Jun
26
Not too many teams have had an offseason as successful as the Miami Dolphins.
I’m not just talking about in 2015, I’m talking about all time.
On offense the Dolphins have been especially successful this offseason, using free agency and the draft to address almost every position of need on that side of the ball.
All except for one: guard.
For this reason, Miami must sign Evan Mathis.
This is not something that should happen. This is not an it would be nice type of situation. This is a must do.
Signing Mathis, who spent the last four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, would launch Miami’s offense into the stratosphere by providing top-notch pass protection from the guard slot while also improving their run blocking.
Mathis would be the third Pro Bowl player to be added to Miami’s offensive line.
It would also be a homecoming, as Mathis was originally with Miami in 2008 before being released. He didn’t fit Miami’s blocking scheme back then, but he is an automatic fit in their blocking scheme now.
He also has experience working with Miami’s offensive coordinator Bill Lazor from Lazor‘s 2013 season in Philadelphia.
Of course, while those are all good reasons to sign Mathis, they are far from the most important reasons to do so.
He would be a major upgrade, and this one is easy to quantify.
Rob Carr/Getty Images
Mathis played at left guard most of his time in Philly, but he could play right guard as well if he has to. Either way, he’d be an upgrade as in 2014 (primarily as a left guard), he was graded out at 25.8 overall via Pro Football Focus.
In pass blocking he graded out at 7.5, while in run blocking he graded out at 17.3.
Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
The other potential left guards on Miami’s roster include Dallas Thomas, Jamil Douglas, Jeff Linkenbach and Billy Turner. One of those players will get one of the guard positions, but why trust a journeyman, a rookie, a second year player and a player who looked atrocious in 2014 to man both guard positions.
Mathis also gives the rookie Douglas a year or two to develop, which should be better for him in the long run.
The only issue surrounding the signing of Mathis is money. Mathis and the Eagles parted ways due to the fact that Mathis wanted a raise above his $6.5 million the Eagles had guaranteed him in 2015.
The Dolphins have already spent the GDP of many small nations in 2015 to revamp the team. Could they afford Mathis?
It depends on the deal. Signing Mathis would mean signing him to a multi-year deal, but doing that, at least this season, means spending money they’d rather roll over into next season, as Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel told Joe Rose on The Joe Rose Show on AM station 560 WQAM in Miami earlier this week:
“The issue is the Dolphins don’t want to necessarily pay or use up the $9.5 million in cap space that they have because they’re gonna have to carry that over to next year to have some sort of cap flexibility and relief because they’ve spent a ridiculous amount of money this year.”
The sentiment to roll that money over is a fine one, however, Miami could always sign Mathis to a deal with a low base salary but a big bonus in 2015, thus lowering his cap hit for this season and allowing the Dolphins some money to roll over to next season.
Either way, Miami can afford to sign Evan Mathis if they truly want to.
What they can’t afford to do is let go of this opportunity, not with a team that seems this close, save for holes in the offensive line that can be fixed by Mathis’ very presence.
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