Speaker 1: Practice throwing touchdown. What a win for this Miami Dolphin team. Wow?
Speaker 1: What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast,
Speaker 1: part of the Miami Dolphins official podcast network covering your
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins. I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and I
Speaker 1: am here to bring you your daily dose of Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins football. And on today's show, I hope everybody enjoyed
Speaker 1: the Deep Dive podcast interviewing each of the ten newest
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins players. Today, we'll get back to a more
Speaker 1: typical outline and take a holistic look at the Dolphins
Speaker 1: roster and the roster additions. Will go ahead and detail
Speaker 1: the reported figures of the contracts, the team building strategy,
Speaker 1: and Miami staying true to the vision laid out from
Speaker 1: day one from the Flores and career pairing. Plus, we've
Speaker 1: got a lot of internal roster news over the last
Speaker 1: week or so to catch up on. We'll do that
Speaker 1: and we'll go down the roster position by position. All
Speaker 1: of that and more on this Tuesday, March edition of
Speaker 1: the Drive Time Podcast. And let's go ahead and kick
Speaker 1: this thing off with some news that we haven't covered
Speaker 1: from the past week. It was a very busy one
Speaker 1: here on the podcast again ten podcast covering each of
Speaker 1: the Dolphins free agent signings from the last week. If
Speaker 1: you haven't checked those out, go ahead and go back
Speaker 1: and do so. We have some imports to talk about,
Speaker 1: but also bid some farewells to some players on the
Speaker 1: Dolphins roster. We detailed Rashad Jones's departure a couple of
Speaker 1: weeks ago, and now a handful of former Dolphins players
Speaker 1: were released as well, starting with some players that were
Speaker 1: on futurist contracts, and we start with Evan Brown. He
Speaker 1: was a guard slash center. Joined the Dolphins last December,
Speaker 1: and he played in three games from Miami down the
Speaker 1: stretch last year. A few more players on futures contracts
Speaker 1: were released, including Rashad Kazi, the cornerback. He joined the
Speaker 1: Dolphins practice squad last December and was released last week.
Speaker 1: Cheety O'kiki, the tackle, spent most of en on the
Speaker 1: Dolphins active squad after Miami added him last September. He
Speaker 1: has also been released, and so has receiver t J. Rawming.
Speaker 1: He joined the Dolphins in August last year and spent
Speaker 1: part of training camp with Washington before coming to Miami.
Speaker 1: Spent the entire twenty nineteen season on Miami's practice squad.
Speaker 1: He too, has been released. A couple of players that
Speaker 1: failed physical slashed waved due to injuries or non football
Speaker 1: related injuries. Mike Hole one of those players. He played
Speaker 1: forty three games with five stars for the Dolphins, from
Speaker 1: missed the entire twenty nineteen season after being placed on
Speaker 1: the pup list. In his career, had forty eight tackles,
Speaker 1: one pick, one pass breakup, and a fumble recovery. Also
Speaker 1: had thirty special team stops. But he now is out
Speaker 1: there on the open market, and the same is true
Speaker 1: of Kendrick Norton, spent the entire twenty nineteen season on
Speaker 1: the non football injury list. Last year, of course, had
Speaker 1: that tragic accident where he lost one of his limbs
Speaker 1: his arm, but he now goes the way of the WAVED,
Speaker 1: slash non football injury release here from the Miami Dolphins,
Speaker 1: and that's it for the departures. We had some other
Speaker 1: news about players staying in the house or receiving original
Speaker 1: round tenders, like linebacker Vince Beagle and punner Matt Hawk.
Speaker 1: Beagle was a fourth round pick of the Packers back
Speaker 1: in seen and he was acquired last year in a
Speaker 1: trade for Kiko Alonso on September one from the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: Beagle last year led the Dolphins and quarterback hits and pressures.
