Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Jonah, Tua, QB Competition, and More

Part 2 of the free agency opening Miami Dolphins On SI weekend mailbag:

From marc rainford:

Alain, your thoughts and, if you know, the coaches’ thoughts on moving Jonah back to his college comfortable RG position?

Hey Marc, Jeff Hafley hasn’t been asked that specific question yet because there have been more pressing matters, but I’m sure it’ll come up at some point. I’m for everything that gives Jonah the best possible chance to take that big step in his second season.

From Chris Shields:

Trying to stay optimistic about Willis but I was drinking the Kool-Aid all offseason from Sully and Hafley about competition at every spot, including QB. How much of a true competition do you see QB being? I hope Ewers gets a legit shot and they still draft a QB.

Hey Chris, if you know me, you know I’ve always warned fans not to take everything said verbatim because coaches and players often say what they need to say rather than what they’d like to say. No, I don’t foresee any kind of QB competition because the contract makes it very clear that Malik Willis is their guy for at least the next two years — unless he’s so unbelievably bad in 2026 that there’s no justification for having him be the QB again in ’27, and I don’t foresee that happening.

From Sandro Van Lizard:

Who wins a playoff game first: Tua or the Dolphins?

Man, that’s an interesting question. Atlanta barely missed the playoffs last year (really should have been in), so they’re closer than the Dolphins, but nothing I saw over the past two seasons says to me that Tua is the starting quarterback in a winning playoff game anytime soon. So I’ll go Dolphins.

From Harry:

The amount of FA signs.....this supports competition at every position view. What have you liked and disliked so far with new regime? Willis signing my favorite as contract $ friendly. Dislike lack of trades for picks (demand must not be there).

Hey Harry, what I have liked about Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley is they clearly have a plan and are putting it into place. I like the Willis contract the most because it’s taking a shot at solving the biggest issue with a commitment (financial and length) that’s not outrageous. As for the lack of trades, there’s got to be value for the Dolphins because it shouldn’t be about simply accumulating draft picks. You also need goo players.

From James:

Do you think the draft should be before free agency or do you like it the way it is?

Hey James, I have zero issue with the NFL calendar the way it is.

From cliff seltzer:

Alain, point to explore/raise for the Willis deal haters (eg., Omar) because he only got his deal off of 35 passes. How many pro passes has Fernando made have or any top 5 QB drafted...those guys get $30MM-$35MM guaranteed. Little risk w/signing Willis, if Avg/Bad draft QB in '27...geez

Hey Cliff, that is an exactly point you made there. Maybe the argument instead for skeptics would be why he’s only thrown 155 passes in four NFL seasons but that was because he still was too raw in Tennessee and got stuck behind Jordan Love in Green Bay. Look, nobody should suggest he’s a slam dunk to become a high-end starting quarterback, but dismissing the possibility based on the low sample size also is foolish.

From Dave Shelley:

Wondering if you know the status of Christian Wilkins at this time. Could he be signed, if healthy, for a one-year veteran minimum contract? Is there a risk there for that? Just curious. Thanks!

Hey Dave, Wilkins has disappeared from the scene since that whole fiasco with the Raiders and his grievance over them trying to nullify some guaranteed money. While it would be intriguing to bring him back on a low-money deal, there are issues to settle, starting with the condition of his injured foot and then whether he’d have any interest in playing for a rebuilding team — at a bargain rate, no less. I’d say the odds of everything working out and Wilkins coming back would be really, really, really low.

From writerbq:

My question is about backups and the idea of being able to play the same system when (not if) #1 goes down. We saw Baltimore do it for a few years successfully with Lamar/Snoop. Even after signing Willis, I want to trade for either Anthony Richardson or Justin Fields (I actually think Fields is the most promising still of the 3, and if all we got was a 7th for Minkah, I can’t understand for the life of me why we didn’t ask for Fields too…) Do you like the idea of either of them?

They’re two intriguing options, to be sure. I’m not a big of Fields because I think he’s very limited as a passer and not sure what the ceiling is there. Richardson is somebody I found intriguing because of his unique physical traits, but not sure the Dolphins can go there considering his cap number will be $5.4 million once you factor his roster bonus early in training camp (per Spotrac).

From Salpen1973:

Every morning I hear Miami is signing this guy or that guy. We had no money. How is this possible? Has to be about 20 new guys now.

The reason is that only the top 51 cap numbers count against the overall limit of $301.2 million. So the Dolphins could sign as many players as they want to contracts with a cap number lower than that top 51.

From Ed Helinski:

Do you get the sense that teams, for the most part, might be a bit more careful and hesitant this year with doling out stupid money?

Hey Ed, I would think that Tua — yes, I’m going to mention his name — would serve as a cautionary tale that there’s no rule that says you have to give your starting quarterback a top-dollar deal because another team did it. There still will be some big money thrown around, but I absolutely do think there will be more caution.

From Mark Malbeck:

Hey Alain, except for Willis the other signings appear to be backups. Do you see anyone that may actually provide an impact? Our backups have been weak for years, so I’m good with these improvements.

Hey Mark, I do think there are potential starters out there along with Willis, like maybe Jamaree Salyer, maybe Jalen Tolbert, maybe Josh Uche, maybe one of the cornerbacks, and there will be major special teams contributors, but yes it’s mostly supporting role players.