Miami Dolphins: The Case For Keeping Andre Branch

The Miami Dolphins signed Andre Branch to a one-year deal before the season. With Branch exceeding expectation, he’s made a case to be re-signed

In the 2016 offseason, the Miami Dolphins were uncharacteristically quiet. There was no blockbuster or splash signing this off-season. Arguably the most noteworthy thing they did was re-sign the heart of their defense, Cameron Wake, to a restructured deal. One move that flew under the radar and that has been a big success was the signing of fellow defensive end Andre Branch.

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In offseasons past, the Miami Dolphins had been known as a team wanting to make a splash in free agency. The last few free agency periods saw Miami sign the likes of Mike Wallace and Ndamukong Suh to mammoth contracts. With varying degrees of success. Wallace was a failure who was run out of town after just three seasons.

Suh, on the other hand, has been a success. Depending on who you ask, he’s been an overwhelming success. His numbers haven’t been quite as impressive as they were during his time in Detroit. However, Suh’s presence has been felt both on the field and in the locker room. Not only has Suh’s play been better than the box score would lead you to believe, but he’s been a leader in the locker room and part of the change of culture we’ve seen under first-year head coach Adam Gase.

Branch came to the Dolphins after spending his first four seasons mired in obscurity with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Branch put up good, but not great, numbers with the Jags. In the offseason, he bolted for South Florida coming to the Dolphins on a one-year contract worth just north of $2 million.

Since coming to Miami, Branch has put up career, or near-career, marks in nearly every major statistical category. Though he’s in a rotation with the aforementioned Wake and another key offseason signing, Mario Williams, Branch is actually seeing the bulk of the playing time. And he’s producing during his time on the field.

So far in 2016, Branch has been on the field for just over 66 percent of the defensive snaps, compared to just short of 51 percent for Wake and almost 44 percent for Williams. Branch has used that time well, amassing 5.5 sacks, 19 tackles, and two forced fumbles. With three more games left to play in the 2016 season Branch is just a half-sack shy of tying his career high, and only 11 tackles away from a new career best.

So the question becomes, has he done enough to warrant the Dolphins giving him a significant raise to keep him around? Or do they let him walk away and see what he can make on the open market? If I’m making the decision, I do whatever I can to keep Branch in Miami.

First of all, doing whatever it takes to keep Branch in Miami likely isn’t going to be all that difficult. Branch is having a great season. But he’s not going to command the kind of price tag that someone like Calais Campbell or Jason Pierre-Paul (both potential 2017 free agents) will. He’s likely going to command somewhere in the $5 million per year range, which is completely workable. That number should be amenable to Branch as it would be a doubling of his current base salary.

The Dolphins could free up that money one of two ways. The first and most obvious way to me would be to let go of Mario Williams. Williams has been good in his first season in Miami, but not overwhelmingly so. If he’s on the roster as of March 13 next season, $3.5 million of his salary becomes guaranteed. Williams comes with a total cap hit in 2017 of $10.5 million.

At 31 years of age, that’s not a number that is going to work, period. Releasing Williams before his contract becomes guaranteed would leave Miami with the money to sign Branch. It would also give the team the wiggle room to get younger at the position.

The other way to free up that money is to not worry about re-signing Dion Jordan. Jordan has a $5 million salary and has been nothing short of a disaster in his short time in Miami. Jordan was taken third-overall by the Dolphins and has barely seen the field since. After failing multiple drug tests, as well as being hampered by injury, Jordan has failed to take a single snap for the team in either of the past two seasons. It’s time for the team to wash their hands of Jordan.

If the Dolphins are freeing up cap space in the off-season, why not use it to sign someone with more recognition than Branch? Well, simply put, because the upper-echelon guys aren’t going to sign with Miami. The culture in Miami is changing. Adam Gase has this team playing better than most thought he would in his first season. But there’s more work to be done before Miami becomes a destination for the top-tier free agents–without the team severely overpaying to get them, that is (see: Mike Wallace).

Once you get past guys like Calais Campbell and Jason Pierre-Paul, I feel that Branch is the best remaining option given his combination of on-field production this season and his age. There are a few guys who may be available that have out-produced Branch (Glenn Dorsey, Charles Johnson, and Chris Long to name a few), but each of them is on the wrong side of 30, and there are many cases of older defensive linemen suddenly failing once they switch teams/systems at that age. The Dolphins need to get younger and more athletic on the defense, not older and slower.

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No matter how you look at it, the answer should be simple. Keeping Andre Branch in Miami is the best thing for everyone involved. Branch seems to be benefiting from competing with guys like Wake, Williams, and Suh on a daily basis. He would be an economical option for the franchise. And he provides youth at a position where the team is old. It’s a win-win for both sides.

(All contract information comes from www. spotrac.com; all snap count information from www.footballoutsiders.com)