Dolphins, Eric Winston staying in touch

Dolphins, Eric Winston staying in touch

Posted by Josh Alper on April 28, 2013, 2:26 PM EDT

Colts defensive tackle Guy points at Chiefs tackle Winston, who was called off sides, during their NFL football game in Kansas CityReuters
Talk of a trade sending tackle Branden Albert from Kansas City to Miami turned out to be more smoke than fire.

The two sides could never agree to terms for a deal during the draft, leaving the Chiefs with a $9 million left tackle to with first overall pick Eric Fisher. The Dolphins, on the other hand, drafted Dallas Thomas in the third round of the draft to be their only offensive line addition. Thomas can play guard and tackle, but it may be a stretch to think he’s stepping in to start at either one from the first day.

So they still have Jonathan Martin, Nate Garner and a question mark about one of their starting tackle spots. Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins have maintained “a steady dialogue” with free agent Eric Winston, who is believed to be looking for $3-4 million a year from a new team after getting cut by the Chiefs early in the offseason.

Winston is a right tackle, so Martin would likely be starting on the left side if he came to Miami. Unless Bryant McKinnie were to wind up in Miami, it seems like a safe bet that Martin’s going to be at left tackle regardless of Winston’s whereabouts because there aren’t too many other options available for the job in 2013.

According to Beasley, we should know in the “near future” if a Winston deal is happening. If it isn’t, the Dolphins will likely continue the hunt for more options at tackle than they currently have on the roster.

Uh, we better get off our asses.

mschmidt64 said:

Uh, we better get off our asses.

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And sign Clabo. I agree.

We have Free, who will take a pay cut. So we're covered.

[h=1]Eric Winston working out for Dolphins Wednesday[/h]Posted by Mike Wilkening on April 30, 2013, 5:52 PM EDT

Former Chiefs and Texans offensive tackle Eric Winston will have a workout with the Dolphins on Wednesday, a league source told PFT’s Mike Florio.
Winston, 29, has started 103 consecutive regular-season games. He has played right tackle on the NFL level after playing left tackle at Miami (Fla.).
Jake Long, the Dolphins’ starting left tackle since 2008, departed in free agency, and his replacement remains unclear.

The Dolphins’ primary starting right tackle from a season, Jonathan Martin, is an option on the left side if Miami adds a veteran right tackle like Winston.

Genghis Khan said:

We have Free, who will take a pay cut. So we're covered.

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I was almost sure they were going to sign Clabo right after the draft but now I'm beginning to think that, sadly, you're right (except for the sarcastic "we're covered" part). It's irritating too because a shitty player is a shitty player no matter what his salary. Sure, it doesn't sting quite as much when a bad player isn't making a ton of money, but the results are the same: bad.

Genghis Khan said:

We have Free, who will take a pay cut. So we're covered.

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We have Free who could still refuse to take a pay cut and call Jones' bluff.

We don't have the upper hand with him and never have.

There is no reason to let Free hold us hostage; his much cheaper backup played better than him last season. Cutting him is the smart thing to do even without a replacement lined up.

But, like everything Jerry does, this isn't about football, it's about him not looking like the fucking doofus that he is.