Mario Williams to Miami Dolphins, Miami Again Trying to Win the Offseason
By Jason Lisk
Mario Williams had a dreadful year in Buffalo, one that if you aren’t following the team on a daily basis kind of sneaks up on you. Five sacks and 15 tackles in 15 games is awful.
Miami didn’t make our list of top options for Williams, but here the Miami Dolphins are, reportedly to sign Mario Williams to a two-year deal. That kind of dropoff is not a good sign when it comes to pass rushers, so we’ll see just how much was Williams basically quitting versus declining.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins continue their pattern of making splashy, headline-grabbing moves in the offseason, something that has been a steady mark of the Stephen Ross era (for as much as that tag is put on Daniel Snyder, Ross has arguably passed him of late).
Yesterday, it was acquiring Byron Maxwell (who, like Williams, was awful last year) and Kiko Alonso as the Eagles jettisoned Chip Kelly acquisitions. And of course, they made the big splash last year by paying Ndamukong Suh big money as a free agent. Exactly one year ago today, the discussion was about “how the Miami Dolphins won free agency and sent a message to the rest of the AFC East.”
That message ended in a fourth-place finish, a new coach, and more veteran acquisitions. It worked for the Jets a year ago, but we’ve yet to see it work successfully in South Florida. The team has made one playoff appearance (2008, the year of Tom Brady’s injury) since 2002.