The Miami Dolphins believe they have a Super Bowl roster. Are they right?
We’ll begin to find out a lot more about Mike McDaniel’s club when training camp practices begin on July 24. The Dolphins have a talented locker room, but they also have some big-time questions ahead of their 59th season.
Unanswered Questions Ahead of Miami Dolphins Training Camp
The betting public believes the Dolphins are a borderline playoff team.
They had the 12th-shortest odds to win the Super Bowl ahead of training camp (22-1) and were just slightly better than even money to qualify for the postseason (-155).
The AFC East should be a dogfight with the always-dangerous Buffalo Bills.
While the New England Patriots are probably a year or two off from contending for the postseason, the New York Jets believe this is their year with Aaron Rodgers back.
Plus, when you consider how deep and talented the rest of the AFC is, the Dolphins have a very small margin for error. Can they thread the needle? It depends on the answers to the following five unanswered questions.
Will Tua Tagovailoa Get His Contract? (And If No, Then What?)
It’s been six months since Dolphins general manager Chris Grier told reporters, “The goal is to have [Tua Tagovailoa] here long-term playing at a high level.”
So why haven’t they signed him to a long-term extension? It’s a complex answer (which we tried to explain here), but the reality is this:
Tagovailoa believes he’s worth more than the Dolphins have yet offered, and he really only has one opportunity left to pressure them to up their game.
Will he hold in, or even hold out?
Do the Dolphins Have Enough on the Offensive Line?
The Dolphins should feel good about the tackle and center positions. But guard is a lot dicier.
They have a bunch of guys — namely Isaiah Wynn, Liam Eichenberg, Robert Jones, Jack Driscoll, and Lester Cotton — that could be adequate. But they don’t have a single player in that group that anyone should feel great about.
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The Dolphins could ultimately regret not adding a late-free agency vet at guard as they did at two other concerning positions (safety and defensive line).
Will Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips Be Ready for Week 1?
Grier has behaved this offseason as though he has concerns about the availability of Bradley Chubb (knee) and/or Jaelan Phillips (Achilles) for the opener.
The Dolphins signed one potential starting EDGE (Shaq Barrett) and drafted two others (Chop Robinson and Mohamed Kamara) during the offseason.
No one would be surprised if both Phillips and Chubb start training camp on the physically unable to perform list. The bigger unknown is whether they will remain on it through the first four weeks of the regular season.
Will Veteran Pickups Find Fountain of Youth?
Barrett serving as Miami’s third or even fourth EDGE would be the best-case scenario.
But if he’s asked to be the No. 1 guy, recent history suggests he will flounder. (Barrett had just 7.5 sacks total the last two seasons).
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He’s one of six free agents on the wrong side of 30 to join the Dolphins this offseason. The others: Calais Campbell, Jordan Poyer, Odell Beckham Jr., Siran Neal, and Marcus Maye.
At least two or three of that list will probably be asked to do more than can be reasonably expected of them at this stage of their careers.
Is This Tyreek Hill’s Final Year With the Miami Dolphins?
Put aside the fact that it’s totally absurd for a player with three years left on their existing contract to be making noise about getting a new one.
The reality is that Tyreek Hill wants what Tyreek Hill wants. And what he wants is a contract adjustment that again makes him one of the two or three highest-paid receivers in football.
The Dolphins, up until now, have been unwilling to give him that. If they remain dug in seven months from now, don’t be surprised if Hill is moved.