With the surprising announcement of Shaquil Barrett’s retirement, the Miami Dolphins are left in an unenviable position at edge rusher. Earlier this week, both Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb were placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning they’ll both likely miss the beginning portion of the season. As the roster currently stands, Miami has no healthy edge rushers on the roster who aren’t rookies – Chop Robinson, Mohamed Kamara, and UDFA Grayson Murphy – or back-end of the roster players.
It’s entirely possible that the Dolphins front office feels comfortable with their situation. Both Phillips and Chubb are progressing in their recoveries and will be available at some point. The rookies Robinson and Kamara could have impressive camps and provide the Dolphins with a nice rotation at EDGE. But if Miami isn’t comfortable with the situation, who is out there for them to sign with the money they’ll get back from Barrett’s retirement?
The first, and probably most likely candidate, the Dolphins could pursue is free agent Emmanuel Ogbah. Ogbah has familiarity with the Dolphins, as he has spent portions of the past four seasons with the team. Ogbah has been productive in his time with the Dolphins, giving them back-to-back seasons with 9 sacks in 2020 and 2021, and gave the team 5.5 sacks last season, with one interception as an icing on the cake.
If the team wants to branch out from former Dolphins, but still wants someone with whom they have some familiarity, they could look to former Bengals and Jets edge rusher Carl Lawson. Miami has plenty of familiarity with Lawson, who spent the past two seasons along the Jets outstanding defensive line. They also brought Lawson in for a workout earlier this off-season, which could get the ball rolling on getting a deal done now.
If scheme familiarity is something Miami is after in a potential Barrett replacement, they could look to former Baltimore Ravens edge rusher Tyus Bowser. Bowser has spent the past six seasons with the Ravens, with the last two seasons being under the tutelage of Anthony Weaver as his position coach. Weaver is now the Dolphins defensive coordinator, so that relationship could manifest into an opportunity for Bowser.
Beyond the options that have familiarity either with the team or scheme, the Dolphins could look to a pair of options who have had strong production in recent years. Both Yannick Ngakoue and Markus Golden are still available on the free agent market. Both rushers have seen their production fall in the past two seasons, but each player is just two years removed from double-digit sack seasons. If Miami wants to bank on a potentially cheap option that could have high upside, either player may be the right fit.
No matter what the Dolphins decide to do at the position in the wake of Barrett’s retirement, it’s a situation that bears watching. Miami is going to need a strong pass rush if they want to stand up against the likes of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in the AFC playoff race.