Speaker 1: He played in fifteen games and had ten starts and
Speaker 1: total fifty seven tackles, twenty six of those solo, two sacks,
Speaker 1: one pick, and a pass breakup. Those thirteen quarterback hits
Speaker 1: he had again led the team. He's played in thirty
Speaker 1: eight games in the NFL for three different teams, coming
Speaker 1: over from the Saints last year and again previously with
Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packers. If a team wants to match
Speaker 1: his compensation, they'll have to give Miami a fourth round
Speaker 1: draft pick, and of course the Dolphins will have a
Speaker 1: chance to match that offer if it happens. Matt Hawk,
Speaker 1: an undrafted player, was given an original round tender, which
Speaker 1: means if a team wants to acquire him, they have
Speaker 1: to sign the offer sheet and then Miami will have
Speaker 1: a chance to match after that, but it won't come
Speaker 1: with any draft compensation. Matt Hawk has played in forty
Speaker 1: eight games with the Dolphins over the last three years,
Speaker 1: has two hundred and thirty nine career punts for ten
Speaker 1: thousand six hundred eighty four yards a forty four point
Speaker 1: seven average, and is the franchise is all time career
Speaker 1: leader with a forty point oh net punting average, which
Speaker 1: is minimum one hundred and twenty six punts since nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy six nineteen. Of course, he threw the touchdown pass
Speaker 1: to Jason Sanders on the Mountaineer shoot in that Week
Speaker 1: thirteen win over the Eagles that was also named the
Speaker 1: NFL's Bridge Stone Play of the Year at NFL Honors.
Speaker 1: He was originally an undrafted player back in two thousand seventeen,
Speaker 1: so Beagle and Hawk given original round tenders. And the
Speaker 1: Dolphins have a new contract extension for a player they
Speaker 1: acquired last year in December, and Adrian Colbert. It's a
Speaker 1: one year deal for the nd season acquisition the former Hurricane,
Speaker 1: who was added ahead of the Week twelve game in Cleveland.
Speaker 1: He played three hundred and sixty one snaps down the
Speaker 1: stretch last year, according to Pro Football Focus, and three
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five of those snaps came at free safety,
Speaker 1: the position that became open when Bobby McCain was placed
Speaker 1: on injured reserve last year. Year he made twenty two
Speaker 1: Tackles and broke up two passes did Colbert and it's
Speaker 1: a one year contract worth one point seven seven five million,
Speaker 1: And that of course is according to reports. And I
Speaker 1: want to go ahead and make this point abundantly clear.
Speaker 1: We do not have official numbers yet because we won't
Speaker 1: know the exact details of these contracts, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: wait until we get a better look, a more detailed,
Speaker 1: accurate look at these contracts before we report them as official.
Speaker 1: And even though we haven't seen the breakdown of the
Speaker 1: figures exactly, we should get those suntime soon. But here
Speaker 1: are the report of numbers per NFL Network and Ian
Speaker 1: Rappaport and Mike Garret Folo Byron Jones a five year
Speaker 1: deal worth up to eighty two million dollars, Kyle van
Speaker 1: noise Is four years fifty one million dollars, Eric Flowers
Speaker 1: three for thirty and Shack Lawson also three for thirty. Again,
Speaker 1: the details of these contracts not yet available. For US,
Speaker 1: Emmanuel og Bak two for fifteen, Ted Carris got a
Speaker 1: one year deal worth four million, Jordan Howard too for
Speaker 1: ten million total. Eland and Roberts and Commu gruge Hill
Speaker 1: both one years worth up to three million dollars according
Speaker 1: to the NFL Network and Clayton federalum the safety a
Speaker 1: three year deal worth up to eight point five five
Speaker 1: million dollars. And the most important thing I want to
Speaker 1: look at with these acquisitions is how Miami stayed true
Speaker 1: to their process and their theme of acquiring players that
Speaker 1: are in these peak playing seasons, getting players of a
Speaker 1: certain age. Because here are the opening day ages and
Speaker 1: twenty of Miami's ten free agent signings twenty five year old.
Speaker 1: There are five twenty six year olds the Dolphins signed
Speaker 1: in this process to twenty seven year old, twenty eight
Speaker 1: and twenty nine. Again, that's opening Day in September. Those
Speaker 1: players will be those ages come week one. And getting
Speaker 1: these players and paying them while they're in their good
Speaker 1: productive years was a great market opportunity for Miami to
Speaker 1: take advantage of spending some of this free agency cash
Speaker 1: and cap space on players that can give you quality
Speaker 1: production through the life of their contract. Yes, they are
Speaker 1: free agent prices, but you're paying them while they're at
Speaker 1: their absolute pee, at their absolute best. And a step
Speaker 1: further aside from the youth injection, you get back a
Speaker 1: bunch of hungry players that bring a chip on their
Speaker 1: shoulder and that lunch pale mindset with them to work
Speaker 1: each and every day here on the Drivetime Podcast, an
Speaker 1: official Miami Dolphins podcast, And we heard from those players
Speaker 1: and those comments they made on the podcast last week
Speaker 1: with regards to what made them want to come to Miami.
