Eric Rowe Finds New Team
Veteran defensive back Eric Rowe became the seventh Miami Dolphins player to sign with another team this offseason when he agreed to terms with the Carolina Panthers on Thursday.
Rowe followed WR Trent Sherfield (Buffalo), TE Mike Gesicki (New England), OL Michael Deiter (Houston), DT John Jenkins (Las Vegas), LB Elandon Roberts (Pittsburgh) and P Thomas Morstead (N.Y. Jets).
ROWE'S DEPARTURE WAS EXPECTED
That Rowe wouldn't be back for the Dolphins in 2023 pretty much was sealed when the team signed veteran DeShon Elliott to add depth at safety and compete with 2020 third-round pick Brandon Jones for a starting job opposite Jevon Holland.
The Dolphins also have second-year player Verone McKinley III and Elijah Campbell who can play safety, and Keion Crossen is listed as a defensive back on the roster.
In reality, it wouldn't have been a shocker had the Dolphins moved on from Rowe last offseason considering the potential cap savings and the fact he had lost his starting job in the secondary to Jones.
Instead, Rowe played out the final year of the three-year contract extension he signed in December 2019 toward the end of his first season with the Dolphins.
ROWE'S TIME WITH THE DOLPHINS
As the Dolphins were doing their roster resetting or rebuilding or whatever you want to call it in the 2019 offseason after Brian Flores arrived as the new head coach, Rowe was one of only two unrestricted free agents the team signed that year along with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Rowe began his Dolphins tenure at cornerback but had his struggles until the decision was made to move him to safety, a move that really helped the Dolphins and the former second-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rowe ended up starting 15 of 16 games in that 2019 season and got that rare three-year extension (for a player who had signed a one-year deal just months earlier) Dec. 2, one day after the Dolphins defeated his former team.
The highlight of his time in Miami came in the 2019 season finale when he had a pick-six against Tom Brady and his other former team, the New England Patriots, in the Dolphins' shocking 27-24 victory at Gillette Stadium.
Rowe had two more interceptions in 2020, one to help Tua Tagovailoa get a win in his first NFL start against the Rams and the other against Patrick Mahomes in a December loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But Rowe started only four games in 2021 after Jones took over as starting safety and five more in 2022 after Jones was lost for the season with a torn ACL.
His snap count on defense decrease every year he was with the Dolphins, another indication his time in Miami was coming to an end. And now he gets a new start in Carolina under new head coach Frank Reich where he will rejoin former Dolphins teammates Kamu Grugier-Hill, Preston Williams and Larnel Coleman.
