Dolphins Sunday Mailbag: Warren, Wilson, Sieler, and More

Part 2 of the Miami Dolphins On SI pre-minicamp weekend mailbag:

From Rute:

Do you think we would have drafted Warren at 12 had we known this Jonnu situation was going to happen?

Nope. The plan always was to get bigger and better in the trenches. Besides, you don’t actually think this situation with Jonnu Smith just popped up in the past couple of weeks, right? Rest assured, the issue of his contract came up much earlier in the offseason.

From NYCFinFan4Life:

Knucklehead here. Given Tua’s injury history, do you feel we have the QB depth to stay competitive and to go one step further let's say he stays healthy over the years, do you believe that his successor is on the roster or will we inevitably find ourselves having to draft high again down the road?

Hey KH (for Knucklehead, right?), can I answer your question after I see Zach Wilson perform in a regular season game? That’s the reality of the situation because all the reports on Wilson from Denver were positive, but that was training camp and the preseason, and who knows how different he is than the guy who looked over his skis with the Jets. And that then becomes the answer to the second question because if Wilson indeed has been transformed and can take full advantage of his obvious physical talent, then he’d be good enough to become the future starter. But it’s an awfully big “if,” to be sure.

From Chris Bustin:

Hey, Alain. I love the Dolphins Collective and can’t get enough of it. I also get a kick out of living vicariously through TD whenever he goes off about Tua. Can you share how the show got started and how you got involved? Feel free to drop a link so folks can subscribe. Thanks!

Hey Chris, glad you’re enjoying the Dolphins Collective, though I hope you make sure to keep watching the All Dolphins Podcast. The Dolphins Collective is the brainchild of Hog Media CEO/Founder Borna Nazari, who decided to bring together four popular Dolphins podcasters (two of us journalists/podcasters), and I somehow made the cut. :-)

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

Ramsey has not been traded yet because his contract is toxic. The Dolphins have already eaten $4 million of his contract and teams still are asking for the Dolphins to eat more. That not to say that he’s a bum, but rather he has severely underperformed his contract. I saw your All Dolphins podcast with Dante where you discuss this in much nicer terms. You kinda discuss that it could take a long time to consummate this trade. Is there any way this standoff goes into the season or even all the way to the trade deadline?

Hey Dana, we don’t know for a fact that teams have asked the Dolphins to eat some of the money Ramsey is owed, though it’s a good guess and if they’re not doing that, then they’re offering the Dolphins less than Ramsey’s worth as a player because of that financial burden. As for the question, I don’t get the sense the Dolphins have any appetite to let it linger longer than they have to, so I’d think the start of training camp would be a good soft deadline.

From Mark Lever:

With everything going on, what is Miami’s cap space. With and without the Ramsey trade.

Hey Mark, the Dolphins currently have a little than $14 million in cap space, per Over The Cap, and that includes Ramsey’s $16.7 million cap hit. If the Dolphins trade Ramsey, his cap hit for 2025 would go to $10.8 million, per Spotrac, so add another $6 million of cap space — though the Dolphins then would have some $18.5 million of dead cap space in 2026.

From The_Finsider:

What do you think as far as Sieler and Jonnu getting and extension; do you think it’ll be both one or the other or maybe even neither?

As I wrote Friday, both players have outperformed their contract, and I have to believe the Dolphins will want to hang on to both players, though there will be back and forth in negotiations. I also think Sieler would be (and should be) the bigger priority of the two.

From Marco A. Briceño:

Would GM Poup sign two outside boundary corners or…?

Hey Marco, GM Poup would have had the opportunity to watch every single practice this offseason and last year and attend every team meeting or position group meeting and would have better information to tell me whether one or more of the young players can be trusted to handle a starting role in 2025. Based on what we’ve seen and been allowed to see, I have to think at least one veteran outside cornerback should be added to the position group once the Dolphins move on from Jalen Ramsey.

From Mike Jones:

I'm sure you are tired of the Ramsey questions, so apologies. 1) Is the rift truly with coach McDaniel and have there been ANY hints on what it centers on? 2) Omar tweeted that Miami coaches walk on eggshells around Ramsey. I just have a hard time believing Anthony Weaver does.

Hey Mike, there have been no direct reports or commentary indicating what the rift between Ramsey and McDaniel and/or others in the organization is about, simply rumblings about displeasure with where the organization is headed or maybe in the McDaniel approach. Ramsey is somebody who is not afraid to speak his mind and is a high-profile player, so there might be some concern about what I might do or say publicly, above and beyond the rotten orange post on Instagram on draft night. And I’m not sure how I would characterize it, but it’s organizational and not necessarily any particular coach who’d be worried about him.

