When the Miami Dolphins added Isaiah Wynn in 2023, they hoped the former New England Patriots first-round pick would thrive after moving inside to guard.
Instead, the injury concerns that plagued him for years in New England followed him to Miami. Wynn secured starting left guard duties in 2023, but suffered a season-ending quad injury in October.
While the Dolphins saw enough in his seven starts to bring Wynn back on another one-year deal, the quad injury kept the lineman out for most of the year and he didn’t see the field until Week 16.
The Dolphins need interior offensive line help, but Wynn’s injury concerns make things complicated.
The case for re-signing Wynn
Miami hopes it has three spots on the offensive line locked down for the foreseeable future with Patrick Paul and Austin Jackson at the tackle spots and Aaron Brewer at center. The guard position unquestionably needs work.
The Dolphins don’t exactly have ample resources to fix that problem, though.
Several tough decisions will have to be made just to get Miami under the salary cap and it’d be a shock if the Dolphins found a way to go after a high-priced free agent like the Chiefs’ Trey Smith.
Drafting offensive linemen will be the much more cost-effective way to acquire guards to build around, but it’d be a lot to expect a pair of rookies to step in right away and play at a high level.
With Wynn, Liam Eichenberg, and Robert Jones all set to become free agents in March, the Dolphins need to find a way to have some veteran help in the middle next year, one way or another. Wynn was cheap to retain last year and won’t be more expensive after another injury-riddled year.
Wynn knows the system, has shown starting capability, and would be a low-cost way of addressing depth even if the Dolphins find more enticing options.
The case for letting Wynn walk
There’s a reason the Dolphins dropped from No. 1 in the NFL in rushing yards per carry in 2023 to No. 28 in 2024. Miami may not have much money to go around, but if there’s a spot that deserves investment it’s the interior offensive line.
While acquiring a player like Trey Smith might be unrealistic, there’s no shortage of lineman set to hit the market who have a better history at guard than Wynn, Eichenberg, and Jones. They may be a bit more expensive, but it’s a price the Dolphins need to find a way to pay if they hope to see improvement on offense.
And even if they want to bring in a player for ultra cheap, Wynn’s injury history has to make the Dolphins think twice at some point.
There are only a few roster spots to use on the offensive line and Wynn’s unavailability has left Miami turning to its depth in each of the last two seasons.
Prediction
With their top three guards all set to hit the market, the Dolphins will probably want to keep at least one just for continuity’s sake. While Wynn has struggled to stay on the field, he’s shown the most effectiveness of the trio.
Another year of Wynn on the roster wouldn’t mean status quo at guard. But it could allow Miami to turn its attention to the draft in hopes of finding a pair of starters. If a rookie isn’t ready for that right away, Wynn has shown enough to give the Dolphins confidence he can be a bridge solution.
Prediction: Dolphins re-sign Wynn to one-year, $1.5 million deal
