5 former Miami Dolphins who are shockingly still not signed

Someday, somehow, we're going to figure out what the Miami Dolphins are doing, but not right now. This team is more likely than not a playoff team again next season. Having Mike McDaniel as their offensive wunderkind head coach is giving this long-suffering AFC East team quite the credibility. The talent has usually always been there, but so has the dysfunction. They always deal with salary issues.

Miami should be vying for a division crown this fall. Yes, they will have to unseat the Buffalo Bills first, but must keep close tabs on the New York Jets nipping at their heels. All the while, the New England Patriots have nothing left to lose, so there is that as well. Regardless, why on Planet Earth are so many former Dolphins still available this late into NFL free agency? Some of them should be signed by now!

For a myriad of reasons, these former Dolphins stars are straight up chilling in the bargain bin, like the stinky fish on ice they truly are. The good news is with fish sometimes, you cannot tell if it is good or bad, especially if you never have had good seafood before. I have, and it is delicious. I know that dolphins aren't fish, but they are some crafty and vicious aquatic beasts we should fear like seal lions.

Anywho, let's start with a former franchise quarterback of theirs who might be out of the league now.

5. Former Tennessee Titans QB Ryan Tannehill

The football career of Ryan Tannehill fascinates me. I don't know if he was ever really all that good, but man, did football people seem to like what his potential was all about. A converted wide receiver out of Texas A&M would occassionally run around and do things in a Dolphins uniform. He honestly covered up a lot of dysfunction there, but had his best seasons playing with the Tennessee Titans.

Firmly in his 30s now, we have to wonder if there is a team out there to be had for Tannehill. The most logical landing spot for him would have been the Pittsburgh Steelers. Apparently, his former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith doesn't really believe in him anymore. You have to wonder if we have really seen the last of Tannehill in an NFL uniform. All I know is he is not going back to Nashville or Miami.

Injuries and a lack of ever really being able to throw the ball down the field led to Tannehill's undoing.

4. Former Miami Dolphins CB Eli Apple

What team is Eli Apple on again? I know, it is exhausting. The former Ohio State standout has been on five NFL teams in his eight-year pro career. While I can recall that he played for the New York Giants, the New Orleans Saints and the Cincinnati Bengals, I totally forgot he played on the Dolphins last season. This might be an overarching reason why he is still available this late into NFL free agency.

Since the Johnny Cash of NFL secondaries has been everywhere, man, I would think he could resurface on any number of teams, given the amount of defensive coordinators he has played for. Could he be a fit to follow Vic Fangio to Philadelphia? What are the chances he links up with Ryan Nielsen in Jacksonville? Is there any hope he goes back to Cincinnati or heads to Denver this year?

Because he is still on the good side of 30, I would suspect somebody will give Apple another bite.

3. Former Miami Dolphins DE Emmanuel Ogbah

This one is odd. After getting lost in the sauce a bit during the early part of his career in Cleveland, Emmanuel Ogbah has really carved out a nice role for him as a pass-rusher on the Dolphins. He parlayed a Super Bowl-winning season with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 into a four-year deal with Miami. Injuries have slowed him down a bit, but his first two years with the Dolphins were incredible.

A pair of nine-sack seasons in 2020 and 2021 had the former Oklahoma State star looking like the player the Browns thought they had coming out in 2016. Now firmly in his 30s, we are probably seeing Ogbah in the midst of the back-nine of his career. For the right price, maybe he returns to Miami? Then again, another change of scenery may do him some good. I believe he still has something left.

Ogbah's stock may be a tinge overvalued, but it may have gotten to the point where it is undervalued.

2. Former Miami Dolphins C Connor Williams

It has to be injuries or something because I don't honestly get it. How is Connor Williams still available? The former second-round pick by the Cowboys spent the last two seasons in Miami. He had been a focal point of the Dolphins' always frustrating offensive line. For them to get a front-five we can trust is like being able to solve a Rubik's cube. You either know the secrets or you do not.

Well on the good side of 30, it is hard to imagine why a player of Williams' caliber has not been signed by anybody just yet. He has played multiple positions along the offensive line in his pro career. For a league that struggles to develop offensive line talent, you would think signing him would be a priority for other teams, but I guess not. It would shock me if he is not on a team by the time fall camp breaks.

The first team that suffers a major injury in the trenches along the offensive interior could be calling.

1. Former Miami Dolphins CB Xavien Howard

Make this make sense because it most certainly does not. I understand that the Dolphins added Jalen Ramsey ahead of last season, but why on earth did they let go of one of their best players in cornerback Xavien Howard? He has been a perennial Pro Bowler since coming out of Baylor nearly a decade ago. He is a ball-hawking machine. While he may have been expensive, just figure it out!

The fact it has taken this long for Howard to resurface is head-scratching. While he may be turning 31 on the Fourth of July, we should expect for the second half of his career to be what helps him get to Canton one day. Of course, the right landing spot will determine that for him, but no doubt about it, Howard has been a fantastic player for years in Miami. He helped turn this team around very recently.

If a team is in dire need of a No. 1 corner or a very high-end No. 2, I know a guy who needs a job.