The Miami Dolphins have struck their first agreement in the legal tampering period. It wasn’t necessarily the free agent guard that everyone expected to see the Dolphins gunning for, but Miami’s first upgrade along the offensive line has reportedly been secured. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Dolphins agreed in principle with free agent guard Ereck Flowers on a three-year, $30M contract with nearly $20M in guarantees. It was one of the first reported agreements of the 2020 “legal tampering” window.
The addition makes lots of sense for Miami in that the offensive line needs infusions of talent across all positions. And Flowers, with both guard and tackle experience, enjoyed a career revival this past season in Washington. That’s the good news.
The bad news? Flowers does come with a bit of a tarnished reputation after flopping hard in New York with the Giants — after he was made an early NFL Draft selection. That stigma hasn’t been fully shaken yet, so Miami would be wise to continue to introduce competition to the group to ensure they don’t just address the guard position but rather fully invest in fixing the offensive interior.
One plus to the structure of this contract is that it isn’t presumed to be overly long or high in commitment. The Dolphins offered significant dollars to Flowers, but if his play tanks in 2020 the Dolphins should feasibly be able to part ways with him without any lingering after-effects — especially if the news breaks that the Dolphins stuffed the guarantees into the first year or two of the deal.
Stay tuned as the Dolphins target more free agents to help bolster the roster. There are rumors swirling that this team might be in the market for a cornerback sooner rather than later as well — more on that as it comes.
