A Dolphins extension vs. trade decision. And network analysts on how Miami now stacks up

A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Tuesday:

▪ The possibility of giving a contract extension to a few players with expiring contracts is on the Dolphins’ radar.

But here’s the fundamental question Miami must navigate as next Tuesday’s Halloween trade deadline approaches:

Should the Dolphins save their very limited cap space ($3.3 million) for a potential trade? Or should they use it on a team-friendly contract extension? More space could be created, as the Dolphins did when they restructured kicker Jason Sanders’ contract last week, but creating a lot of space this season isn’t feasible.

On the contract extension front, the Dolphins already have said that talks with Christian Wilkins (a potential March free agent) have been tabled until after the season, and they won’t discuss a longterm contract with Tua Tagovailoa (who’s under contract for 2024) until after the season.

But there are several other key Dolphins who stand to be free agents in March: offensive linemen Robert Hunt, Connor Williams, Isaiah Wynn and Austin Jackson; safety DeShon Elliott and edge player Andrew Van Ginkel, among other.

Keep an eye on Van Ginkel. The affable and normally forthcoming Van Ginkel - when asked if the Dolphins have conveyed an interest in extending his contract - said: “I’m not going to comment on that right now.” His agent also declined to discuss where things stand.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is a big fan of Van Ginkel, so any attempt to extend him would not be a surprise; he has 31 tackles, four sacks and a fumble recovery and has played 68 percent of the defensive snaps.

Also keep an eye on Hunt, whether something happens in the weeks to come or after the season. PFF ranks him the sixth best guard in football this season, and he’s undoubtedly a long-term keeper.

Asked if there has been any talk of a possible contract extension, Hunt said: “I’ll let them do their thing. Near future maybe. The stove is not hot.”

Hunt said an extension is not on his mind. “I just want to win games; the rest will take care of itself.”

Keep this in mind: With regard to how a modest extension --- or a good, but not very, very pricey extension -- would affect the Dolphins’ tight 2023 cap situation:

If the Dolphins, hypothetically, extended an impending free agent with a two-year extension and gave that player an $8 million signing bonus, that $8 million signing bonus would be prorated with cap hits of $2.667 million the 2023, 2024 and 2025 caps.

So extensions could affect the Dolphins’ cap this season.

The Dolphins could use defensive help at the trade deadline, but expecting them to acquire a high-priced veteran front seven player seems unrealistic, with Miami already $23 million over next season’s cap.

▪ Not only is Hunt rated the 11th best run blocking guard in football (per Pro Football Focus), but he has allowed only three pressures and no sacks in 258 pass blocking snaps. That’s the fewest pressures and sacks of any guard who has played that much.

“I’m aging like fine wine,” Hunt cracked. “The older I get, the faster I can play. You can play fast in this system.”

▪ Couple things about the offense from PFF from Sunday’s game: Left tackle Kendall Lamm allowed three pressures and a sack… PFF’s five highest-graded players on offense: receiver Jaylen Waddle, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Hunt, receiver Tyreek Hill and running back Raheem Mostert… Tight end Julian Hill and fill-in left guard Lester Cotton were given the lowest grades.

▪ Couple things about the defense from Sunday’s game: PFF’s five highest-graded players on defense: cornerback Parry Nickerson, linebacker David Long Jr., Van Ginkel, linebacker Jaelan Phillips and safety Elliott… PFF gave its lowest grades to defensive linemen Wilkins and Zach Sieler… Long was once again rated Miami’s best run defender Sunday, and by a wide margin. Van Ginkel was second.

▪ Some national TV reaction to Sunday’s Eagles win against the Dolphins: ESPN’s Rex Ryan said what this proves is that “physical teams always beat finesse teams. Every day of the week. Were you really surprised by this? I wasn’t.

“I was more encouraged by Miami than what I thought I would be. I thought they would have their doors blown off quite honestly. Miami’s defense showed up without those two good corners [Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard]. We’ve got to question Miami because opponents are 8-25, the teams they beat. But I was more encouraged by Miami’s defense than anytime this season”...

ESPN’s Ryan Clark: “When you beat the Bills and get your doors blown off.. And then] Philadelphia..absolutely controlled the line of scrimmage. And when you do that, you make Tua Tagovailoa play with an eye patch on. And what I mean by that is now the play action doesn’t move the defense like it does when the run gets going. We know this is a good football team. But how good is it? Can they compete with the elite of the AFC and NFC?”...

ESPN’s Dan Orlovksy: “Mike McDaniel is going to have to adjust here. Against Buffalo and Philly, the motions didn’t impact the defense as much as he wanted to. He didn’t get easy or free chunk plays. When they weren’t able to do that on offense, it led to a bunch of third and longs. That’s not how any offense wants to play. I want to see how Mike McDaniel progresses as a coach when defenses play to that style.”

▪ Quick stuff: The Dolphins lead the league with 54 quarterback hits, according to the team…

Tagovailoa’s touchdown pass to Hill gave him 67 in his career, moving past Jay Fiedler for fourth on the team’s all-time list. The top three: Dan Marino (420), Bob Griese (192) and Ryan Tannehill (123)....

Hill has 902 receiving yards this season and is the fourth player in NFL history and first in 62 years to record at least 900 receiving yards in his team’s first seven games of a season.