The NFL media has been dominating the airwaves with the combine and on the cusp of free agency, the rumor mill is just getting started.
Meanwhile in Davie, the Dolphins’ football czar Mike Tannenbaum unwilling to succumb to the pain of a 6-10 season is looking to cure the Dolphins of their ills with his latest potent concoction: spending Stephen Ross’ money.
The Dolphins have some decisions to make, but none is bigger than re-signing OV Vernon, tagging him, or setting him free.
For starters, OV is just that a bonafide starter, one of 11 and probably number 8 in terms of value. Last year, after defensive end Cam Wake went down with an Achilles tear, OV disappeared and was probably noticed more on a milk carton in Broward county.
What OV Vernon has done is absolutely an abomination and has never measured up to that steal of the draft status in 2012 as a 3rd round pick (72) by then GM Jeff Ireland.
In 2013, Vernon was culpable with the appearance of a batted fumble by Tom Brady giving the Patriots a fresh set of downs and a chance to put the Dolphins away in Foxborough, a place they’ve not won since 2008.
While 2014 was a decent season, 2015 had its share of plays after the whistle giving Jacksonville a closer field goal try and several other infractions.
Grant it, OV plays with passion and plays hard, but his disappearance from the stat sheet and not being able to take over games with his pass rush skills has been lackluster and not even close to better than average. OV collected most of his sacks because of coverage, not because of his supposed pass rush skills.
However, while the Dolphins should cut bait and move on from OV, they might go the route of giving him a franchise tag and overpaying for mediocrity just like they did with middle finger-waving & coach defying defensive tackle Randy Starks, who thought he’d be happier in Cleveland.
Does Mike Tannebaum truly know what he’s doing or is he just recreating the NY Jets just further South?
If you talk to Big O on Twitter, he’s of the belief he’s going to mess up the Dolphins.
The next few days will prove something with OV and keeping him might be one of those “I told you so” decisions with regrettable consequences.
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