Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: What's the One Move the Team Should Make?

Part 2 of the Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag for the final weekend of June:

From Charles Boyd:

Alain, if you were the GM, what is the one thing you would do before the season starts to make this team better?

Hey Charles, what would make the team better is finding a way to make things work with Jalen Ramsey, first and foremost. There’s not one player on the market they can get who could make the difference Ramsey can. Then I’d take care of signing Zach Sieler to an extension and working something out (reasonably) with Jonnu Smith.

From Robert Sniadach:

Your opinion of 2025 status of Jets, Bills, Patriots?

Hey Robert, this is easy: The Bills are the Bills, they’re stacked, and their roster looks better than last year. The Patriots look to me like a team that could make a run at a playoff spot this year. Their roster is much improved, Drake Maye looks legit at QB, and Mike Vrabel is a great coach. The Jets will be pesky and I think Aaron Glenn will become a good head coach, but they just don’t have enough to mount a serious playoff push.

From Jorge Fernandez:

In your opinion, what is best corner options for our Fins? Is Hilton too old? Is Rasul a good scheme fit?

Hey Jorge, the best corner option for the Fins on the market is Asante Samuel Jr. if his health checks out. But that’s a big if considering the reports he had offseason neck surgery. Mike Hilton still can play, but he’s a slot corner, which means adding him moves Kader Kohou to the outside and I prefer him inside. Rasul Douglas is a perfect scheme fit (Dolphins play a lot of zone coverage), but he didn’t have a good year with the Bills in 2024.

From Steven Geller:

Is the media aware of what happened between Mike McDaniel and Jalen Ramsey and, if so, why isn't it being reported?

Hey Steven, if the media had the details about exactly what’s going on between McDaniel and Ramsey, somebody would have written about it by now. All we have to go by are the clues that have been dropped and Chris Grier’s acknowledgement that the Dolphins would be looking to trade him.

From Luis Rodriguez:

Hi Alain, do you think there is a correlation between Goodell’s public pooping of void years and the way Fins conducted business this offseason? Maybe they’re getting ahead of the possible banning of void years?

Hey Luis, there could be something to that, but I also think the Dolphins don’t want to get burdened by financial obligations for players no longer on the roster anymore. The void years also usually accompany large multi-year contracts, and the Dolphins haven’t given those out this year.

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

I would like to explore the idea of Jalen Ramsey returning back to the Dolphins in 2025. Tyreek has come out and said he’s trying to convince him to stay here and as outlandish as that seems I wouldn’t rule it out. I wouldn’t rule it out because of Ramsey’s mercenary nature and it’s very possible the team that Jalen Ramsey could make the most money on in 2025 is the Miami Dolphins. I wouldn’t rule it out because Mike McDaniel nature is to be forgiving and look for the best in any given situation. Suspend the belief that it’s not possible for one second. if Ramsey were to come to the Dolphins and say, “I’ve changed my mind. I wanna play for you.” Should the Dolphins even consider it or is the risk of him being a locker room distraction, faking an injury or being a nuisance, too great to even entertain the idea what say you, Alain Poupart?

Hey Dana, first off, unless somebody redoes Ramsey’s contract he’s getting the same amount of money whether he plays for the Dolphins or any team. So that’s not a factor. And if Ramsey were to tell the Dolphins he does want to play for them, I absolutely would take him at his work and welcome him back because the 2025 team isn’t better without Ramsey on it.

From Ben Reiss:

If Miami agrees to pay a portion of Ramsey's contract in a trade, does that reduce the cap savings by whatever amount Miami pays?

Hey Ben, that is correct, which would be another reason they have been, are, will be or should be reluctant to pay some of his compensation for 2025.

From Let Joe Cook:

Jalin Conyers. Future starter or future star? What are you seeing and what are the coaches saying?

Hey Joe, I’ll start with what the coaches are saying, which is nothing in the offseason because nobody in the media specifically asked about him. We were allowed to watch four practices in the offseason (two OTAs and two minicamp practices), so it was difficult for anybody to make a lasting impression. I will tell you that my initial impression is he looks the part of a receiving tight end and moves well, but it’s way too small a sample size to make predictions and suggests he can beat the odds and go from UDFA to starter, let alone star.

From Olive Grove Jon:

Hey Alain, do you think we’ll ever see the return of the Power FB and who was your favorite Dolphins power back not named Csonka?

Hey OGJ, if by “return of the power fullback,” you mean somebody who’ll get a good number of carries at the position and not be mostly a blocker, no, I believe that ship has sailed. As for my favorite of that type of player not named Csonka, it would be Mike Alstott but he didn’t play for the Dolphins. For a Miami player, the first name that popped into my head (maybe because I’m old) was Don Nottingham, who was a bowling ball type of runner from the mid-1970s.

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