Needham moving to safety | Page 4 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Needham moving to safety

Mach2 said:
You don't consider Needham a vet at this point?

We probably have more good players than we can roster now. I'm not saying no to a Safety or Guard. Just that it's getting more complicated than simply saying "get another guy in here".
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I do. Just the situation…. He’s coming off a major injury and has played mostly corner in his football career. Essentially learning a new role, potentially with different responsibilities, and still on the mend of full recovery.

I like Needham but wouldn’t put all the eggs into that basket in terms of third safety which plays a key role in a Baltimore style defense.
 
Feverdream said:
There are guys available for sure... and none of them really expect much money. I posted last year's numbers for Van Roten and Risner the other day... neither made more than 2.5m last year. The FA safeties will be in that same low, low range.

The trick will be keeping their guaranteed money to under 1m or so. That way if the UDFAs outperform them, they are easy to cut or trade.

Hell... we did that with Feeney last year. We signed him off the street, then dealt him for a 6th rounder from Chicago.
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I agree they will bargain hunt a bit in June. Barring further cuts Van Rotten will probably be seen as the best Guard left on the board and may get a raise from the team that signs him. Risner to me is no better than Driscoll so he could be in the cheap category.

Think the team will also want to keep some dry powder for in-season moves, after signing the draft class. They might also need to apply some of that space if Holland is extended (and/or Eich--for real they might see him as extension worthy despite the negative median view from the podpundit and fan world) at a higher per annum than due under the rookie deal.

One more thing...with all the players (OL and DB particularly) that were drafted I imagine some teams will be waiting for training camp to evaluate and release the incumbent vets, so that will be a third (4th?) round of FA to see about upgrade opportunities.
 
Michael Scott said:
I do. Just the situation…. He’s coming off a major injury and has played mostly corner in his football career. Essentially learning a new role, potentially with different responsibilities, and still on the mend of full recovery.

I like Needham but wouldn’t put all the eggs into that basket in terms of third safety which plays a key role in a Baltimore style defense.
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Pretty sure Needham has taken some FS snaps and slot corner duties may be the best comp for a transition. He would only play in certain packages and be Holland's nominal backup. Bonner and Neal probably also in that mix, as emergency options. The DB room has some depth though not optimal--something to address next off-season for sure.
 
Michael Scott said:
I do. Just the situation…. He’s coming off a major injury and has played mostly corner in his football career. Essentially learning a new role, potentially with different responsibilities, and still on the mend of full recovery.

I like Needham but wouldn’t put all the eggs into that basket in terms of third safety which plays a key role in a Baltimore style defense.
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Well, the injury was actually 2 years ago, now. Also, as others have pointed out, he has had Safety responsibilities at times.

You are right, though, most of his experience has been as a Corner.
 
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