What They Have in The Tank???

[BenchFiedler]

I understand the dolphins traded/cut older players to get younger ones (Wallace/Stills trade). We are top 5 as one of the NFL's youngest team. But we also have some veterans and I wanted your opinion if they still could play at a high level and what they had left in the tank...

Cam Wake (33 yrs old) - In my opinion, he has 1 good season left (at a high level) and you can see during the 2nd half of the season, his impact was not the same compared to the beginning of the season. This is called getting older. This is an important draft for us and we should draft his replacement.

Brent Grimes (31 yrs old) - He makes great plays but also not reliable in the 4th quarter when we need a stop. He is getting up there in age as well but surprisingly able to stay healthy after that devastating injury.

John Denney (36 yrs old) - He has been our most consistent player during good and bad times. Never hear his name, meaning not many bad snaps. But at 36, we need to find a replacement soon.

 

[crashfan]

Good points. We are in rebuilding mode and if another team wanted to throw something out there for a trade they would certainly be game in my book.

 

[305]

Don't you ever talk about wake like that. .lol but seriously dude gets held every snap...his game ain't slowed down...

 

[normaldude]

I think a bigger concern is LT Branden Albert (30, will turn 31 during the season)

He tore both his ACL & MCL in November 2014.

Initial reports was that he was expected to miss up to 12 months.

After the injury, he was considering retiring.

When asked if he would be ready for the start of the season, he said "I just don’t know".

I think there's a big question about the LT spot.

 

[Travis34]

Eh do we really need to worry about long snapper? 36 but he gets no wear n tear, let him play till he's done

 

[Kdawg954]

I think a bigger concern is LT Branden Albert (30, will turn 31 during the season)

He tore both his ACL & MCL in November 2014.

Initial reports was that he was expected to miss up to 12 months.

After the injury, he was considering retiring.

When asked if he would be ready for the start of the season, he said "I just don’t know".

I think there's a big question about the LT spot.

You sound like one of these journalists Sensationalism at its finest. You are correct, he had a major knee injury and any time you have that type of injury, especially on the wrong side of 30, you just never know how your body is going to respond . . . and Branden was just being honest about it.

The actual quote was “I hope I’ll be able to play the first game; I just don’t know,” Albert said. “We’ll see.”

That was in early February

A day later, Louis Delmas posted a video of Albert running on the treadmill. - https://instagram.com/p/y40VIugm0v/

Then in March, Albert posted on IG - https://instagram.com/p/z5iiqKFesU/ (spoiler, it's a knee strength video, and he has a good amount of weight on there).

His words

Everyone asking me how is my knee?..When you going to return?...I always give the political answer "One day at a time". Most people want me to say "yeah I'll be there first game" I can't give you that answer. Only thing I can give you I'm working to come back to be the best I can be. Didn't even think I would ever be able to do this again... But I have the right mindset and the right supporting cast. I don't like posting workout videos... It's to cliche.. But I'll give you a little snippet so people will stop asking if I'm ok. I appreciate the concern but as my mi amigo @_rickyv_ would say #mambamentality thanks to my guy and trainer @manningsumner for always testing my limits and pushing me to the brink of no return ������ #phinsup #comebackseason #thereturn #protectthehillisamust #mambamebtality #nodaysoff

Point is, Albert is doing everything he can to get back to being healthy and able to play . . . . he shouldn't rush back if he is not ready. We'll have to make due with James at LT and Fox at RT if he's not ready . . . and if it means 6 weeks on PUP, it is what it is, but Miami has to have some faith that he'll be back this season and have to look on to other areas of this team. They invested a lot in Branden and they have as good of sense as anybody on what is going on. Still have more than 3 months before training camp and 5 months before the season.

 

[Kdawg954]

I understand the dolphins traded/cut older players to get younger ones (Wallace/Stills trade). We are top 5 as one of the NFL's youngest team. But we also have some veterans and I wanted your opinion if they still could play at a high level and what they had left in the tank...

Cam Wake (33 yrs old) - In my opinion, he has 1 good season left (at a high level) and you can see during the 2nd half of the season, his impact was not the same compared to the beginning of the season. This is called getting older. This is an important draft for us and we should draft his replacement.

Brent Grimes (31 yrs old) - He makes great plays but also not reliable in the 4th quarter when we need a stop. He is getting up there in age as well but surprisingly able to stay healthy after that devastating injury.

John Denney (36 yrs old) - He has been our most consistent player during good and bad times. Never hear his name, meaning not many bad snaps. But at 36, we need to find a replacement soon.

Wake is a part time player right now . . . . liability in the run game. He is still a very effective pass rusher but with what he is being paid, that isn't good enough. 2016 there is a good chance he's either cut or asked to restructure. I'd imagine he'd restructure unless the situation isn't good between him and Miami. Either way, he won't be playing at his current projected salary in 2016.

We have seen the best of Brent Grimes IMO . . . it only goes down hill from here. The key factor is just how fast/slow that downhill movement is. He's already undersized and makes up for it with athleticism . . . but "father time" always wins. Miami needs to get something out of Taylor/Davis . . . and I think CB is a high priority in the draft. Another guy who could be on his last year of his current contract.

Denney will eventually be replaced, but there is no rush to do so. He's widely considered one of the best at what he does . . . and probably could do it for 5 more years, easily. Problem is, after the snap you will start to worry. He had a couple of missed tackles on special teams last year and again "father time" would suggest he'll slowly become less reliable and more of a liability. Finding a solid long snapper isn't a big deal . . . you may not get one as steady as Denney right away, but you'll get one.

 

[ITS!MATEO]

Those 2 guys are workaholics.. I don't expect Grimes nor Wake to slow down in the next 2 years.. Wake is held on just about every play... and Grimes still shuts receivers out of the game.

Albert on the other hand has been injured his entire career.. I see him being replaced, through necessity, before those 2.