Latest news with #JonahSavaiinaea
Miami Herald
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Kelly: History says plenty of Dolphins rookies will be put in position to start
The Miami Dolphins have Jonah Savaiinaea penciled in as one of the team's starting guards from the day they drafted the University of Arizona standout in the second round. Whether he's on the left or the right will be determined in training camp, whenever he signs his deal and shows up. Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers will each play 400-plus snaps this season if healthy. All three college nose tackles will be given an opportunity to cement themselves as Miami's starting defensive linemen because that unit's bare with the exception of Zach Sieler, who might participate in a training camp hold-in, limiting his practices while he and his agent pushes for a new contract, and nose tackle Benito Jones. And there's literally nobody standing in Jason Marshall Jr.'s way of becoming a rookie starter at cornerback for the Dolphins. That means five of the Dolphins' 20 rookies who report for training camp on Tuesday have a legit chance to become day one starters for Miami. The recent addition of Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick makes it highly unlikely that Dante Trader Jr., the Maryland standout Miami selected in the fifth round, becomes a rookie starter. He'd have to beat out veterans like Ashtyn Davis, Ifeatu Melifonwu, and Elijah Campbell for one of the top four safety spots on the depth chart. That's not impossible, but it's also not likely. It's more realistic that Trader becomes a core special teams contributor considering he excels playing the third phase of the game in college. Marshall Jr. has the best runway to become a day one starter out of all late-round selections because Kader Kohou is the only established cornerback more securely fixed to the 53-man roster. Marshall, who had an uneven collegiate career at the University of Florida, will compete with veterans Kendall Sheffield, Artie Burns, Cam Smith, Ethan Bonner, Isaiah Johnson, Ryan Cooper Jr., and fellow rookies B.J. Adams and Ethan Robinson for one of the three starting cornerback roles in Miami's secondary. Last season the Dolphins carried six cornerbacks on the 53-man roster. Rookie tailback Ollie Gordon II, a 2024 fifth-round pick, and quarterback Quinn Ewers, the Dolphins' seventh-round pick, will have a shot to unseat a top backup at their positions, and whether or not they achieve that will likely depend on how quickly both digest Miami's playbook, and how they perform in the exhibition season. Coach Mike McDaniel has been known to elevate rookie tailbacks up the depth chart quickly, going back to his days as the run game coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, so don't be surprised if Gordon finds a role in the backfield rotation. His size (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) and physical running style could become beneficial to converting short yardage situations, which is an area the Dolphins have struggled for three seasons. From a defensive tackle standpoint, the Dolphins have benefited from plenty of rookie contributors over the years. But most have gotten off to slow starts. Christian Wilkins, a first-round pick in 2019, recorded 56 tackles, two sacks, forced a fumble and recovered one in the 729 defensive snaps he played in 16 games. However, that 2019 defense was a disaster considering that was Miami's tanking season. Davon Godchaux, a fifth round pick from the 2017 draft class, was the rookie contributor on the defensive line before Wilkins' arrival. Godchaux, who is entering his ninth NFL season with the New Orleans Saints projected as a starter, contributed 40 tackles and forced one fumble in the 500 snaps he played over 15 games. It should be pointed out that he only started five of those games in the final season where Ndamukong Suh was with the Dolphins. There was also Raekwon Davis, a second round pick in 2020, who contributed 40 tackles in the 539 snaps he played over 16 games (12 starts). Davis started 48 games for the Dolphins over the next four seasons, but never contributed more than the 40 tackles he recorded as a rookie, and has produced just two career sacks. As for offensive linemen drafted by the Dolphins this decade, they've had varying outcomes. But few of them thrived as rookies. Laremy Tunsil is the one immediate success story. He served as the starting left guard on one of Miami's better offensive lines in 2016 before moving to left tackle the next season. Tunsil, whom the Dolphins traded to Houston in 2019 for a treasure chest of draft picks and players, has been selected to five Pro Bowls, and is expected to serve as the Washington Commanders' starting left tackle. Since then Isaac Asiata (a 2017 fifth-round pick), Michael Dieter (a 2019 third-round pick), Austin Jackson (a 2020 first-round