http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000218326/article/paul-soliais-agent-very-optimistic-about-dolphins-deal Probably just prodding on talks. But its something different than the Pounceys.
I hope they dont overpay...one of those 2 are getting the extension..... Irish has done well here basically letting them battle it out in both of their walk years...
Between Soliai and Starks I suspect they would keep Soliai because Jared Odrick fits more into Starks' archetype.
I came here to say this, and its good to hear the agent speak positivley, usually they go the negative route to force their hand a bit.
Randy has a lot of miles on him, and it says we made him an offer that he refused, I mean he's a good player but I'm not sure the range he thinks he's in is reality..He's getting well paid this year that's for sure.
Starks was playing at a pro bowl level last year, he probably wants to be paid like a 29 year old playing at a pro bowl level. The Dolphins' offer supposedly wasn't even in the neighborhood of his agent's demands. He'll play out the franchise tag for $8-9 million, and then probably pick up a $6-7 million a year deal elsewhere.
I'd prefer they move on from Soliai too. He isn't that good, and unless you're getting dominant play I don't think you are justified in a guy who plays such limited snaps.
I think at this point, you have to keep one of those two. There's not really anything behind Soliai and Starks. Obviously Jared Odrick's played DT in college, but he's not done it regularly in the NFL. Who knows what you get from Vaughn Martin, and Kheeston Randall was pretty limited in his snaps last year. Just FYI, Geno Atkins is a free agent next year, and Cincinnati just gave Carlos Dunalp a big extension. They still have to figure out what to do with Michael Johnson, and word is they want to lock up A.J. Green before he hits his free agency year. They're also wanting to lock up Andy Dalton if he shows improvement. It's a situation I'd keep an eye on, though I can see them franchising Atkins if they have to. Obviously there's the familiarity factor with Kevin Coyle as it relates to Atkins. And, if you're going to keep Paul Soliai, having a guy like Geno Atkins next to him is a boon. It's worked in Cincinnati with Atkins and Domata Peko, and Peko isn't as good as Soliai.
Of the 2, I'd prefer to keep Soliai. He does a great job occupying bodies on the line and is stout at run defense. IMHO, it would be easier to replace Starks and I don't mean that as a knock on Randy. If I had it my way they'd keep both, but I don't think the cap room is going to be available to do so.
Geno Atkins should be the top priority for the Dolphins in next year's free agency should he make it to market. Players of that caliber do not often make it to market. He's not just a starter in the way that Mike Wallace was a starter, he's elite. A truly elite player. However, despite everything you mentioned, I don't think there's any hope of him making it to market. The Carlos Dunlap contract has more bearing on Michael Johnson than Geno Atkins. I believe PFT had a note saying the Dunlap contract means Johnson is likely to make it to the free market. I believe Atkins is guaranteed to get at the very least the franchise tag. The interesting thing about that is the Dolphins were very interested in Michael Johnson, prior to drafting Dion Jordan. They wanted to see if the Bengals would drop the ball and not franchise Johnson. Had they done so, he probably would've been a Dolphin instead of Dion Jordan. And then at 12 overall it's hard to say who Miami would've gotten, possibly Tyler Eifert. The likelihood of Johnson making it to market next year sets up an interesting rival scenario to that of drafting Dion Jordan at #3 overall as they could have gotten away with a year of someone like a John Abraham and then picked up Johnson next year, and used the #12 and #42 picks on other players (or to trade up to #3 for Lane Johnson, I suppose). But hindsight is 20/20.
I don't know if you have to keep one of the two. Soliai you should simply upgrade, and Starks isn't irreplaceable and I think is a risk to be overpaid. There's no continuity issue or anything like that, and there's generally enough players available any off-season to do it and not risk a drop-off.