Speaker 1: It's consistent with the message that aligns with the core
Speaker 1: values of Brian Flores and of Chris career. It creates
Speaker 1: this opportunity for a holistic vision, the vision to play smart, tough,
Speaker 1: disciplined football, or as Kyle Van Noy put it, playing smart,
Speaker 1: fast and physical. The approach allows Miami to determine its
Speaker 1: own market values and put a priority on players that
Speaker 1: align with that vision, opposed to maybe filling out holes
Speaker 1: in the roster or having some bend in the budget
Speaker 1: that way. And from the article on Miami Dolphins dot
Speaker 1: com putting together some quotes from free agent interviews on
Speaker 1: the Drivetime Podcast last week, you have to a man
Speaker 1: these quotes that about Flores and the program as a
Speaker 1: major selling point for them joining the Miami Dolphins this year.
Speaker 1: And we had a quote from Emmanuel Ogball on the
Speaker 1: podcast last week about these players that embrace the grind
Speaker 1: and understand what it takes to be successful in the
Speaker 1: NFL and understand that taking shortcuts in this league only
Speaker 1: suspend your success and really you're only cheating yourself. And
Speaker 1: so Agba had this to say when I asked him
Speaker 1: why Miami, quote, I'm excited to work with coach Flores.
Speaker 1: He wants what's best for the players. He wants us
Speaker 1: to come in here and work, keep our head down,
Speaker 1: focus on the field, and do what's best for the team.
Speaker 1: And that mentality, to me, creates a respect that travels
Speaker 1: both ways, not just from coach to player, but from
Speaker 1: player to coach. Kyle Van Noy had this to say
Speaker 1: after talking about how it starts with being smart, fast
Speaker 1: and physical. Quote, I respect the coach. Flow is a
Speaker 1: really really good coach. I respect what he's all about.
Speaker 1: I respect his coaching and what he brings to the
Speaker 1: table and quote and it's not just what Miami second
Speaker 1: year head coach brings to the football field. It's the
Speaker 1: genuine love and respect that he feels for the guys
Speaker 1: that resonates with his current and former players. You've heard
Speaker 1: me by now reference the piece about Flora's being awarded
Speaker 1: at the y M c a for the integration initiative
Speaker 1: from Matthew Slater and Rob Nikovic and these players that
Speaker 1: used to play for him in New England about the
Speaker 1: genuine love that he has for his players, and that's
Speaker 1: what you Land and Roberts had to say about Coach
Speaker 1: Flora's quote, he cares about you as a person and
Speaker 1: your family. Brian Flora's is a great leader end quote.
Speaker 1: And we heard Stephen Ross talk about that when the
Speaker 1: Dolphins originally hired Brian Flora's about finding the best leader
Speaker 1: of men, the best guy who can orchestrate a program,
Speaker 1: build a program, and give out a same consistent message
Speaker 1: on a day to day basis. And that's what Flora's
Speaker 1: is doing. They're sticking to that vision. They're building this
Speaker 1: team through that vision, and we're seeing it come to
Speaker 1: light here with these quotes from these players like Ted
Speaker 1: Carriss right here for instance, quote, I really believe in
Speaker 1: what Coach Flora's is building. I want to get in
Speaker 1: on the ground floor and help him build it. He
Speaker 1: has a tough attitude, loves the game, wants to win,
Speaker 1: and prepares to win. Those are qualities that we share.
