The Miami Dolphins are heading into free agency with money to spend again and Branden Albert looks to be the first player signed, while Jairus Byrd, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jermichael Finley, Scott Chandler and James Jones are other free agent targets that potentially could be brought in.
Albert has been mentioned as a possible option for the Dolphins since last season when there were trade rumors involving him and now is looks like he will sign. The team also was one of the worst rushing the ball last season, partly due to the offensive line, which Albert will help, but also because of the lack of a solid running back ahead of Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas and now they could right that with Maurice Jones-Drew, Ben Tate or another back like Darren McFadden. The team needs a veteran starter to come in and those names are options, while the offense overall could use a boost after breaking down last season and players like Jermichael Finley, Scott Chandler and Golden Tate could be potential targets as well.
CBS Sports is reporting that Albert is going to sign with the Dolphins and it comes after the team gave up over 50 sacks to lead the lead last season and now Albert is ready to leave the Chiefs. Kansas City selected Eric Fisher number one overall last season and now he is in line to take over at left tackle. The report says that the deal will be about $10 million each season and it comes after he was a former first overall pick and after the Fins let Jake Long leave and now they finally have another star back at left tackle.
The team comes in with over $30 million in cap space and that makes them players and they already signed Brent Grimes to a $32 million deal and there are more moves to make, as they could trade Dion Jordan, while also looking to cut names like Mike Wallace, who costs over $17 million on the cap, along with Philip Wheeler, who was signed by Jeff Ireland, but as ESPN.com, writes, it's impossible, as he "costs $6.4 million to keep and $10.6 million to dump."
The team also could look at Byrd to shore up their secondary, as ESPN.com is reporting that he would be interested in the Fins, but he also costs about $9 million per season. Byrd wants to be paid like one of the best safeties and that means in Eric Berry territory with his six-year, $60 million contract.
The Dolphins were a mess at the end of the season with the Incognito and Jonathan Martin scandal and now they are looking to reshape the offensive line, as they are likely losing both players and others to free agency. The team needs an overhaul anyway and the line is the first part of it and adding to the offense is another priority for a team that scored just seven points over the final two games of the season as they were trying to make the playoffs.