pick), Robert Hunt (a second-round pick in 2020), Solomon Kindley (a fourth-rounder in 2020), Liam Eichenberg (a second rounder in 2021), Larnel Coleman (seventh-rounder in 2021), Ryan Hayes (seven-rounder in 2023), and Patrick Paul (second-rounder in 2024) have all struggled. Jackson, who started at left tackle as a rookie and was eventually moved to left guard his second season because of his struggles, eventually settled in as a productive starting right tackle. But his blossoming took place in his third season. Hunt was the closest to an immediate success, and is having the most impressive career of the nine offensive linemen drafted since 2017. Eichenberg has struggled in most of his 52 starts for the Dolphins the past four seasons. It explains why he's started games at all five positions on Miami's offensive line, but he seems to be settling in as a valued backup. Paul was groomed all last season to replace Terron Armstead as Miami's starting left tackle, but the 337 offensive snaps he logged on the field as a rookie produced an uneven performance. Miami's hope is that Paul, who is 6-foot-7, 332 pounds, will blossom in his second NFL season as he begins to settle in at left tackle.
Miami Herald
14-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Kelly: Jonah Savaiinaea and other second-round picks can create NFL necessary change
Jonah Savaiinaea's football conditioning, mastery of the offense, playbook and his technique are critical to the Miami Dolphins' success in 2025. Dolphins management traded a significant amount of resources to move up 11 spots in the 2025 NFL Draft to select the University of Arizona offensive lineman early in the second round with the intent of making him one of the team's two starting guards. His development is a major story line of training camp, which technically begins Tuesday when the rookies report. But unfortunately for the team, a healthy Savaiinaea might be forced to sit out days, if not weeks of training camp because the versatile and athletic lineman plays an important role when it comes to the NFL's future, and its workforce's multidecade push for contracts to become fully guaranteed. First-round picks are typically the only players in the NFL who have their entire contracts fully guaranteed at the initial signing. That has been the case since 2011 when the Collective Bargaining Agreement changed, and subsequently drastically reduced the rookie salary scale. However, two of the 32 second-round picks had their entire rookie deals guaranteed this year, and agents around the league (and the NFLPA if they smarten up) intend to create a domino effect that possibly changes how the NFL does business. If each 2025 second-round pick holds out until his four-year deal (which is worth $7.1 million for the last pick (64), and $11.8 million for the 33rd pick) is fully guaranteed then that becomes two of the seven rounds of the draft that have their rookie deals guaranteed. And maybe in the next year or two it will become the third-rounders, and the year or two after that the fourth rounders, and so on and so on. Football is the most popular profitable, and brutal American professional sport, and ironically it's the only one where the contracts players sign aren't guaranteed. But what most people don't know is that there isn't any Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) language that makes NBA, NHL and MLB contracts guaranteed, it's just the way those sports have done business over time, and it eventually became the culture of those leagues. That's what needs to happen to football, and there's no better time than now considering collegiate NIL contracts are steadily soaring (SEC starters reportedly earn at least $800,000 based on agent sources). We will soon get to the point where college football teams might be offering a player projected as a second or third-round pick more money than the NFL, which pays rookies a signing bonus based on the round they are selected in, and a $840,000 base salary this season. Coincidentally, that base salary goes up based on playing-time incentives for young players not drafted in the first or second round because they aren't eligible. That might explain why former tight end Durham Smythe was nearly making double what Mike Gesicki was earning in the fourth year of their rookie deals when they came from the same draft. The difference was Smythe was a fourth-round pick, selected two round behind Gesicki. The prevalence of guaranteed contracts in the NBA, MLB and NHL are largely produced by the demand for these top athletes, rather than a specific mandate in CBA language. But NFL owners, and the people who work for them on behalf of the team, are dead set against this, especially since the NFL has the largest workforce. The league was actually caught colluding against that workforce to prevent guaranteed salaries based on an independent investigation recently done. This