The two-week window for the Miami Dolphins (and all 31 other teams) to use the franchise tag is now open.
This means the Dolphins have 14 days to figure out what to do with defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who is the No. 6 free agent on PFN’s Top 100 list.
The best outcome for Miami is to sign Wilkins to a long-term deal. But if Chris Grier can’t get that done before the March 5 tag deadline, he has a decision to make: Tag Wilkins at an estimated $20.9 million fully guaranteed or risk losing him in free agency.
Dolphins fans can take solace in knowing that if they do tag Wilkins, history suggests they will have made the right decision — with a few notable exceptions.
Miami Dolphins’ Franchise Tag History
Tim Bowens | Defensive Tackle
The franchise tag was still a relative novelty when the Dolphins slapped the $2.9 million tender on Tim Bowens in 1998. But the Dolphins’ first swing was a home run.
Bowens made the Pro Bowl in both 1998 and 2002 and spent the last seven years of his career with the Dolphins.
Richmond Webb | Offensive Tackle
Richmond Webb might be the best Dolphins player not in the Hall of Fame. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler and a four-time All-Pro in the ’90s and rightfully earned a spot on the All-Decade team.
But his play tailed off by the end of the decade, which is why the Dolphins elected to tag him in both 1999 and 2000 (at a total cost of $7.6 million) instead of extending him before letting him walk in free agency in 2001. Webb’s career was over two years later.
Jason Taylor | Defensive End
The greatest Dolphins defender ever could very easily have been an ex-Dolphins defender just four years into his career. But the Dolphins blocked Taylor from reaching free agency in 2001 by using the tag at $5.4 million.
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JT signed a six-year, $42M extension five months later, which, in retrospect, was excellent value. Over the next seven years, Taylor won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2006, made five Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pros, and led the NFL in sacks in 2002 (18.5) and forced fumbles in 2006 (9).
Paul Soliai | Defensive Tackle
It’s a bit strange to think at this point that the Dolphins’ highest franchise tag charge in history was on a solid but not spectacular interior defensive lineman who never had more than two sacks in a season.
But at the time, the late Tony Sparano was in job-saving mode, so he and Jeff Ireland greenlit a $12.5 million contract on Paul Soliai, who did go on to make the Pro Bowl that year.
Soliai would sign a new two-year contract after the 2011 season and appeared in all but one of the team’s 48 games during that three-year stretch, with a career-high eight tackles for loss in 2012.
Randy Starks | Defensive Tackle
Randy Starks proved in 2013 that if you’re good enough, you can flip the bird at your head coach and get even more money out of it.
Starks was unhappy playing under the $8.5 million tag in 2013 and even unhappier to find himself as a backup when the season began. So Starks gave Joe Philbin the finger after a big early season play — and was rewarded with a two-year extension after the season.
The Dolphins ultimately cut Starks before the 2015 season due to the addition of Ndamukong Suh.
Charles Clay | Tight End
File this one under the “your best move is sometimes the one you don’t make.” Instead of franchise tagging Charles Clay, they used the $7.7 million transition tag on him in 2015.
That allowed the Bills to steal Clay away with a five-year, $38 million offer that the Dolphins didn’t match. Clay saw four of those five years, catching 178 passes for 1,822 yards and nine touchdowns — solid stats, but certainly not good enough to justify his salary.
Olivier Vernon | Defensive End
A similar story was told the following offseason when the Dolphins used the transition tag ($12.7 million) on pass rusher Olivier Vernon.
But the Dolphins revoked the tag after signing Mario Williams to a two-year deal. Vernon would sign a five-year, $85 million contract with the Giants and had 8.5 sacks, 23 quarterback hits, and 17 tackles for New York in 2016.
Williams, meanwhile, barely tried in his final NFL season, finishing with 1.5 sacks, five hits, and four TFLs. For that, Williams collected $8.5 million from the Dolphins.
Jarvis Landry | Wide Receiver
If the Dolphins’ plan for Wilkins is to tag him with the intention to trade, then the Jarvis Landry experience shows the best-case scenario.
Landry’s time with Adam Gase had run its course even though his 112 catches and nine touchdowns led the NFL in 2017. So the Dolphins tagged Landry (at $16.2 million) with the intention of trading him.
The Dolphins and Browns worked out a deal, with Cleveland sending Miami a 2018 fourth (used on Durham Smythe) and a 2019 seventh (Myles Gaskin). Smythe and Gaskin both became solid players for Miami, which also saved a substantial amount of coin the team was able to use elsewhere.
Mike Gesicki | Tight End
Tagging Mike Gesicki (at $10.9 million) in 2022 was one of the first moves of the Mike McDaniel era, but in retrospect, they should have saved the 11 mil — or traded him after they traded for Tyreek Hill.
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He simply was a bad fit in McDaniel’s system, catching just 32 passes for 362 yards, although he did have five touchdowns.
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