As Trey Wingo and others have pointed out, everything uttered this time of year should be taken with a giant grain of salt. But there was no beating around the bush from Dolphins GM Chris Grier, who showed up to Wednesday’s press conference with a belly full of truth serum.
Speaking at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis (which is really just an excuse for NFL execs to binge steak and booze at St. Elmo’s and Prime 47), Grier was dropping truth bombs faster than reporters could type, confirming the Dolphins’ interest in Sean Payton, among other tantalizing nuggets of gridiron gossip. Miami’s scheme was ultimately thwarted by the Saints, who blocked their former coach from joining the Dolphins.
While Miami’s interest in Payton was genuine, Grier dismissed the Tom Brady rumors as pure fiction, insisting the Dolphins never pursued Brady.
Since last season, the Dolphins have been linked to Texans malcontent Deshaun Watson, who many expect to be traded despite allegations of sexual misconduct. Acquiring Watson, who led the NFL with a franchise-record 4,823 passing yards in 2020 (he was a healthy scratch for all 17 games last season), would obviously invite criticism, though if years of watching the NFL has taught us anything, it’s that teams will gladly leave morality at the door if it helps them win a championship. However, with the seat still hot from last month’s Brian Flores controversy, the Dolphins don’t have any plans to get back in the Watson sweepstakes—if they were ever in it.
Grier also says the Dolphins are discussing a new deal with two-time NFL interceptions leader Xavien Howard and would like to retain free agents Emmanuel Ogbah and Mike Gesicki, if possible. What has already been an unusually eventful offseason for Miami has the potential to get even more interesting in the coming weeks with free agency (begins March 16th at 4 PM ET) and the NFL Draft (April 28-30 in Las Vegas) fast approaching.
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