In National Lampoon’s Vacation, Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) tries to patch a leak inside the Hoover Dam with a piece of gum. As many of you may recall from that classic movie, this results in the discovery of many other leaks that become uncontrollable.
Unfortunately, the Miami Dolphins enter the off-season with an overwhelming number of needs at virtually every position on the roster. And I expect that General Manager Chris Grier will play the role of Clark Griswold to perfection.
The team needs help at Safety, Linebacker, defensive line, backup Cornerback, bruiser running back, interior offensive line (times two at least), wide receiver if we say goodbye to Tyreek Hill and backup Quarterback.
If prior behavior and performance predict the future, General Manager Chris Grier will likely hit on possibly two or three of the above positions. Hopefully, these will be interior offensive linemen who don’t get pushed back onto the Quarterback or their backsides.
This will have to be through the draft, as this same General Manager has stripped us of the salary cap dollars needed to bring in quality free agents. He has awarded huge, financially prohibitive contracts to new and current players and has unsuccessfully attempted to execute the “win now” philosophy this team has had since 2021. These contracts and extensions have considerably constrained our ability to succeed for at least the next two seasons.
In 2025, I expect we will see the same pattern of signing free agents as we have seen previously, bringing in players at the end of their careers who will be available at a discount, like WalMart’s “roll-back prices.”
Let’s enjoy this off-season, but let’s be realistic about our expectations.
We still have Chris Grier, aka Clark Griswold, as our General Manager.