From Daniel Grizz:

Why isn’t Grier held accountable for how poorly he constructs a roster and the cap?

Hey Daniel, let me just play devil’s advocate here and say that Steve Ross has been adamant about decisions being made collaboratively. With that in mind, is it fair to hold Grier accountable but not everybody else involved in the personnel decisions? But being that Grier has been GM since 2016 and there have been zero playoffs win in the nine seasons since, I get the frustration and understand the question.

From Bag of Donuts:

Who are the Dolphins going to sign at CB?

Hey BOD, yes. I still think (maybe) the Dolphins are going to sign a veteran cornerback, though there’s no need to rush anymore because nobody is going to sign now and come in and take part in the mandatory minicamp (unless it’s Aaron Rodgers). So I would expect somebody to sign before the start of training camp, and my guess still would be on Rasul Douglas or Asante Samuel Jr. (if his neck checks out).

From Ronin:

What is it that isn’t clicking for Cam Smith? Is it a lack of physicality? Is it mental?

Hey Ronin, based on comments from some of his assistant coaches, there was an issue of lack of professionalism as a rookie and then last year injuries were a problem and another assistant said he needed to work on his body. What I can tell you is that I saw clear ability during his rookie training camp and he simply hasn’t been able to put it together yet.

From Luis Rodriguez:

Hi Alain, do you think coaching is sometimes overvalued? Saw the Fins Collective (great show) trade a 1st for Tomlin. My thinking is that without a HOF QB and elite D, Tomlin has been no better than McD. Thoughts?

Hey Luis, right away, don’t you think Tomlin has been at least partly responsible for that “elite D”? And, no, I don’t think coaching is overvalued. And because of game plans and tone-setting, I think football coaches have a bigger influence on team success than their counterparts in other sports. But it’s not coincidence or the luck of having great players that some coaches always seem to succeed and others don’t.

From Al Hertz:

I know Ramsey is a good businessman and certainly is about the cash. Any chance the Dolphins are hoping to get him to eat some of the cash in addition to the Phins to facilitate a trade and get him where he wants to be?

Hey Al, there is nothing from Ramsey’s past to suggest that would be a realistic possibility, though there’s absolutely merit to the suggestion. Ultimately, it comes down to how badly does Ramsey want to leave, how badly do the Dolphins want to move on from him, and how badly does another team want to acquire him, and then all the give and take happens from there.

From Colin Crabb:

Hello Alain. Will the lack of a couple of top CBs on this team be the downfall of Grier and McDaniel as previously they prioritized the position. Thanks for all your great work with both podcasts.

Hey Colin, first off, thanks for the kind words on the All Dolphins Podcast and the Dolphins Collective. To answer your question, no, I don’t believe sub-par CB play would be the reason Grier/McDaniel wound up being let go if that’s how it played out.

From Thomas Hudson:

Hi Alain, as always, I appreciate what you do for the fans. I enjoyed your piece on the value in patience with the Ramsey talks. Since we are kind of in a slow time, a couple quick questions looking for short answers about what might happen with some players: Do you know when Ramsey's bonus is due? Seems like that will be a key date in this saga. Is there any chance Ramsey gets moved without Miami picking up a big chunk of his bonus? Lately, the Dolphins have extended players in July. And chance we see extensions for players like Brooks, Phillips, Smith, Sieler and Brewer in July? Do you think Jonnu Smith is more likely to be extended or traded? And how is that backup center looking? They carried him on the 53 all of last season. Is that going to end up looking like a wise move or something they did because they gave him guaranteed money? And last, I know I tend to the optimistic side of things, but am I crazy for thinking Miami could surprise some people? Even with all the bad things that happened last year, they were competitive for most of the season. And now this year, their toughest opponents are at home, where they play much better. This seems like a team that could win 11 games if they find a way to put a competent secondary on the field.

Hey Thomas, loads of questions, so answers will be in rapid-fire mode: Ramsey’s $19 million option bonus (guaranteed) is due by Week 1 of the 2025 season; there is a chance Ramsey gets moved without Miami having to pick up some of that bonus, but that likely would affect the trade return; yes, we might have some extensions in July, but it also could be August or even early September, and I put Sieler at the top of line of the group you mentioned; Jonnu is more likely to be extended than traded IMO; can’t give you an answer on Andrew Meyer until I see him in pads this summer, sorry; you’re not crazy for thinking the Dolphins could surprise some folks because they still have the potential to be explosive on offense and maybe they get a lot of positive answers on defense.

More Miami Dolphins Coverage: