Benito Back in Miami
The Miami Dolphins continued to beef up their defensive line Thursday, bringing back a player from a few years back and another from just last season.
In the span of a couple of hours, the Dolphins signed Benito Jones away from the Detroit Lions and re-signed unrestricted free agent Da'Shawn Hand.
Jones spent the past two seasons with the Lions after they claimed him off waivers from the Dolphins in 2022 after the cuts to 53 and became a starter for the first time in his career in 2023. He started 15 games for the NFC North champion Lions and recorded 26 tackles, one sack and six quarterback hits.
Jones originally joined the Dolphins as a rookie free agent out of Mississippi in 2020 and played six games as a rookie before spending the entire 2021 season on the team's practice squad.
The Dolphins were able to sign Jones after the Lions declined to make a qualifying offer to him as a restricted free agent. He returns to Miami a much more developed player than when he left and could make a real push to become a starter in 2024.
HAND RETURNS
Hand bucked the trend of Dolphins free agent tackles leaving when he agreed to re-sign after Christian Wilkins left for a huge contract with the Las Vegas Raiders and Raekwon Davis signed a two-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts.
Like Jones, Hand has enjoyed his most NFL success with Detroit, including starting eight games as a rookie fourth-round pick in 2018.
After signing as a free agent with the Dolphins last season, Hand appeared in 16 game and had 17 tackles, including one for a loss, but his playing time was limited.
With Wilkins and Zach Sieler gobbling up so many of the snaps up front — both played more than 80 percent of the defensive snaps — Hand wound up playing an average of about 12 snaps in his 16 games.
That clearly might not be the case in 2024 if Hand can stand out among the new group of defensive linemen.
THE DEPTH ON THE D-LINE
Jones and Hand became the fourth and fifth defensive linemen the Dolphins have signed in the past two weeks, following Isaiah Mack, Daviyon Nixon and Neville Gallimore.
As it stands right now — and understand the Dolphins very well might look to add another established veteran — those five along with 2023 rookie free agent Brandon Pili figure to be involved in a free-for-all for playing time and a major role alongside Sieler.
It also could end up that the Dolphins spread the playing time up front a lot more than they did last season.
However it shakes out, the Dolphins have given themselves more options up front.
