The NFL’s official roster cutdown deadline is still a few days away, but news of cuts have already begun to trickle in. Among those we’ve already seen is the Cincinnati Bengals officially releasing offensive lineman Jackson Carman. With the Miami Dolphins suffering several injuries along the line, and getting suspect play for years, should Miami explore a deal with Carman?
The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Carman in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Carman was drafted with the future in mind, as the Bengals had solid tackles at the time. Thus, Carman started his career on the inside of the line, at guard. Carman had a solid, if unspectacular, season on the inside before ultimately making the switch outside for his second season.
That’s when things started to fall apart for the young offensive lineman. Carman played tackle on both sides of the line for the Bengals during his career, but failed to really develop on either side at the position. Over the course of the Bengals’ final two preseason games, Carman had worked his way down the depth chart to fourth string before ultimately seeing his release.
The Miami Dolphins already have two solid tackles in Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson, so why should they be interested in a tackle who was tossed aside by another team? It’s the experience on the inside that the Dolphins could potentially benefit from. As it stands today, Miami is set to enter the season with Robert Jones and Liam Eichenberg as their starting left and right guard respectively, though Eichenberg could potentially start the season at center if Aaron Brewer is out with a hand injury.
Carman wouldn’t be able to come in and push Jones for his spot, but he might be able to challenge Eichenberg. Eichenberg has a similar story to that of Carman, in that he was a college tackle who found himself on the inside at the professional level. Also like Carman, Eichenberg has struggled to find his footing on the line and has largely been a disappointment during his NFL career.
Certainly PFF grades aren’t everything when it comes to player evaluation, but even with the disappointing end in Cincinnati, the grades show that Carman could be an improvement over Eichenberg for the Dolphins. It’s only a one-year sample size at the position for Carman, but in that one year Carman was able to achieve a 56.3 offense grade, a 62.4 run blocking grade, and a 53.0 pass blocking grade. In contrast, Eichenber’s one full season at the position garnered grades of 39.0, 42.5, and 39.6 in those categories respectively.
Carman also has the edge over Eichenberg when you look at sacks, hits, and hurries allowed, with both players allowing five penalties in their one full season at the position. Carman may not ultimately be able to beat out Eichenberg for the job, but given the Dolphins’ consistent trouble at the position, it may be worth it for them to at least bring in the competition.
One important note is that the Dolphins do also have Isaiah Wynn at the position, who would figure to start at left guard, pushing Jones to the right side and squeezing out Eichenberg. However, Wynn suffered a season-ending quad injury last season, and has yet to practice with the team so far this training camp. Wynn has been on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, and head coach Mike McDaniel has seemed less than optimistic about Wynn returning anytime soon.
If Wynn is healthy, there’s less of a need for the Dolphins to address the position. Wynn showed some solid play on the inside last season in his first full year at the position. If he’s healthy, Miami may have some solid interior play in 2024. However, that seems like a big “if” right now.