Let's not forget the contract situations. Zach is not Parland's prototypical tall, fast, athletic player, so there was no reason to keep him around. His salary meant nobody was going to trade for him either. The cap number and concusion history were good PR reasons to offload him, so that was an easy move for Parland to make, and honestly, it was made before they filled out the staff it was so easy. Now if he was going to work for a tiny salary, they may have let him hang on another year, but no more.
JT's exactly the type of OLB Parland wants in their 3-4. (Don't believe the disinformation campaign by the Dolphins, we'll be rebuilding in a 3-4 not a 4-3). But, unfortunately, JT is going to be expensive and well past his prime when we're a good team again, so if they can get a 2nd rounder for him, I'm fairly confident they'll jump at that opportunity.
On the flip side, not a lot of contender teams can afford to fit JT's salary under their caps, and a non-contender wouldn't even be interested, so we're highly doubtful to get a late 1st rounder for him. And, fans don't like rebuilding, especially after this past disappointing season. So, the front office may keep JT to prevent taking a huge hit in attendance for the next 2 seasons. It's not going to stop the atrition, but it would certainly slow it down until we can achieve respectability.
I think Parland is sincere when they say they want JT on the team, because they cannot fix every position in one season, and he's a great player. But, if they get a good offer, I'd expect them to pull the trigger on a trade.
Channing Crowder isn't likely to stay with the Dolphins much longer either ... he makes no impact plays--no fumbles forced, no interceptions, no sacks/hurries, etc. So I think our 3-4 is going to be looking for 2 new starting ILB's, as well as an OLB. Expect us to draft 1 or 2 LB's and probably add 2 new LB's in free agency.
-Digital
