Sunday Dolphins Mailbag: More Thoughts on Jonnu and Jalen

Second and final part of a Miami Dolphins On SI weekend mailbag:

From NYCFinFan4Life:

Numbskull here, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood...OK seriously, will Jalen be with a new team Monday and do you feel the roster, if healthy, has enough on both sides to make a playoff push?

Hey Numbskull, I’m not sure it’s going to be an immediate resolution to the Ramsey situation just because June has arrived. And that’s because of the sticky issue of Ramsey’s contract and the fact that teams almost assuredly will be asking the Dolphins to eat some of his salary and the Dolphins will be pushing back and that’s going to affect the compensation. So all those intertwined issues have to get settled to everyone’s satisfaction. As for the Dolphins roster, sure, they can make a playoff push, but their margin for error is just really small with all the question marks they have.

From Baldylocks:

Do Dolphins seem to have a plan to address the cornerback problem?

I’m going to give the Dolphins the benefit of the doubt here and assume they’ve got something in mind at the position and maybe just want to get the Jalen Ramsey situation resolved. Whether that answer is Asante Samuel Jr. (assuming his neck checks out), Rasul Douglas, Mike Hilton or somebody else, I’m not sure, but I have a hard time believing the Dolphins would be comfortable going into the season with their current group of cornerbacks minus Ramsey.

From Patricia Traina:

Realistically speaking, how much is Mike McDaniel on the hot seat this year if the Dolphins come up short in a playoff bid?

Hey Patricia, I’m on record as saying it’s not as simple as “no playoffs, McDaniel gone.” It clearly is going to depend on how the season plays out and why they miss the playoffs (in the event they do).

From Craig M:

Alain, if you were the Dolphins would you just give Jonah S a fully guaranteed contract to get things done? Normally I’m not big on paying players, but the Dolphins really need Jonah to hit this year and they don’t need the distraction. Is it really worth dragging their heels on this one just on principle? Also, top three favourite vacation destinations you’ve personally been to? Thanks for all you do!

Hey Craig, yeah, it’s a tricky deal with Jonah S. and I can tell you the Dolphins and 30 other teams hate the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns right now for setting the precedent with fully guaranteed rookie contracts for second-round picks. If the Dolphins cave here, that means they’ll have to do this with every second-round pick from here on out. On the flip side, Miami guaranteed 2024 second-round pick Patrick Paul about $4.2 million of his $6.9 million total package last year, per Over The Cap, so is it really a huge deal to go all the way here? Bottom line: Yeah, maybe it’s not a big leap to just go ahead and guarantee the full deal. As for favorite vacation spots, really tough to narrow it down to three, but I’ll mention Norway, Italy, Iceland and Maui.

From Mike:

Hi Alain, please help me here if I'm missing something. Grier and McDaniel paid malcontents/troublemakers huge raises last year when there was no need, but balk at adjusting the salary the team's only Pro Bowl player who happens to be underpaid? What gives?

Hey Mike, here’s the big question that’s still unanswered: Are the Dolphins refusing to give Jonnu a raise or refusing to give him the raise in the amount that he wants? That’s a big difference. The Dolphins absolutely should adjust his contract, but at the same time not have to write a blank check. And the Dolphins absolutely should have learned to be more cautious with what happened last year.

From TheFinsider:

Seeing how Jonnu might get traded, are there any free agent TEs that we could pick up and start this year?

First off, I wouldn’t automatically assume Jonnu is getting traded because it’s entirely impossible the Dolphins will adjust his contract enough to his liking that he remains on the roster. If he is moved, there really aren’t a lot of appealing options on the market, with the top names including Gerald Everett, Hayden Hurst and maybe C.J. Ozumah. There could be trade options, though, like Mark Andrews, Dallas Goedert and Michael Mayer if the Dolphins wanted to go that route. But the best option here remains working something out with Jonnu.

From James Brizuela:

Trading Jalen Ramsey is one thing, but potentially getting rid of Jonnu Smith is kinda nuts. Seriously, what the hell are the Dolphins doing?

Hey James, as has been mentioned several times before, the Dolphins don’t want to get rid of Jonnu. But he wants more money and to this point they don’t want to give him what he wants.

From Hondo Civic:

If Jonnu gets traded, do you think the offense could still produce like they did in 2023? And who would be the next man up in his TE position in the near future? I like Jalin Conyers, I actually can’t wait to see him play if he gets the chance.

