If I were Jeff Ireland……Part 2 (What players to sign from other teams)

Jan. 23 Opinion 9 comments ---Bill

If I were Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland, I would have roughly $24 million in cap space to bring in some free agents this offseason.  How did I get to this number?  You can check Part 1 of our ‘If I were Jeff Ireland’ series to find out.  In short, I would resign Brian Hartline, Sean Smith, Reggie Bush, Randy Starks, and Anthony Fasano.  I’ve also let Jake Long and Matt Moore test free agency and cut Richard Marshall, Dan Carpenter, and Michael Egnew.   In Part 2 of this series, we are going to walk you through which free agents from other teams, we’ll look to add to the Dolphins roster to improve it.  Let’s face it, our plan keeps stability at almost every position, now it’s time to make it better.  At this point, we have the following needs on our roster: Backup QB, Kicker, #1 WR, #1 TE, #2 DE (opposite Cam Wake), #1 CB, #1 RT

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com

Part 2 – Which players to sign from other teams

The main theme for this free agency period will be to sign players that will help the development of Ryan Tannehill.  Let’s face it, last year he had Reggie Bush and then a lot of pedestrian players around him.  I know Brian Hartline put up a 1,000 yard season, but he scored just 1 touchdown, which simply isn’t good enough.  So we’re looking to add some explosiveness with the remaining $24 million we have in cap room.  That figure, by the way, takes into account the roughly $6 million that is needed to sign draft picks.  Time to do some shopping and roster upgrading.

The first person I would talk to….in fact, I would take Mr. Ross’ helicopter to his doorstep….would be Mike Wallace of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Wallace is the type of speedster and #1 receiver the Dolphins offense needs…..badly.  I would offer Wallace a contract similar, but slightly smaller than what Vincent Jackson received last year from the Bucs (5 years, $55 million).  I would make it a backloaded deal, with salaries of $9, $9.5, $10.5, $14 and $14, with $29 guaranteed.  This means that he could be cut before he reaches the salary years of $14 million.  Wallace would be my #1 receiver with Hartline as the 2 and Bess as the slot guy.  We would also look to the draft (1st 3 rounds) to add a young receiver for the #4 spot…..we’ll get to that tomorrow.   (cont’d on page 2, click below)

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  • chris

    Hey have u watched finley ?? i live in wisconsin and finley is very bad he drops everything and he’s a talk behind your back type of player keep him away from our QB

    • PhinNation

      I have and I think a change of scenery combined with working with Coach Philbin could be just what he needs. You can disagree, but I think he’s the type of playmaker at TE that the Dolphins need

  • Mexico loves the fins

    I agree with most things except Carpenter. You would release him making $2 million+ and sign Kaeding for the same amount or more? Doesn’t add up. Carpenter had (1) bad half year and picked it up the second half of the season. He will be fine!

    • PhinNation

      That’s a good point. When I cut Carpenter and saved $2.7 mil, I was thinking I could get a kicker cheaper…which is possible. But thanks for pointing it out Mexico

  • stoneteeth09

    Sean Smith is slow and holds onto receivers all season because he can’t keep up. get rid of him

    • Leen

      stoneteeth09
      I’m agree he is the worse CB. in the NFL that is the reason why any QB. throw the ball where is him.

  • http://twitter.com/Iam305Jules Miami Jules (Julian)

    I’m on board with the WR’s mentioned. I am more than OK with the Carpenter suggestion, but I fell out of the train, hence ceased to be on board, over Finley. He may have worked fine with Philbin and chances are he MAY go back to his ’11 type performance if reunited with JP, but you know what? I am tired of “maybe’s” and “he’s still developing’s” in the age of Wilson, Kaepernick and the other plug-in and play play maker types . Should we end up getting him and he turns out to be a difference maker, please feel free to say “I told you so” because no one will be happier than me to stand corrected if it means winning.

    Now, at the risk of attracting a lot of hate, I am with… dare I even say it? OK, I’m with I… I… Ire… Ireland! Whew! There I said it, but I was making faces as I did, on getting play makers. The problem with that is that it would be Ireland getting them and other than Wake and a couple of others, he hasn’t been great when it’s come to free agency… hopefully Philbin will help out.

    • PhinNation

      You always have been a Jeff Ireland lover! just kidding Jules! I like Finley, probably more than most. The fact is that there arent’ a lot of seam threats that will be available and this guy has proven he can do it (see 2011). But I understand the points you have all made about him. It is a risk I would take especially if he is released and all he’ll cost is $$

  • foster

    wallace is our best chance @FA wide receiver? would Miami do a trade with the clowns in NY for the Island?