past decade only two quarterbacks received full guaranteed contracts. Minnesota gave Kirk Cousins one in 2018, and Cleveland gave Deshaun Watson the second in the five-year, $230 million renegotiated deal he got after the Browns traded for him in 2022. An independent investigation found that NFL owners and management colluded to ensure that nobody followed Watson during the offseason Lamar Jackson, a two-time MVP, because a free agent in 2023, and nobody but the Ravens bid on his services. And what was the NFL's punishment for these collusion findings? A slap on the wrist, maybe. Nothing will ever change until a select group of NFL players and their agents take a stand, and this might be that time. Maybe missing the team's starting guard for the first month of training camp will force the Dolphins to eventually cave on their collusive efforts. After all, we're haggling over guaranteeing $2.4 million more of the $11.3 million Savaiinaea is expected to earn during the next four years. Keep in mind that NFL owners haven't taken a financial loss in decades, and the salary cap has nearly doubled from a decade ago when the cap was $143.3 million. It has risen by $135.9 million in a decade, to $279.2 million which means each team's profits have doubled as well since the cap is based on profit sharing. And that's annually. We're at the point where Dolphins owner Steve Ross has reportedly turned down a $10 billion offer to sell his franchise, and sports holdings, which he initially paid $1.1 billion for in 2009. Talk about a return on an investment! So crying poverty isn't the right approach, especially to player advocates like myself, who can name two dozen players I've covered since 2007 struggling with endless medical issues they developed from playing this brutal sport. At some point something has to give if the NFLPA wants to create change, inching toward guaranteed contracts for its workforce. This is up to the teams and agents to figure out, but at some point the NFL has to negotiate in good faith, which would be a complete about-face of how they've done business for 50-plus years. Hopefully Savaiinaea and these 28 other second-round picks are willing to become the 32 players who create the necessary change by sidelining themselves, holding out.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dolphins' Jonah Savaiinaea Reportedly Most Impressive Rookie Early in Offseason
Dolphins' Jonah Savaiinaea Reportedly Most Impressive Rookie Early in Offseason originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Miami Dolphins drafted offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft to bolster their trenches headed into this season. Advertisement Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has dealt with too many injuries, and protecting the Dolphins' franchise quarterback is the No. 1 priority. Savaiinaea brings versatility to Miami's offensive line as he started 36 games across three years at the University of Arizona at three different positions along the offensive line. The Wildcat played 16 games at right tackle, 15 games at right guard, and five games at left tackle. Savaiinaea earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors in 2022 and 2023, and All-Big 12 Honors in 2024 when Arizona made the conference move. In 2024, Savaiinaea led Arizona with an offensive grade of 75.9 per PFF, and in his 738 snaps played, he allowed just four sacks, two quarterback hits, and 10 hurries. Advertisement The Wildcats' offensive lineman has continued that success through the beginning of his first offseason in the NFL, reportedly impressing media and his offensive line coach in Miami. "You see he's a big-body guy that's really explosive, that can run - heavy handed - can anchor the pocket, but explosive in the run game," Butch Barry said. University of Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea (OL36) answers questions at a press conference during the 2025 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Musselman-Imagn Images Savaiinaea's rare combination of size and athleticism has been most impressive early on. The offensive lineman excels as a run blocker with his wide frame and sound footwork, and his pass protection is better on the inside as a guard. The Arizona product could be the Dolphins' potential starter in 2025 at one of the guard positions if he continues his impressive offseason performance. Advertisement The Miami Herald's Omar Kelly noted that although Savaiinaea has impressed so far, it's hard to learn too much from the players in the trenches until they reach training camp and practice with pads. However, Kelly named Savaiinaea as his most impressive rookie so far. Fellow Dolphins' offensive lineman James Daniels has also been impressed with Savaiinaea's eagerness to learn. "He's always texting me, he's always texting other players asking for advice," Daniels said. "He's always working after practice. Pretty excited to see his development." The Dolphins will learn more about their second-round pick when training camp gets underway in July, but early reports on Savaiinaea are a welcoming sign in Miami. Advertisement Related: Colts Make Jim Irsay Announcement for Week 1 Against Dolphins This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dolphins Second-Rounder Remains Unsigned in June