The Dolphins didn’t have Jonnu Smith in 2023 when their offense really was explosive and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine figures to eat into some of Jonnu’s targets anyway, so I don’t see Jonnu as being a make-or-break player for the offense, as valuable as he may have been last season. As for who's next man up, it would be a free-for-all if we're confining it to those currently on the roster and I don't see a clear-cut favorite there.

From Rich Hulme:

Assuming Chubb, Chop and JP are 1,2 & 3 … who is best placed to be next on the sack leaderboard this year?

Hey Rich, easiest question I’ve gotten this week. That would be Zach Sieler, who reached double digits the past two seasons and likely will be in the top three on the team again in 2025.

From Olive Grove Jon:

Hi Alain. JS was good last year, so it’s surprising there are trade talks subject to a new contract. There seems to be a common theme with not being able to get ahead of contracts and see players leave like Wilkins and Hunt. A fair criticism of Grier or the nature of the beast?

Hey OGJ, Smith isn’t the same as Hunt or Wilkins because those two were original draft picks who got better and better with the Dolphins and the team arguably should have been more proactive and gotten in front of their contracts. Smith was a veteran who was signed on a cheap two-year contract after he was released by another team and then outperformed his contract. It’s apples and oranges, really. And the question is whether Smith is as valuable and difficult to replace at his position as Hunt or Wilkins were.

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

Love Jonnu and he had a great season. Would be sad to see him leave. That said, I have no control over it. If you could combine his trade with the Ramsey trade, what kinda of compensation do you think that could bring?

Hey Dana, probably not as much as you think because there are contract issues with both players. Ramsey is expensive and Jonnu wants a new contract/raise. So any team that would be willing to take on those two players would be looking at a considerable financial commitment, which would impact what they would be willing to give the Dolphins as compensation. It’s above my pay grade to try to guess what Ramsey and Smith could bring back in a package deal, but it probably would be less than most would imagine.

From Dave:

Greetings from steamy Key West, Alain ! I appreciate your insight on the Podcast along with the humor. I suppose I will have to fondly remember the straight Super Bowl appearances going 2-1 (I was in 3rd grade for Cowboys smackdown), the heartbreak of the Sea of Hands, 2 more Super Bowl losses, Marino prime years with little to no running game & horrible defenses & a last playoff win before the 1st Smart Phone. Now for my question lol. Is Grier going to go hat in hand to the Boss for eating some of Ramsey salary & a guaranteed contract for a 2nd-round pick sounds risky (see Cam Smith). Your thoughts ?

Hey Dave, don’t know about hat in hand and I don’t even know that Stephen Ross wants to know every financial detail of every personnel transaction, to be honest. I think Ross operates more in a big-picture type of way, as opposed to overseeing every transaction.

From Thomas Hudson:

Hi Alain, thank you for keeping up with the mailbag. It is always entertaining. A couple of unpopular (probably) TE questions for you. We know Jonnu Smith wants more money, and some reports say a lot more. Is the scheme an issue for him getting paid? It seems hard to justify paying him a ton of money when you can argue that he was the big beneficiary of teams focusing on Hill and Waddle, and that he basically is a tell for the defense because he isn't much of a blocker. Am I wrong in thinking that doesn't add up to a big contract? I could see a nice raise, but not a big payday. Unpopular question #2: Just how little can we take from the experience of the Fighting Camels? Julian Hill was a fairly prolific receiver in college (last two seasons: 72 rec, over 1000 yards, 7 TDs, and a 17.3 yrd avg as a senior), but the competition was pretty weak. Do you think that is just too big a difference for him, or do you think it is possible that he could develop into a target in the passing game? And is there reason to think he is past his penalty issues since he only had 2 in October and 1 after October? One non-TE question: Have you heard anything about Fuller? Any chance he and the Dolphins might consider a reunion? Any idea why he hasn't signed yet (or did he sign and I missed it?).

Hey Thomas, Jonnu’s value relative to what other tight ends could do absolutely is a factor. No question. And you nailed it when you said that, sure, the Dolphins likely are fine with increasing his salary but only to a certain degree. As for Hill, nothing is impossible, but I haven’t seen anything in his first two seasons to suggest he can become a threat as a receiving tight end. Lastly, haven’t heard a thing even remotely suggesting a reunion with Kendall Fuller.

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