Dolphins 2023 Free Agency Tracker: Gaskin, Swain Return

DOLPHINS GO LONG AT LINEBACKER

After picking up Mike White to serve as backup quarterback, the Dolphins landed their first defensive newcomer — Tennessee Titans linebacker David Long Jr.

The numbers reported for Long's contract were two years for $11 million, a move that drew a lot of praise from the national media.

Long joins the Dolphins after spending four seasons with Tennessee, which selected him in the sixth round of the 2019 draft with a pick it obtained from Miami in the trade that sent quarterback Ryan Tannehill to the Titans.

Long is versatile linebacker who's very good in coverage, as evidenced by the fact his opponent passer rating when targeted in 2021 was the best among all NFL linebackers at 61.0, per Pro Football Reference. Long was seventh among NFL linebackers in that category last year at 74.1.

The one issue with Long, and likely the reason he didn't cost more, is hamstring issues that caused him to miss 12 games over the past two seasons. 

Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel referenced Long when he talked about Tennessee's injury issues in 2022.

We look at soft-tissue injuries,” Vrabel said. “We look at those soft-tissue injuries of repeat offenders. It doesn’t take too hard to look and see Kristian Fulton and David Long, (that) they were repeat offenders in soft-tissue injuries.

“They have to figure out a way to train and act like … this game is played at high speed. Kevin Byard hasn’t pulled a hamstring since we’ve been here. There’s a durability factor to playing professional football that we should not overlook. That’s real. There’s guys that are durable and there’s guys that aren’t.”

MIKE WHITE GETS HIS WISH, DOLPHINS GET THEIR BACKUP QB

The Miami Dolphins didn't wait very long to get their new backup quarterback for Tua Tagovailoa.

The team has reached agreement with former New York Jets backup Mike White on a two-year deal that could be worth up to $16 million, according to multiple reports.

White, a native of Pembroke Pines, Florida — not far from Hard Rock Stadium — played for the New York Jets the past two seasons, appearing in eight games with seven starts. His stats weren't particularly impressive, with a 2-5 record as a starter and eight touchdowns against 12 interceptions.

White replaced an ineffective Zach Wilson midway through last season and had a memorable first start, throwing three touchdown passes in a 31-10 victory against the Chicago Bears that got the Jets to 7-4 on the season.

But the Jets closed out with six straight losses to end up 7-10 and White struggled badly in his final three starts — between dealing with rib injuries — when he completed only 55 percent of his passes with no touchdowns, four interceptions and a passer rating of 61.5 over that stretch.

White initially entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 but never played a game for them before joining the Jets.

During an appearance on the Joe Rose Radio Show last month, White said he was hoping to re-sign with the Jets, but also made clear a homecoming would be nice as well.

“Oh, hundred percent,” White said. "Selfishly, from a personal standpoint, obviously growing up down there, I’d love to go home. But from a football standpoint, it’s a very talented offense, really good, young group of guys. You can tell they’re starting to build something special down there. I would love to be a part of it.”

MIKE GESICKI LOOKING FOR SOME STABILITY

The most prominent pending Dolphins free agent likely is headed for yet another coach, quarterback and offensive system, but Mike Gesicki is hoping that's going to be it for a while.

Appearing with former Patriots QB Matt Cassel on a podcast for the 33rd Team, Gesicki pointed out that during his five years with the Dolphins he had three head coach, six OCs and nine starting quarterbacks, with the clear implication being that he wouldn't mind going somewhere with a more stable situation.

"I mean, there's been so many different moving parts," Gesicki saiid. "And then, for me, it's just like, nobody cares who's out there. You gotta go out and make plays, and help these guys out. So that's kind of always been my thing and it's kind of something that I kind of hold my hat on and hoping that people around the league kind of understand that if I can get into a system that is consistent in terms of the coordinator, because I've learned a new offense (almost every year) I've been in the league. So if I can get into a system that that is consistent with the system and then playing with a quarterback that's consistent as well ... the best example the last four years would be Travis Kelce and Pat Mahomes, him getting in there and just the continuity. But then, like I said, nobody cares who's in. When Pat goes down and Chad Henne comes in, Travis still does the same thing. You still have to take it all into account, but at the same time you still gotta go out there and make plays."

MIKE McGLINCHEY WATCH

Could there be another San Francisco 49ers player headed to Miami?

Offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey, who's set to become a free agent Wednesday, said in a recent radio interview he would expect to find a new team pretty quickly once the free agent market opens — and it's easy to connect the dots to Miami.

