Miami Dolphins re-sign Liam Eichenberg, but why? What about investing in OL? | Habib
The moment the contract expired, the two sides were free of one another. The Miami Dolphins no longer were tied to the offensive lineman who cost them two high draft picks. The lineman no longer would wake up wondering if the position he played yesterday would be the one he played today.
This was, by all indications, a much-needed divorce improving everyone’s health and wellness.
So why is Liam Eichenberg back?
Why would the Dolphins, who made it clear they needed upgrades on their line, want Eichenberg back?
Why would Eichenberg want to be back to a place where he must know he’s a social media piñata?
Chris Grier said Miami Dolphins would 'invest' in offensive line
Those are obvious questions in light of this remarriage.
Neither is the biggest question.
This is: What kind of statement are the Dolphins making by bringing him back? What sort of message is it sending?
Remember what general manager Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel said after the season? The Dolphins’ offensive line play in 2024 was such that these men, varying degrees of offensive line deniers in the past, no longer were chuckling while everyone else was fretting over the line.
“We’re going to have to invest in the offensive line now,” Grier said.
Asked about the line, McDaniel said, “I’m excited because I think we have a tangible opportunity to improve and that starts in free agency.”
Everybody knew what that meant. With a plan in place at both tackle positions and center, the only area to target was both guard positions.
Which meant finding somebody to replace Eichenberg.
And maybe somebody will, eventually. There’s still time. But right now, it looks like Eichenberg is replacing Eichenberg.
Unexpected? Shocking? The news hit fans like a pancake block. Instead of new and improved, fans felt like the victims of a bait-and-switch. Only problem was somebody forgot to switch guards.
“Miami, excited to be back,” Eichenberg said in a four-second video posted by the team in which his “excitement” didn’t exactly ooze through the camera lens. “Go Fins. Can’t wait. Looking forward to it.”
Through it all, Liam Eichenberg soldiers on
Eichenberg has been nothing but a good soldier for the Dolphins. There isn’t a position on the offensive line he hasn’t played because the team needed him there. He has never squawked even though we’ll never know how much his growth may have been stunted by a lack of an opportunity to focus on one position.
It’s too bad. Eichenberg the person is quite likable, but that stopped counting for much long ago. All fans care about now is that when they see him, they see status quo. They see quarterbacks having to unload the ball in a shade over two seconds. They see running backs without running lanes.
They see a product that isn’t good enough. And they know nothing masks deficiencies in football quite like a dominant offensive line. To hear them tell it, if Eichenberg blocked defensive linemen the way he does progress, the Dolphins wouldn’t be in this pickle.
The Dolphins made a move early in free agency, securing former Pittsburgh Steelers guard James Daniels, whose return on the investment could range from “significant” to “a tease” based on (you may have heard this before) his injury history. Daniels is coming off a torn Achilles suffered in Week 4. Word is he’ll be OK soon enough, but with an injury that serious, believe it when you see it.
So let’s say Daniels can start the opener along with tackles Patrick Paul and Austin Jackson and center Aaron Brewer. That still leaves another guard spot open, not to mention much-needed depth. The Dolphins also added Larry Borom, who was only a part-time starter in Chicago.
Luckily, free agency isn’t over. Another experienced guard could still land in Miami. They include former Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff and Minnesota’s Dalton Risner. Chicago’s Matt Pryor just turned 30, was rated as the 21st-best guard by Pro Football Focus and received one of the NFL’s top performance-based bonuses of just north of $1 million. That’s for players who outperform their contracts, and wouldn’t the sound of that be welcoming for Miami’s OL? Arizona’s Trystan Colon may deserve a look.
Grier also has 10 picks in this year’s draft, but that’s a Catch-22 in relation to guards. Chances are a guard making an impact as a rookie would go high in the draft, but Miami still has massive holes in the secondary that take precedence.
You could say the last time the Dolphins drafted a guard was in 2021, when they swapped second-round picks with the Giants and also sent New York a third-rounder in the deal. Moving up eight spots to No. 42, they took Eichenberg.
“We knew there was going to be a run on offensive linemen,” Grier said the night of the trade. “It was important for us to get up. We liked his toughness, character. He’s played a lot of football. Really smart. He’s a guy that we’ve talked about, targeted.”
All these years later, the target on Eichenberg has only gotten larger.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins re-signing Liam Eichenberg perceived as white flag by fans
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