Dolphins Second-Rounder Remains Unsigned in June originally appeared on Athlon Sports. As of June 9, only two second-round picks from the 2025 NFL Draft have signed with their respective teams. Wide receiver Jayden Higgins signed his rookie deal with the Houston Texans on May 9; linebacker Carson Schwesinger followed suit with the Cleveland Browns three days later. Advertisement This means that offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, whom the Miami Dolphins selected with the No. 37 overall pick, is among the 30 second-rounders who have yet to ink their rookie contracts. At the center of the NFL's latest contract-related trend is the concept of signing bonuses, which is the only condition of a rookie's contract that can be negotiated. The total value of each contract, as well as its average annual value (AAV), is already set in stone, per the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The Texans and Browns, respectively, have since bucked previous trends by making Higgins' and Schwesinger's contracts fully guaranteed, marking the first instances of second-round picks being signed to such deals. As a result, unsigned second-rounders are likely leaning towards receiving more money upfront and are in active negotiations to be compensated similarly to Higgins and Schwesinger. University of Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea (OL36) answers questions at a press conference during the 2025 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Musselman-Imagn Images The total value of Savaiinaea's rookie contract is $11,310,028, with an AAV of $2,827,507 across four seasons and a signing bonus of $4,865,477, according to contract data from Spotrac. Even though Savaiinaea has yet to put pen to paper, he has been present at the Dolphins' OTAs. Advertisement Before being drafted by the Dolphins, Savaiinaea played three seasons of college football at Arizona, where he started all 36 games he appeared in. He started 12 contests at right guard as a freshman in 2022, resulting in him picking up an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and a spot on Pro Football Focus' All-True Freshman Team. He subsequently earned another All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention nod in 2023 and an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention nod in 2024. Related: Dolphins Trade Idea Sends Jalen Ramsey to Packers Amid Jaire Alexander Decision This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dolphins' Jonah Savaiinaea Praised by Coaches Early
Dolphins' Jonah Savaiinaea Praised by Coaches Early originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Miami Dolphins are ramping up their 2025 season with organized team activities (OTAs) wrapping up and mandatory minicamp beginning this week. Advertisement One rookie is stealing the spotlight and offensive line coach Butch Barry has taken notice. Miami traded up in the second round of this year's draft to pick offensive guard Jonah Savaiinaea. He was one of several additions to help bolster the team's play along the line of scrimmage. According to Enzo Flojo at Yahoo Sports, early returns from OTAs suggest that move might be paying dividends. Barry emphasized Savaiinaea's rare combination of size and athleticism. 'You see he's a big‑body guy that's really explosive, that can run... heavy‑handed... can anchor the pocket, but explosiveness in the run game.' Barry said. Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea (OL36) runs in the 40-yard dash during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Lee-Imagn Images Flojo also says the versatility mentioned above is a big reason Savaiinaea has stood out during reps at both left and right guard. Advertisement The young lineman has been taking the challenge head-on. 'Our standard of work has to be there and the guys are doing it and they're responding and exceeding. Because at the end of the day, it's all about them being the best version of themselves.' With Daniels still rehabbing, Savaiinaea's versatility and toughness fill a key hole up front. Potentially as a starter, or as a high-quality backup. His performance during OTAs signals a shift toward Miami's youth movement, and with a franchise focused on youth and building depth, Savaiinaea is exactly the kind of player that could have a key role in their offensive line going forward. Related: Dolphins Second-Rounder Remains Unsigned Amid Rookie Contract Trend This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
