Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
With the No.1 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft the Miami Dolphins drafted Jake Long out of the University of Michigan. The left tackle was honored with Pro Bowl selections in each of his first four seasons, but injuries and a slight decline in his play left him off of the roster this season.
It will be decision time for the Dolphins regarding Long as the team enters free agency. Miami has money to spend in the offseason, but they have many holes to fill and word is they may feel that they have an in-house replacement for Long with Jonathan Martin. The former blindside protector of Andrew Luck at Stanford University played his rookie season as the right tackle, but when Long’s season ended in early December Martin slid over to left tackle. His play was decent enough, and Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has a ton of experience working with offensive lineman so perhaps they believe they can develop Martin.
Martin will make $2.5 million combined over the next three seasons, while Long made $11.2 million this season alone. The franchise tag for an offensive lineman will be north of $15 million this season so that is out of the question, and we hear that that Miami’s general manager Jeff Ireland will be looking to sign Long at around half of the $11 million he made this season. I can’t help but think that these two sides will be miles apart during contract negotiations, and with the potential of Martin taking the job, I think that Jake Long is phinished as a Dolphin.
We will watch this story together very closely. Thank you for reading my work! Pass it on…
CLICK HERE for all of my Miami Dolphins articles, and follow me on twitter @craigballard77
