When it comes to Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips, and Jevon Holland, the Miami Dolphins may want to take a cue from the Detroit Lions.
Safety for the Miami Dolphins Jevon Holland expressed his happiness on social media on Wednesday after his college teammate Penei Sewell signed a huge contract extension.
Holland is not the only member of the Dolphins’ 2021 draft class who will surely be looking for his own contract extension sooner rather than later.
And it’s possible that the Dolphins would be wise to take a cue from the Detroit Lions on this particular day, who signed wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in addition to Sewell, and from the Philadelphia Eagles, who extended the contract of DeVonta Smith, a first-round choice in 2021.
WOLVES MUST MAINTAIN THEIR YOUNG STARS
Holland, QB Tua Tagovailoa, WR Jaylen Waddle, and OLB Jaelan Phillips are among the young Dolphins players whose contracts are up soon.
With a rookie contract that includes a fifth-year option, Tagovailoa is signed until 2024, but all indications are that the Dolphins will sign him to an extension at some point this year.
GM Chris Grier has previously stated that the team will activate the fifth-year option for 2025 for both Waddle and Phillips. The move will become official before the deadline. Holland, Waddle, and Phillips are all under contract for 2024. May Holland is in a separate league because he is about to enter a true contract year and is expected to be available as an unrestricted free agency in the spring of 2019.
As three successful draft selections, Waddle, Phillips, and Waddle undoubtedly comprise the core of young talent on the Dolphins roster, in contrast to the expensive players acquired through trades or free agency, such as Bradley Chubb, Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey, and Terron Armstead.
The concept of draft-and-develop, which more typically yields steady performance than extravagant investment, is best shown by the three 2021 draft selections.
However, Waddle, Phillips, and Holland will eventually need to be paid, and paid nicely, and retaining them will only get more expensive if they continue to improve.
The Dolphins would then be at risk of being priced out, as was the case this summer with Robert Hunt and Christian Wilkins. Due to their exorbitant price tag, the Dolphins were unable to retain these two additional in-house players.
In regards to Holland, Waddle, and Phillips, the Dolphins may want to be proactive, especially if they have determined that they are keepers.