Why Dolphins Should Extend Aaron Brewer Sooner Than Later

One task the Miami Dolphins have this offseason is extending some of their better players slated to hit free agency next offseason.

One of those names is center Aaron Brewer, who is heading into the final year of his three-year, $21 million extension. New GM Jon-Eric Sullivan said the team would look at extensions for Brewer, linebacker Jordyn Brooks, and running back De’Von Achane in the summer.

That said, it might benefit the Dolphins to explore extending Brewer right now. The potential cap savings are obvious, but with free agency starting on March 11, the center market is also slated to get a lot more expensive.

Why the Center Market Will Get More Expensive

For starters, the Los Angeles Chargers signed center Tyler Biadasz to a three-year, $30 million contract Friday. Biadasz was released by the Washington Commanders earlier in the week, so he was free to sign whenever.

This is important for the Dolphins because it places another center in front of Brewer in contract value. Brewer’s average annual value was just $7 million on his last contract, and his cap hit for this season is $9.1 million.

Biadasz isn’t breaking the bank, but Brewer is also a better player, so it goes to show just how the price for average centers are going up.

The real kicker will come when free agency opens. Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum is expected to hit the open market and command a huge price. Linderbaum will reset the market, the question is by how much?

Creed Humphrey ($18 million AAV), Cam Jurgens ($17 million AAV), and Drew Dalman ($14 million AAV) occupy the top three spots right now. Dalman just retired, so that’s something to keep in mind.

Still, pretty much every contract projection for Linderbaum has him breaking the $20 million AAV mark. ESPN’s latest projection had Linderbaum at 22.5 million AAV on a four-year, $90 million deal.

Brewer will likely want to crack the top-three at the position, and Linderbaum pushing the ceiling so high could make things complicated. Since he was an All-Pro last season, Brewer’s team will likely argue he should be second behind Linderbaum.

Depending on how big the gap is between Linderbaum and Humphrey, that could mean Brewer would be vying for something closer to $20 million AAV.

So, it would behoove the Dolphins to try and get pen to paper before Linderbaum signs. On the flip side, it would also benefit Brewer to wait, and as we know with contract negotiations, it takes both sides coming to the table.

There is, of course, the cap savings side that we have to acknowledge. Extending Brewer as opposed to later would give Miami some cap relief heading into the first wave of free agency.

What Could a Good Brewer Contract Look Like?

Despite what we said above, the Dolphins should try to put Brewer below Humphrey and Linderbaum. As good as Brewer is, he’s older than both of those players and only has two years of quality play under his belt.

Brewer signing a three-year, $52.5 million deal makes a lot of sense. That would put his AAV at $17.5 million, landing him ahead of Jurgens but behind Humphrey and Linderbaum. Brewer is 29, so this deal would only carry through his age-32 season.

This is a good starting place, because if Brewer’s sticking point is wanting to be ahead of Humprehy, the Dolphins wouldn’t have to come up too much to make it happen.