The Dolphins moved quickly as free agency kicked off, making their first bold strike by immediately coming to terms with ... a player labeled a "historic bust" as recently as 18 months ago. Ereck Flowers comes back to his hometown, signing a three-year, $30 million deal that includes a staggering $19.95 in guaranteed money.
The pluses: Flowers is a colossal (6-6, 335 pounds) athlete with versatility, having played both tackle positions with the Giants before shining at guard for the Redskins a season ago. On the interior, his strength proved to make all the difference -- the player who once put up 37 reps on the bench press at the scouting combine emerged as a plus player at a new position for Washington.
The negatives: The Giants tabbed Flowers as the ninth overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, penciling him as their left tackle from the jump. His uneven play made him a scapegoat for the tabloids, and he was cut halfway through his fourth season in New York. He played half a season in Jacksonville before moving on to a lone season in Washington -- meaning the Dolphins will be his fourth team in six seasons.
The bottom line: There is always room for an arrow-up, young (25), durable (71 starts in 75 career games) offensive lineman. The 'Fins are hoping Flowers can build on last season's steady play to help shore up a porous offensive interior. However, the arrival of Flowers delays the maturation of yet another draft pick in Michael Dieter, last year's third-rounder. Miami's massive question marks at tackle remain after this signing, and there is no guarantee that Flowers can sustain last year's performance -- his above-average play marks the outlier thus far, meaning he could return to the mean and become another trouble spot for a franchise that can't afford to backslide at any position.
It's easy to see why the Dolphins made this move -- but it does involve a bit of a roll of the dice for a team that has bad offensive lines and worse offensive line coaches for the last two decades.
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