Mathis: No Longer An Option
The dream of signing Evan Mathis has finally ended, because the Denver Broncos just signed him to a $2.5 million deal with the possibility to earn another $4 million in incentives. Most football minds would say that is a lot of money to give a 33 year old Guard. However, he is considered by many to be one of the best Guards in the entire league – and surely, the best available. The mind boggling thing about this is, the contract parameters are exactly the range Miami would have been able to afford.
For Mathis and the Broncos it’s perfect for all sides; he can earn more than his original $5.5 million dollar deal with the Eagles, and the Broncos get a former Pro Bowl player that is going to be trying extra hard so he can reach his $4 million in incentives. Miami’s front office has done a lot of masterful signings this off-season, but this is one signing that they really should have made.
Sure the argument can be made that the Dolphins are pretty tapped out in regards to the salary cap and any savings that they have this year can be used for next season. Also, some of the best sportsbooks in the world are saying that they have 3 young Guards on the roster, and the only way the organization can see if they are worthy is by letting them play. With the Dolphins passing on Mathis, the organization is saying they have faith in their young Guards ( Douglas, Thomas and Turner) and are willing to start the season with them – maybe even rest the fate of the season on them!
I can understand those arguments, but at the same time this season is playoff or bust. Every little advantage counts, especially having adequate offensive line play. The offensive line is the foundation of the entire offense and if the Guards can not hold their own, then this is a domino effect that can cause the passing and running game to suffer.
I would have loved to have signed Mathis, but now I guess we will have to live with our current Guards and hope that they can quickly develop into solid players this season. What does the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans think about the Dolphins decision to not sign Mathis?
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I honestly don’t believe Mathis was interested in signing with Miami again. He signed with Denver because he thinks they have a better chance for a ring. we certainly could have used him but he may have turned out to be another high priced flop. I will bow to our front office and their decision to back off.
I am so tired of excuses why we are not contenders and cannot even make the playoffs
The decision to not sign Mathis rests squarely on the coach: Philbin, and not the front office.
It is Philbin who said he did not think we needed Mathis. It is Philbin who did not want to fight to go get Mathis
So if we do not make the playoffs or if Tannehill gets hurt because one of the guards gets beat for a sack, we need to remember who is to blame
We have one of the strongest rosters we have had in quite a few years, but our offensive line is suspect and let’s face it, if our offensive line is weak, then our offense will suffer.
We had an opportunity to end the gamble and sign a pro bowl guard maybe the best in the game and we passed.
We certainly cannot buy into that fallacy about saving the cap space for next year.
Always worried about the future and not the present.
In college all freshmen learn that you take care of the present first, concentrate on the job you have now, and let the future work itself out.
The CAP will be just fine next year
We will be loosing at least one or two veterans
(The NFL average is around 2.2) to retirement or injuries or being cut because we brought in a younger, cheaper, just as good, or better player to replace that veteran
We are no different and unlike this year in the 2016 draft we have 10 picks instead of 7
So we will be able to replace some players that are too expensive, or older players, so we will have more Cap space as a matter of fact there will be lots of cap room left over again next year, plus the cap goes up next year anyway
Our compensatory picks should be third rounders for the 3 players we lost to free agency and having 4 third rounders should allow us to trade up and get some impact starters
So we sacrificed signing Mathis for no reason other than Philbin not wanting him, and that my friends is my take on Mathis issue.
I love the Dolphins too much and I am just sick of this coach making the wrong decisions or no decisions all the time – lets get someone with more energy who can make bold decisions
If we make the playoffs I bet that it will not be because of our OL playing better than the opposition’s defense
Bad decision to not sign Mathis to a similar contract to the one he signed. He wanted to sign with the Dolphins but the Dolphins offer of 2 million a year with no incentives was not a serious offer