The Miami Dolphins have some major personnel decisions to make this offseason, arguably the biggest one being whether or not to keep star running back Reggie Bush. General manager Jeff Ireland has taken a lot of heat from Dolphins' fans for some of his personnel decisions in the past. Lately he has earned back the respect of some fans by making the right decisions in free agency and the draft. Ireland needs to make the right decision on Bush or risk falling back out of favor with fans. The Dolphins traded for Bush in 2011 and signed him to a two-year contract worth nearly $10 million. In the coming months Miami will need to decide Bush’s fate once again.
In my opinion the Dolphins will not resign Bush and I think that’s the right decision. Let me tell you why. First I think we can all agree that Bush is one of the most dynamic players in the league. He has the unique combination of world-class speed and the ability to cut on a dime. The Dolphins are paper-thin on offensive and Miami is obviously a better team with him than without him.
Despite Bush’s explosive ability, he will likely demand a high salary. The Dolphins are in great shape in regards to the salary cap. That’s one thing Ireland has done admirably. The Dolphins don’t have many over paid players on the roster and this is a sign of a sound football team financially. Paying Bush his expected salary would go against Miami’s philosophy. The Dolphins are paying their other top running backs less than $600,000 a year while Bush made $4.5 million last year. Unless Bush is willing to take a pay cut, this will be the number one deciding factor if Bush returns.
The Dolphins have done well drafting young contributing players recently. Miami has few positions on offense with a lot of depth but one of them is the running back position. Miami drafted Daniel Thomas in 2011. He has good size for a running back and has been productive for the Dolphins. Thomas is not elite but he is effective picking up tough yards. In 2012 Miami drafted running back Lamar Miller. Miller showed flashes of his talent his rookie year. He has breakaway speed and is a threat to break one each time he touches the ball. Miller needs to develop into a more consistent blocker but did well in his rookie campaign. Miami has two quality running backs signed for a fraction of Bush’s salary. The depth at this position will likely send Bush packing.
The 2012 Dolphins were weak on offense. Bush was a standout player. Offensive coordinator Mike Sherman failed to utilize Bush’s talent optimally. Whether this was an over site or done by design is still up for debate. When Bush was traded to the Dolphins two years ago many expected to see creative play calling utilizing Bush’s talents to create mismatches. This rarely happened. To give Sherman the benefit of the doubt, Sherman did not have much to work with on offense and opponents would often double team Bush. Regardless of the circumstances I doubt Miami is willing to pay a player top dollar for inconsistent production.
Being one of Miami’s few star players, losing Bush would be a huge blow to Miami’s offense. Right now Miami cannot afford to lose any play-makers. Having said that, Miami is a young team with a lot of room under the cap and a bevy of draft picks. Miami has options. If they let Bush walk, they will have room to sign another free agent to replace him at a better price or they can draft another young running back. Bush turns 28 years old in March and is not young anymore by running back standards.
Bush will not return to Miami in 2013 and I think that is the best decision for the team as a whole. It just makes the most sense. The only way I see Bush staying with the Dolphins is if he takes a pay cut. I don’t see this as a likely scenario but other NFL teams may also not be willing to pay his asking price. If this happens then it could be possible that Bush stays with Miami at a more reasonable price. Keep your fingers crossed Dolphin’s fans.