The Miami Dolphins have a number of key players expected to hit free agency in March, and none of them played more defensive snaps in 2023 than safety DeShon Elliott.
Elliott, 26, signed a one-year, $1.77 million contract with the Dolphins last offseason after spending four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and one with the Detroit Lions.
With Brandon Jones coming off of a torn ACL, there was an expectation that Elliott was going to have to step up into a starting role in Miami as Jones worked his way back into shape, and that’s exactly what he did. Jevon Holland also missed time in 2023, allowing Elliott to play 84% of the team’s defensive snaps.
The former Texas Longhorn finished the year with 82 tackles, seven passes defensed, one interception and one fumble recovered.
Now that Elliott is expected to hit the market in just over a month, what should the Dolphins do?
Elliott’s performance in 2023 doesn’t put him in line to earn a huge payday this offseason. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him receive a bit of a bump, but he probably won’t command more than $5 million annually.
While Miami is in a tough cap situation right now, they don’t really have safety depth waiting to take over. Jones and Elijah Campbell are also set to hit the market, leaving Jevon Holland as the lone safety on the Dolphins’ roster for 2024.
General manager Chris Grier could simply use one of his allotment of picks to take one in this year’s draft, but for a team that’s in a win-now mode, re-signing a known commodity like Elliott on another short one or two-year deal might make some sense. Especially considering that, again, his contract likely won’t break the bank this offseason.
