While Dolphins GM Chris Grier could be forgiven for not being too effusive in his expectation of an extension for Tua Tagovailoa, his comments were a little more cagey than expected.
After head coach Mike McDaniel spoke freely about getting a deal for Tua done, and how excited he was for Tua and believed in him more, Grier was more reserved. “We all feel there’s still another level he can take it,” Grier said.
Now part of that is clearly a negotiating tactic, but part of it is also because Chris Grier hasn’t been great at extending Dolphins in-house talent.
“These are deals that very rarely come together quickly,” Grier said at the combine. “There are a lot of pieces, moving parts when you’re doing it. We’ve had positive discussions so far, and we’ll keep working here throughout the offseason.”
Chris Grier hedging a little
“You try and work through it,” Grier said of contract talks. “You have rational discussions with people and his representation are really good people. We’ve had great conversations. At the end of the day, what he’s looking for in terms of because of the money went up, does that drive the salary up? I don’t know. You’d have to ask him.”
In fairness to Grier when has he had a chance to sign a good player who has excelled on the back of his rookie deal? Jarvis Landry is about it. Laremy Tunsil was traded before he got that far, as was Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The rest of his first round picks have mostly been whiffs. Noah Igbinoghene? Austin Jackson was a reasonably easy up after he had a very poor first three years. And of course he failed to get an extension with Christian Wilkins.
Which is a little odd because Chris Grier has had no qualms about splashing the cash to land other teams players on massive deals: Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey, Byron Jones, and Bradley Chubb for example.
The Dolphins cap will be something to keep an eye on closely despite the NFL’s increasing it by $30-million+. Howard and Ogbah have already gone to save money and there will need to be a few cheap contracts dished out on the defensive side of the ball.
Grier was asked about the massive contract he has dished out as part of his plan, “It’s not sustainable,” Grier said. “At some point, you have to reel it back and then add some youth and influx and then cherry-pick here and there where you go.”
The odd thing is, for a team that’s over the salary cap and is in win-now mode, extending your QB is a great way to save some space this year and push that money down the road. But Chris Grier seems to not think that way.
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