When Brian Flores took over the Miami Dolphins as Head Coach, fans were hopeful. Not only were they moving on from Adam Gase, who had fallen out of favor in the locker room and with the media, but they were also getting a young, defensive-minded HC who showed promise in last year’s Super Bowl as the DC for the Patriots. However, after just a few weeks, there are already questions and concerns about exactly what it is the Dolphins are doing.
Flores’ first big move as the HC in Miami was moving on from QB Ryan Tannehill. The former eighth overall pick never really lived up to his draft status. Rather than be stuck with a middle-of-the-road QB, Flores made the call to send him to Tennessee. This left Miami with just two QBs on the roster, neither with experience, Luke Falk and Jake Rudock. To many, this was a hint that Flores was bringing the team to a tank to try and get one of the sought-after QBs in the upcoming draft, Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama), Justin Herbert (Oregon), or Jake Fromm (Georgia).
Then, Flores made a peculiar decision to bring in a veteran QB. Miami signed QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to a two-year contract. Now, Fitzpatrick isn’t a franchise QB, but he’s good enough to win six or seven games. As a full-time starter in a full season, he’s never lost more than 10 games. For a team that should be trying to lose, this isn’t the scenario you’re looking for. Six wins will be too many to get a top three pick for a chance to take those three QBs. The team should be trying out Rudock and Falk to see what they’ve got. The worst case scenario is that one of these guys is a capable NFL QB.
So, it may seem like maybe they aren’t tanking after all? Well, that was until they decided to ship out their best pass-rusher in Robert Quinn. In return, Miami received a sixth-round pick. This decision comes just weeks after their other pass-rusher, Cameron Wake, signed with the Titans. Now, Quinn was projected to have a cap hit of $12.9 million this season in Miami. They save that money, recoup a draft pick (even if it is only a sixth), and will get to play some young guys while maybe(?) pushing for the tank.
Miami has yet to give an indication as to what direction they’re moving towards. Some moves suggest that they want to tank, while some do the opposite. If Miami and Brian Flores want to move to that tank, they should continue to move on from offensive talent to grab more picks and save money. Kenny Stills and Kenyan Drake may be able to net you some mid-to-late picks. This being the last year of Xavien Howard’s rookie deal there will be a decision to make on him as well. They can either work to extend him or move on and try to get some draft capital. The CB duo of Howard and Minkah Fitzpatrick could be a great one, so I believe they should keep them together if they can. Pretty much everybody else is expendable, however.
In the long-run, Miami needs to commit to a direction. This potential one-year tank to get a QB could result in a very quick turnaround. That’s what they should be doing. Tank for one of these top three QB prospects, and from there, the Dolphins should start seeing signs of success.