PALM BEACH — As the first wave of NFL free agency has come and gone, the Miami Dolphins have done relatively little at two positions of need: defensive tackle and cornerback.
The departure of Calais Campbell, back to his original NFL team, the Arizona Cardinals, is a major blow in particular. Campbell, at 38, had a strong season alongside Zach Sieler on the defensive line and is the consummate leader in the locker room.
At defensive tackle, Miami returns Sieler, the anchor of the defensive front coming off back-to-back 10-sack seasons, and re-signed nose tackle Benito Jones, who can stuff the run playing about half the team’s defensive snaps.
But that’s essentially it at the position, where they also will have Matt Dickerson and Neil Farrell competing, two players who bounced around between the practice squad and the end of the active roster last season. Along with Campbell, the Dolphins also lost valuable rotational defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand in free agency.
It begs the question: What will Miami do on the defensive line?
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel doesn’t seem too worried about it yet, as Miami can bring in some youth on the defensive line with its 10 picks in the draft at the end of the month, and then the team can supplement the roster with other free agents who remain available.
“I feel like we have some options at the position,” McDaniel said this week at the NFL annual meeting at The Breakers. “That position in particular has been a focal point of mine this offseason, and I feel good about how it could play out,and there’s a couple different scenarios it could play out.”