Speaker 1: I also asked Commu Gruge Hill about if he thought
Speaker 1: he saw something in Brian Flores that would make him
Speaker 1: a future head coach back when he was drafted in
Speaker 1: to work in the same linebacker room that Brian Flores
Speaker 1: worked in in New England, and Gruge Hill had this
Speaker 1: to say quote you could just tell by his demeanor,
Speaker 1: not just from the players, even the other coaches had
Speaker 1: big respect for him. He ran most of the individual drills,
Speaker 1: the walkthroughs. He just had that swagger to him. And
Speaker 1: I want to talk about Roberts and Gruge Hills quotes
Speaker 1: about Brian Flores because I think they provide a really
Speaker 1: good segue into this kind of unique story that Miami
Speaker 1: acquired each of New England's sixth round draft picks from
Speaker 1: that year, in Roberts and Gruge Hill and in Ted Carriss,
Speaker 1: And I think it really tells you a couple of
Speaker 1: things that one Flora's obviously has intimate knowledge of these
Speaker 1: guys from his time back in New England and drafting
Speaker 1: them and working with them in that linebacker room on
Speaker 1: the defense. And Ted Carriss from AFAR obviously, who didn't
Speaker 1: work in the same room as Flora's, but he was
Speaker 1: in the same building and obviously had that admiration for
Speaker 1: Flora's as a coach, and now being here in Miami,
Speaker 1: that has become quite clear, I mean, if not evident
Speaker 1: by the quotes that Carris gave us on the podcast
Speaker 1: last week. But I think it harkens back even further
Speaker 1: to Preen when Flora's worked as a personnel guy. And
Speaker 1: this came from a podcast way back when Flora's was
Speaker 1: first hired by My by Miami on the Adam Schefter podcast,
Speaker 1: where he asked Flora's about some of those jobs early
Speaker 1: on in New England, and Flora's learned his meticulous attention
Speaker 1: to detail for understanding the transaction board and the waiver
Speaker 1: wire board. And if you get one of those moves wrong,
Speaker 1: if you incorrectly place a player on that board, then
Speaker 1: the entire thing is wrong because a accuracy is the
Speaker 1: only acceptable measure. And I think last season, especially late,
Speaker 1: when the wear and tear of a football season, the
Speaker 1: war of attrition that is a football season wears on
Speaker 1: and you have to find guys to plug in and
Speaker 1: play because injuries happen in the sport, Guys go down.
Speaker 1: You have to have a next man up mentality. Flores
Speaker 1: was able to plug guys in that he found, whether
Speaker 1: it was off the practice squad, street free agents, get
Speaker 1: them up, get them ready to play, and get them
Speaker 1: on the field on Sundays and then win a couple
Speaker 1: of ball games late in the year when you had
Speaker 1: a bunch of guys that were new to the team
Speaker 1: that month playing significant reps for you on the field.
Speaker 1: And I actually asked Brian Flores about that in the
Speaker 1: bank after the Bengals game, rather when I was there
Speaker 1: for the media working for Lockdown Dolphins at the time,
Speaker 1: about the challenges of getting players to elevate their game
Speaker 1: to that level when they arrive just maybe even five
Speaker 1: six seven days prior to the game. And Flora's did
Speaker 1: a great job of kind of deflecting the praise, because
Speaker 1: that's what great leaders do, right They deflect praise and
Speaker 1: they accept criticism. And Flores was more than happy to
Speaker 1: give out the praise to both the players that put
Speaker 1: that work in to get themselves ready, but also his
Speaker 1: coaching staff to get those guys prepared and to bring
Speaker 1: this all back together, going back to the level of
Speaker 1: connection they had with coach Floras and the level of
Speaker 1: knowledge he has about these players and what they can
Speaker 1: do for his team. I think that just really bodes
Speaker 1: well for the Dolphins future because you have a guy
Speaker 1: that has these respects of all these players, and word
Speaker 1: gets around, Like the NFL is a reputation league, it's
Speaker 1: a rumor league. Guys are gonna talk, whether it's players, agents, coaches,
Speaker 1: what have you. Word gets around, and word has gotten around.
Speaker 1: The playing for Brian Flores, although tough and demanding, is
Speaker 1: ultimately rewarding because quote, there's joy and hard work end quote. Okay,
Speaker 1: this podcast is gonna be a little bit of a
Speaker 1: short one today, but I do want to real quick
Speaker 1: here go over Miami's roster because we've been talking about
Speaker 1: these new additions and what they can do with those
Speaker 1: particular positions, the cost of those players, what it does
Speaker 1: for the draft going forward. And don't get me wrong,
Speaker 1: we're gonna cover all that stuff. We have a month
Speaker 1: up until the draft is officially here, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: talk about that stuff on Future podcast. But I don't
Speaker 1: think we've had a chance to really compartmentalize the Dolphins
Speaker 1: roster at this at this point and update you on
Speaker 1: what it currently looks like. So at the quarterback position,
Speaker 1: of course, Ryan Fitzpatrick is still here the starting quarterback
Speaker 1: to end last see season, and also in the quarterback
Speaker 1: room Josh Rosen and Jake Rudoch. Running backs, we added
Speaker 1: Jordan Howard to the roster. He joins Calin Balage, Miles Gaskin,
Speaker 1: Patrick Laird and de Lance Turner, and of course the
Speaker 1: fullback Chandler Cox. Wide receivers, you've got Davonte Parker coming back.
