After Shaquil Barrett’s surprise retirement on Saturday, the Dolphins will work out experienced edge rushers Emmanuel Ogbah and Yannick Ngakoue, among others, on Monday.
Drew Rosenhaus, the athletes’ agent, confirmed both of their visits to Dolphins headquarters during his weekly Sunday night program on WSVN-Fox 7.
Ogbah, who was released by the Dolphins in February, may be a better match for new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s scheme than his predecessor Vic Fangio’s.
He had 5.5 sacks last season, three tackles for loss, and 21 tackles in total, despite playing only 25% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps in 2023.
Ogbah, 30, played 77 and 67 percent of Miami’s defensive snaps in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and was a significant rotation player in 2022 before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 9.
However, Ogbah never saw regular playing time during Fangio’s one season as Miami’s defensive coordinator. Ogbah, 6-4, 275 pounds, has 42.5 sacks and 41 tackles for loss in his eight-year NFL career, including 24.5 sacks and 19 TFLs in four seasons with Miami.
Among front seven players, he was also among the league leaders in batted passes during his stint with the Dolphins. The Dolphins released him in February, 23 months after signing him to a four-year, $65 million contract. He had no guaranteed money for the final two seasons, and his release saved Miami $14 million in cap space.
In terms of the other announced Monday exercise… Ngakoue, 29, has played for six different teams in his eight-year career and was named to the Pro Bowl once, in 2017, when he recorded a career-high 12 sacks for Jacksonville.
He had 22 tackles (six for loss) and four sacks in 13 games, all starts, for Chicago last season before suffering a season-ending fractured ankle in Week 14.
He was also a starter the previous two seasons, starting all 17 games in a 10-sack season for Las Vegas in 2021 and all 15 games in a 9.5-sack season for Indianapolis in 2022. Ngakoue, 6-2, 246 pounds, has 69 sacks, 71 tackles for loss, and 21 forced fumbles in his eight-year career.
If either Ogbah or Ngakoue joins with the Dolphins, it will almost certainly be for a lower salary than they received last year.
Last season, Ogbah had the Dolphins’ highest base pay of $16 million, while Ngakoue made $10.5 million on a one-year contract with Chicago.
The Dolphins are expected to recruit at least one experienced edge rusher after Barrett startled the organization by retiring on Saturday, stating a desire “to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping them realize [their] dreams…” Even with Barrett, the Dolphins were already short on outside linebackers because starters Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are rehabbing from significant injuries and will start training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
Phillips, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon against the Jets on November 24, is running smoothly and told ESPN in April that he will be ready for the season, though he did not specify if he meant the Sept. 8 season opener against visiting Jacksonville.
Chubb is rehabbing from a torn ACL in his right knee, which he suffered on December 31, and might return during the first half of the season. Cameron Goode, an outside linebacker, is also expected to miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a torn patellar tendon in Week 17 versus Buffalo.
The Dolphins’ top two healthy outside linebackers are youngsters Chop Robinson (first-round pick) and Mo Kamara (fifth-round pick).
Other outside linebackers under contract include Quinton Bell (who has played nine NFL games for Atlanta and Tampa), undrafted UCLA rookie Grayson Murphy, second-year player Zeke Vandenburgh (who missed last season due to an injury), and Cam Brown, who was primarily a special teams player for the Giants but can play both inside and outside linebacker. Dolphins veterans reported to training camp on Tuesday.
The team’s first session is Wednesday morning, and the first practice available to the public is on Sunday morning.