One big problem that contributed to the Miami Dolphins missing out on the postseason for the third consecutive year was an inability to stop the run. Over the final six weeks, the Dolphins surrendered the most rushing yards per game (165.3) in the NFL. Getting gashed on the ground to that degree would be like Michael Bay trying to be taken serious as an artist. It's not a recipe for success.
One way to fix this issue would be to go out and get arguably the league's best run stuffer in defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
Suh is scheduled to hit the open market after five remarkable seasons with the Detroit Lions. If he reaches free agency, he can be the type of difference maker on a defense that opposing coaches have to game plan for consistently. On the downside, it will take a mammoth contract offer to get Suh into a Dolphins uniform. They'd have to re-arrange a good portion of their financials if they were serious about going after him.
"A purge is needed if the salary cap-strapped Dolphins plan to create the necessary cap space to go big game hunting, because the team is presently $1.7 million under the projected salary cap," Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel wrote.
"But if the Dolphins do take the necessary steps to create cap space - unloading [wide receiver Mike] Wallace or Brian Hartline, cutting a starting defensive tackle or two, replacing Brandon Gibson, Philip Wheeler, Cortland Finnegan and Nate Garner, and restructuring existing deals - what will they be purging the roster for?
"Fortifying the defensive tackle spot is the team's top area of concern, considering Miami struggled to stop the run in the final six games of the season...A player like Suh could make everything better."
Admittedly, Suh to the Dolphins is a long shot. Yet not a single soul in NFL circles thought the New Orleans Saints could sign a player of Jairus Byrd's caliber last offseason. Yet they still managed to finagle that contract into their tight salary cap.
If Miami is serious about taking the next step as a team and escaping the .500 purgatory they've been trappd in over the last few years, adding Suh is one way to go about it.