Speaker 1: He signed that four year, forty million dollar extension in
Speaker 1: season last year. Preston Williams the glitch to the Unicorn.
Speaker 1: He returns last season as well. Albert Wilson, Alan Hearns,
Speaker 1: Jachim Grant, mac Hollands, Gary Jennings, Ricardo Lewis is back.
Speaker 1: Isaiah Ford is back as well with the tender offer.
Speaker 1: Terry Wright and Andy Jones are on futures contracts with Miami.
Speaker 1: At the tight end position, Mike Gasicki, Durham Smith and
Speaker 1: Michael Roberts who was signed right before the combine to
Speaker 1: join Miami previously of the Lions. And Chris Myrick the
Speaker 1: futures contract tight end here with the Dolphins as well.
Speaker 1: On the offensive line, we've added some reinforcements and Eric
Speaker 1: Flowers and Ted Carriss. You've got Jesse Davis, Michael Dieter,
Speaker 1: Adam Panky, Keaton Sutherland, Shot Calhoun, Danny Isadora, Julian Avenport
Speaker 1: and JaMarcus Webber all on the roster, along with futurist
Speaker 1: contract der Val Netto along the defensive line. Added some
Speaker 1: big parts here as well. Christian Wilkins and Devon Gotcha
Speaker 1: are joined by Shack Lawson, Emmanuel Ogba, Trent Harris is back,
Speaker 1: Zack Seeler, Jonathan Ledbetter who returns from injury, Taco Charlton,
Speaker 1: Avery Moss, and Gerald Willis at linebacker. Some more reinforcements
Speaker 1: here as well. Vince Bagel, obviously with the original round tender,
Speaker 1: is back in that room. Ray Kawa, McMillan, Jerome Baker,
Speaker 1: Andrew van Ginkl, Sam eg Von, Kyle van noy A
Speaker 1: Land and Roberts Commu grug Hill, Charles Harris, James Crawford,
Speaker 1: and futurest contracts for Terrell Hanks and Jake Carlock at
Speaker 1: defensive back. The big money free agent Byron Jones joins
Speaker 1: a group of xaviing Howard Bobby McCain, Eric Rowe, Nick
Speaker 1: Needham Clayton Federlum new to the room as well. And
Speaker 1: then you have a bunch of players who've got plenty
Speaker 1: of playing time last year. Jamal Wilts, Tay Hayes, Ryan Lewis,
Speaker 1: Ken Webster, Stephen Parker, Quadrea tankers Ley, and of course
Speaker 1: Adrian Cole is back. The specialist Matt Hawk Jason Sanders
Speaker 1: round out the players on the roster with contracts in hand.
Speaker 1: And of course there are some players out there with
Speaker 1: exclusive rights, free agents, restricted free agency, and our own
Speaker 1: unrestricted free agents out there and available as well. So
Speaker 1: that's your Dolphins roster as it stands right now. Free
Speaker 1: agency about to hit the second ish waves, so to speak.
Speaker 1: The draft coming up the Dolphins obviously with fourteen draft picks,
Speaker 1: and on tomorrow's podcast, we're gonna talk to ESPN's Field
Speaker 1: Yates about the Dolphins offseason so far, some of the
Speaker 1: personnel moves, how they fit in, and how he views
Speaker 1: the scope of this team going forward. Very excited for
Speaker 1: that interview. We're gonna have film breakdowns on the podcast
Speaker 1: this week and beyond and coming up very soon. We're
Speaker 1: gonna transition to pretty much exclusive draft talk here in
Speaker 1: the near future. Not quite yet because we still have
Speaker 1: a month ago. We're gonna have some great guests from
Speaker 1: the Draft Network NFL Network. All the prominent draft features
Speaker 1: you want to know about, We're gonna get to those
Speaker 1: with some great guests that know the draft very well.
Speaker 1: But as for today's time on the Drivetime podcast, that
Speaker 1: is going to be my time you will. Please be
Speaker 1: sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast or
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcast from. Leave us a rating,
Speaker 1: leave us a review. Follow me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL.
Speaker 1: Follow the Dolphins at Miami Dolphins, the fish Tank Podcast
Speaker 1: with Seth and Juice, and the Audible Podcast with Kim
Speaker 1: and John. Don't forget to check those out, and of
Speaker 1: course Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time, finds up
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