The rebuilding process begins for the Miami Dolphins. With Adam Gase officially hired as the next head coach, evaluating the roster is next on the to-do list for the team. While the Dolphins have some young players to build upon, they have a few high-priced contracts to veteran players that might no longer be favored in the new season. Greg Jennings could be the first to learn that the hard way.
The Dolphins signed Jennings last season to be a solid veteran presence for Ryan Tannehill and the young offensive players. The Dolphins were going with youth as Jarvis Landry entered his second season in the league while rookie DeVante Parker came on board. He ended up disappointing with career lows in every category. While his leadership was solid in the huddle his $4 million salary and $5.5 million cap charge might overshadow any of that.
Last in the season, Landry cemented himself a star in South Beach. After injuries hurt his start to the year, Parker emerged in the last few games giving the Dolphins hope for 2016. There is also the question of Rishard Matthews and his expiring contract. Matthews could be what forces Jennings off the team as he developed into one of Tannehill's favorite targets. According to the Palm Beach Post, Matthews intends to get his money. The receiver put up solid numbers in a contract season and would like to get paid as such. Miami could wait and see what happens to Matthews before making a decision on Jennings.
"I mean, I'm not worried about that right now," Matthews said, via ESPN.com. "I'm starting my training [Tuesday]. I'm going to train my a** off this offseason and just come prepared for next year wherever it is. Just where I fit in with the offense, where I fit in with the organization. That's the biggest thing really. Wherever it is, I'm going to go compete and try to get on the field right away."
The Dolphins are trying to put the best talent around Tannehill in order for him to be successful under Gase. That should include Matthews which means Jennings could be out. The other question is Lamar Miller who might not like the idea of returning to an offense that is expected to be pass-happy under Gase. Miller can easily look to Matt Forte and Jeremy Langford for an idea on how he will be used which should give him motivation to return in 2016. Miller told the media that he is more focused on landing with a team that will use him more rather than signing somewhere for money.
"I know this year sometimes we were in bad situations so we had to throw the ball," Miller said, via ESPN.com. "Like I said before, it'd be great to continue playing my NFL career here in my hometown. But this is a business and I'm going to sit down with my agent and we're going to talk and go from there."