Pro Football Focus ranked Jones as the 13th-best safety in the NFL, out of 89 qualified players. Of those 89 safeties, only two received higher grades as run defenders than Jones did.
Jones, who earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2015, is on the books for base salaries of $7.225MM in 2016 and $7.06MM in 2017, with accompanying cap hits of $8.203MM and $8.038MM, respectively. His current four-year, $28MM+ contract makes him the highest-paid strong safety in the NFL, though he doesn’t rank among the top five highest-paid safeties overall.
Last year, Kam Chancellor was in a contract standoff with the Seahawks before finally reporting to the team during Week Three. Chancellor‘s holdout cost him $1.1MM in fines, $500K in signing-bonus forfeiture, and about $534K in lost salary for a total of about $2.134MM in potential lost earnings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Draft Signings: Dolphins, Raiders, Saints
We’ll keep track of today’s draft signings here:
- A second-round pick who is expected to play a key role for a Dolphins cornerback corps that lost most of its starters from 2015, Xavien Howard has signed his rookie deal, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports. He’s the fifth player in Miami’s eight-man draft class to sign. For Baylor last season, Howard snared five interceptions and broke up 15 passes en route to All-Big 12 acclaim. He’ll vie to join Byron Maxwell as the Fins’ starting corners.
- The Saints have now wrapped up their draft class’ contracts after signing fourth-round defensive lineman David Onyemata, according to the team’s website. The first University of Manitoba player to be drafted, the Nigeria native finished with 9.5 sacks in 37 games with the Bison. A 300-pound lineman who was selected No. 120 overall, Onyemata won the J.P. Metras Trophy, which is given to the best down lineman in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football.
- The Raiders announced the signing of second-round defensive lineman Jihad Ward. Ward, selected with the No. 44 overall pick, played for Illinois over the last two seasons. In his time for the Fighting Illini, Ward started all 25 games, totaling 104 tackles, 4.5 sacks, three passes defensed, three forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. The 6’6″, 295-pound athlete climbed up draft boards in the weeks leading up to the draft, leading to his mid-second-round selection.
Dolphins Sign Jason Jones
MONDAY: 10:40am: It’s a done deal, according to Jones’ agent (Twitter link).
SUNDAY: 6:08pm: The Dolphins have agreed to terms with free agent defensive end Jason Jones, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Jones will sign a one-year deal with Miami on Monday, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Jones, who turns 30 years old in 10 days, had to wait quite awhile to find a new home, as he’ll sign with the Dolphins roughly two months after the start of the free agent period. By waiting until today to sign Jones, Miami was probably aiming to protect any 2017 compensatory picks it might be entitled to, as any free agent signed after May 12 does not factor into the compensatory formula.
The Dolphins first hosted Jones for a visit way back on March 10, and then took another meeting with him in mid-April. Between those two visits, Jones also garnered interest from both the Steelers and Cowboys, but Miami had reportedly kept in touch with him throughout the past several months. Jones ranked as PFR’s No. 13 edge defender heading into free agency, and was one of just three of our top-15 edge players — along with Greg Hardy and O’Brien Schofield — who had yet to find a job.
Jones had spent time with both the Seahawks and Titans before landing with the Lions prior to the 2013 season. After a injury-shortened 2013 during which he appeared in only three contests, Jones started 31 games over the past two years with Detroit, racking up 9.5 sacks over that span. Pro Football Focus ranked Jones as the No. 43 edge defender in the NFL last year, among 110 qualifiers.
Miami’s defensive line will look quite a bit different in 2016 than in did in 2015 — while star tackle Ndamukong Suh is still around, the Dolphins will now field new additions Jones, Mario Williams, and Andre Branch at defensive end, where the club lost Olivier Vernon and Derrick Shelby to free agency. Fellow end Cameron Wake, meanwhile, recently agreed to an extension through the 2017 season. Additionally, former No. 3 overall pick Dion Jordan is reportedly working towards reinstatement from suspension, and could factor into Miami’s 2016 plans.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dolphins Promote Adam Engroff
- Elsewhere in front office news, Marvez reports (Twitter link) that the Dolphins are promoting scout Adam Engroff to college scouting director. According to Miami’s media guide, Engroff has worked for the club since 1999, and has spent the past four years as a national scout.
Dolphins Still Open To CB Help
- While defensive coordinator Vance Joseph insists the Dolphins are good to go at cornerback, the team has internally discussed adding another veteran, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, who suggests that Leon Hall and Antonio Cromartie are among the possibilities. Both Jackson and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald took a closer look at the cornerback situation in Miami, exploring whether or not another free agency addition seems likely.
Latest On Laremy Tunsil
- Mark Schlabach and Nicole Noren of ESPN’s Outside the Lines have provided an update on the draft-night hacks to Dolphins offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil‘s social media accounts. The duo reports that Ole Miss officials have determined that a text message conversation published to Tunsil’s Instagram was legit — the conversation included Tunsil asking Ole Miss assistant athletic director John Miller for money to pay his rent and his mother’s utility bill.