Over the weekend, the future of the Miami Dolphins organization brightened and became more secure. LB Jerome Baker inked a 3 year, $39M contract extension with the Dolphins, with $28.4 million of that guaranteed. Baker, who is 24 years old at the time of the signing, has plenty to contribute in the years to come, and the signing is not only rewarding to Baker himself, but the Dolphins organization as well. Long gone are the days where the Dolphins are going to lock-up players on lengthy contracts, which only makes sense in the game of football, where the life-span of players can sometimes end in the blink of an eye.
Baker, who played in all 16 games during last year’s season, saw a slight drop in production in his numbers compared to the 2019 season. This can be attributed to the spread attack of the defense last season, and increase in production in other defensive pieces like LB Andrew Van Ginkel, CB Xavien Howard, and DL Christian Wilkins. There is one stat line from Baker that sticks out like a sore thumb that can’t be ignored and may be a good reason for the rewarding extension offered by the Dolphins. Baker’s sack numbers in 2020 skyrocketed to 7, compared to just 1.5 sacks in the 2019 season. Although his tackles and assists remained consistent to years in the past, this jump in sacks speaks for itself and at just 24 years old, can be a good sign for Dolphins fans for years to come.
The Baker extension isn’t the only lock-up that the Dolphins organization took care of this year. In February, the Dolphins agreed to a $22 million contract extension with kicker Jason Sanders, after Sanders saw himself ranked as a First-Team All-Pro following a stellar season. As you can see, the Dolphins are done breaking the bank for their team, locking players into risky contracts that can turn around and bite them later in the future. But on the other hand, if you produce for this team, you will be rewarded for it. Head Coach Brian Flores and General Manager Chris Grier aren’t scared to spend money where they need to, and have taken more of a surgical approach on assembling this core, using draft capital from the past to make moves for today. Not only are they assembling great pieces to add to our already promising core through draft capital accumulated from the Minkah Fitzpatrick and Laremy Tunsil trades, but they continue to stockpile draft capital for the future to give themselves a double-edged sword. On one edge, if they see a player they like in the draft, they can draft them. On the other edge, they can use the draft picks in future trades.
Flores and Grier have (without question) done a great job coming into the organization and hitting the reset button, but with great precision and in a way that won’t have Dolphins fans sitting at home years on end questioning when the team will compete. Fins fans, our time is now. We have built an all-around core of young players that will remain familiar faces. This year’s off-season signings show promise as well, as Flores and Grier didn’t shy away from their formula and didn’t break the bank for any particular asset, adding to needed areas such as wide receiver, linebacker, center, and defensive back.
Our defense was the shining star of last year’s season. They kept us in games; they won us games. Sometimes, as bad as it may sound, the offense needed to be bailed out occasion after occasion. But today is a new day, and this season is ours to take. Flores and Grier took care of business this off-season, plugging and unplugging the defense that remained from last season, and they knew that the offense was top-priority. With a new offensive coordinator going into the season, alongside sprucing up the receiving core with a lengthy list of weapons for sophomore QB Tua Tagovailoa to utilize, the Dolphins organization crossed off many concerns looming from last season. The future is bright when your head coach and general manager look honestly in the mirror, can properly identify and address issues on hand, and do so without taking away from the team.
But the work doesn’t stop now. The 2021 season is the time where Flores and Grier will see what hand they have to play. There’s no excuses anymore and Fins fans should be excited that a break-through is on the horizon. There are still some concerns that will need to be addressed in the near future. Dolphins fans have few questions that remain to be answered, but I can ensure that they will be answered soon. Will Myles Gaskin stay healthy and is he capable of being a weapon in the backfield? The Mike Gesicki contract is waving at us from just across the street. How will the Dolphins juggle the 4 tight ends we have in order to secure Gesicki to an appropriate contact extension?
Dolphins fans rest assured that Flores and Grier have a process, a strategy, and will continue to move calculated to get us back to the promise land. Our team may be the Miami Dolphins but these last few off-seasons we’ve been moving more like sharks. We’ve only shown our teeth to our enemies in the league. We are waging war in the water and are so close to snatching our crown and conquering the ocean.
Brandon McFayden
South Florida Tribune
Potty Mouth Sports
