Dolphins’ Grier addresses Wilkins, Hunt, Williams, Howard, other issues. And eight signed

The Dolphins enter the offseason $40 million over the salary cap but general manager Chris Grier indicated Monday that he’s not the least bit worried.

According to the overthecap.com, the Dolphins can emerge with well over $33 million in cap space with restructures and cuts.

”We’re not really concerned where we will be in March cap wise,” Grier said two days after Miami’s season ended with a 26-7 wild card playoff loss at Kansas City. “We’ll try to keep as many of the players as we can.”

Grier said he will speak to owner Stephen Ross about the matter. If the Dolphins retain their current players and their top free agents, they would have one of the five highest payrolls in football, if not the highest.

The team’s top free agents are defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, center Connor Williams and guard Robert Hunt. Asked if Wilkins and Williams will be priorities, Grier declined to answer but praised both.

With Wilkins, “we had a great conversation today. He bet on himself after a summer of negotiations. We made one offer [last offseason that] we thought was fair. We couldn’t close that gap at the end. He bet on himself. Very happy for him. He earned the right to be a free agent. We drafted him and developed him.”

Grier quibbled with the notion that the Dolphins’ offensive line play declined after Williams’ season-ending ACL injury in December.

“We ran the ball, did some good things” after Williams’ injury, Grier said. But Grier said that “Connor was playing some good football. He’s been great, communicating with Mike. We will stay in touch and see what happens.”

As for Hunt, Grier said, “I’m happy for Rob he got back at the end of the year for us [after missing seven games with a hamstring injury]... Rob has earned the right to be a free agent; we had a conversation with him during the season [about an extension]. We’ll see what happens. We would like him to be here.”

Grier addressed other non-quarterback issues:

▪ Asked if the Dolphins will keep their first round pick, Grier said: “I can’t promise anything. We’ll see. If there’s an opportunity to help our roster that makes sense [in a trade], we are always open to listening.”

Going into Monday’s playoff games, the Dolphins were projected to pick in the low 20s.

▪ Xavien Howard, who has no guaranteed money remaining on the last three years of his contract, scoffed a bit when asked by a reporter if he would be willing to take a pay cut.

Asked if Howard is expected back next season, Grier wouldn’t say. “He has been a good player here for a long time. Right now, we are going through [meetings] with every player on the roster.”

▪ Though the Dolphins were riddled with injuries, Grier said don’t blame the strength and conditioning staff: “We feel very strong our group is among the best in the NFL. It was our year to have injuries. It’s part of football.”

▪ Grier, on why the Dolphins struggled against good teams: “I don’t know. We played some good teams. Majority of games were fairly close late in the games. For various reasons, we weren’t able to win it. That’s what the offseason is for,... to look at things [to improve].”

McDANIEL WEIGHS IN

▪ Asked if defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will return in 2024, coach Mike McDaniel didn’t give a direct answer, saying: “We’re still grieving through the process as a coaching staff” after Saturday’s loss.

▪ Asked if he would consider giving up play-calling duties, McDaniel said: “Nothing is off the table ever. To just say that’s the way we’ve done it, that’s not a good enough reason for me. We failed to reach our goals this season so that play-calling wouldn’t live outside that.”

▪ McDaniel will analyze why the team went 1-6 against playoff teams: “You have to look at where we had successes and where we had failures. We didn’t get results we wanted. Everything has to be really evaluated.”

▪ Why didn’t the Dolphins throw deep more against Kansas City?

“The type of defense they were playing with aggressive re-routes, that’s what it was orchestrated to take away,” McDaniel said. “I didn’t really think of it in that lens. I wish we would have gotten more opportunities. We did have some stuff down the field appropriate for the defense we were expecting. It makes it extremely difficult when you’re [1 for 12] on third down.”

NEWS NOTE

The Dolphins signed these players to reserve/future contracts: linebacker Quinton Bell, cornerback Ethan Bonner, tight end Tanner Conner, tackle Ryan Hayes, offensive lineman Chasen Hines, defensive tackle Brandon Pili, wide receiver Braylon Sanders and wide receiver Anthony Schwartz.