Sometimes, there is no rational reason.
With free agency now four days in, the Miami Dolphins added James Daniels, a huge upgrade over the previous player who held down the left guard job. They also signed Larry Borom, a castoff from Chicago who has struggled in his four NFL seasons.
At his end-of-season press conference with the media, Chris Grier outlined what he believed were key needs this offseason. One of those needs, he admitted, was to fix the offensive line.
To put it as bluntly as possible, the Dolphins “upgrade” has been a 50/50 proposition.
The Dolphins have made another move, and fans will not be happy. Yes, they are bringing back Liam Eichenberg on a one-year contract.
Needless to say, the reactions have been what one would expect. Eichenberg had four years to show he was capable of growth, and he has not demonstrated that from season to season.
Marginal increments followed by inconsistency don’t count as an upgrade.
Fixing the line was supposed to be a priority, and Grier said the Dolphins needed to be better, but signing one starter and two guys who may end up competing for a starting job (but shouldn’t be) makes little sense.
Eichenberg has become this era’s Jesse Davis.Eichenberg has been worse than Davis, and what makes this so much harder to deal with is the reminder Grier traded up in the second round to draft him.
There was a lot of hope for Eichenberg, but nothing completely clicked with him. While he was serviceable at times, it wasn’t good enough. Now, the Dolphins will give it another go.