Unless you win the Super Bowl, the day where players clean out their lockers is usually not a fun one. In the Miami Dolphins case, they were just fresh off their 30-12 playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild-Card Game, so a number of players just wanted to clean out their lockers and leave quickly.
Now that the season is over, players who are impending free agents are now beginning to think about where their future lies. In receiver Kenny Stills case, he hopes his future is in Miami playing for the Dolphins.
“I don’t know how to say how much I want to come back here,” Stills said on Monday. “I want to be back here, yes. I love this team; I love these guys. We did something special after starting 1-4. We did something really special. We’re going to do whatever we can to try and make that happen.”
Stills will be an unrestricted free agent on March 9 at the start of free agency. At almost 25-years-old, Stills is expected to garner a lot of interest from several teams especially since he is coming off the best season he has had in a Dolphins uniform.
In 16 games, Stills caught 42 receptions for 726 yards and nine touchdowns for the Dolphins. His speed makes him a big-play threat any team would love to have in their receiving corps as Stills averaged 17.3 yards per catches, which was third in the league this season.
Considering the Dolphins have Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker and the team traded up to draft rookie Leonte Carroo in the third round of the 2016 draft, it is unknown how much the Dolphins will value Stills. Miami has a lot of other needs, but retaining Stills could be a necessity because of his skill set.
Another player the Dolphins will need to decide on is defensive end Andre Branch. Last offseason, Branch signed a one-year contract with the Dolphins to be used as a backup and rotational player mostly.
Branch ended up becoming a starter and a key asset on the Dolphins defense as he recorded 49 tackles, 5.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss. In his exit interview, Branch told reporters that he would enjoy the chance to return in 2017.
“Yes. I love this place,” Branch said. “They believed in me when not too many people did. I appreciate them for that. So, we’ll see how it goes. I don’t know what the future holds, but I had an amazing time this year.”
Despite Cameron Wake amazing season where he recorded 11.5 sacks, he will be 35 on January 30. Re-signing Branch, along with drafting a defensive end could be in the Dolphins plans as it is never bad to have multiple players that can rush the passer. Branch certainly will be up for a pay increase from the $2.8 million he received this season. Whether the Dolphins decide to be the team to give it to him, that is the question.
Twitter: @antwanstaley