A former first-round pick, McGlinchey played his first four NFL seasons with Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel either as his run game coordinator or offensive coordinator. And McGlinchey has spent the past four seasons at right tackle, which is a question mark for the Dolphins after they used three different starters (Austin Jackson, Brandon Shell, Greg Little) in 2022.

"We got a lot of intel coming off of the week at the combine and all that stuff, what's going on and what we can expect to happen," McGlinchey said on KNBR's Papa & Lund show, per 49ers Web Zone. "I think once Monday hits, I'll probably have a pretty quick deal and a pretty quick decision to make and, hopefully, be signed by the first day of free agency."

Of course, the Dolphins would have to find a way to make it work under the cap, so this is no gimme. And then there's the issue of other McGlinchey suitors, starting with the Tennessee Titans, who have a big need on the offensive line and whose new GM Ran Carthon was just hired away from the 49ers.

And then new Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans, like McDaniel, is a former 49ers assistant coach with much familiarity with McGlinchey and the Texans have needs practically everywhere on the offensive line except left tackle, occupied by former Dolphins first-round pick Laremy Tunsil.

WILSON HOPING TO RETURN

We've written a few times since the end of the 2022 season not to be shocked about the possibility of the Dolphins re-signing their pending running back free agents, and that includes Jeff Wilson Jr.

Acquired in a mid-season trade with the San Francisco 49ers, Wilson made it clear during an appearance on South Florida TV station WSVN's Sports Xtra that he's very much interested in re-signing with the Dolphins.

He also suggested that there is mutual interest in making it happen, which would make sense in many ways, starting with the idea that the Dolphins gave up a fifth-round pick to acquire his services.

Wilson also provides some physicality at the position, bringing a nice complement to the speed of Raheem Mostert, who's also a free agent and whose long history with Mike McDaniel (and mutual admiration) makes it a more than 50-50 proposition that he'll be re-signed.

WHY KENDRICKS DOESN'T FIT

Because that's just the way it works, every time a big-name player hits the free agent market, the idea of the Dolphins signing that player is going to come up.

In the case of former All-Pro Eric Kendricks, released by the Minnesota Vikings on Monday, we can skip over that conversation, even though the Dolphins absolutely are in the market for an off-the-ball linebacker.

Kendricks is an eight-year starter in the NFL who just turned only 31 and has a lot of good football left in him, but his release wasn't strictly about financial considerations — cutting him cleared up $9.5 million of cap space.

Another issue for Kendricks was that his performance dropped a bit last season after the arrival of defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, who installed a 3-4 scheme after the Vikings had used a 4-3. New DC Brian Flores also uses a 3-4 scheme predominantly, making Kendricks less than an ideal fit.

Kendricks figures to join a team that uses a 4-3, where he can line up at middle linebacker, which would eliminate the Dolphins, considering they'll be using a predominantly 3-4 alignment under new DC Vic Fangio.

WHITE WISHING FOR HOMECOMING

NFL rules prohibit teams from commenting on pending free agents while they remain under contract to another team, but the rule doesn't prevent players from expressing their wishes.

And so it was that quarterback Mike White made it very clear Friday that he would love nothing more than to sign with the Miami Dolphins if his first choice — re-signing with the New York Jets — falls through.

“Oh, hundred percent,” White said on the Joe Rose Radio Show. "Selfishly, from a personal standpoint, obviously growing up down there, I’d love to go home. But from a football standpoint, it’s a very talented offense, really good, young group of guys. You can tell they’re starting to build something special down there. I would love to be a part of it.”

It makes sense from White's standpoint since he's from South Florida.

The Dolphins also will need a new backup quarterback in 2023 because veteran Teddy Bridgewater had too many durability issues last season and those forced Miami to go into their first playoff game since 2016 with rookie seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson as the starter.

Where it doesn't make sense for the Dolphins is that White is kind of similar to Thompson is that he doesn't have all that much NFL game experience and Thompson certainly did enough in 2022 to merit getting another shot.

In simple terms, if the Dolphins are in the market for a true No. 2 quarterback, then White doesn't really merit that kind of consideration much more than Thompson would.

Besides, Jets head coach Robert Saleh said this week that he expected White to be back with the team in 2023.

White got off to a good start after taking over for Zach Wilson last season, but his play slipped and he also dealt with rib injuries.

White isn't the only South Florida quarterback who's a pending free agent because the case also applies to Geno Smith. But the reality is the likelihood of either joining the Dolphins is tiny, if not microscopic.

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