The Miami Dolphins are not done building an explosive and reliable offensive structure around quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. On Wednesday, the team signed veteran wide receiver Willie Snead IV, who will be 32 by October.
Undrafted player in 2014, Snead has had a solid NFL career. He's been with the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints (where his career initially took off), Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders, and Panthers again. In the last two seasons, he was with the San Francisco 49ers, which will certainly help because the receiver already knows the offensive scheme.
Even though he's been around for a long time, Snead hasn't played much over the last three seasons. The veteran player participated in only 17 games between 2021 and 2023. His best individual season came in 2015, when he had 984 yards and three touchdowns for the Saints.
Depth
Even though Willie Snead is a solid veteran presence, it will be a long road for him to make the 53-man roster. The wide receiver room is crowded and one of the best in the league — if not the best. The group has Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Odell Beckham, Braxton Berrios, River Cracraft, Erik Ezukanma, Anthony Schwartz, Kyric McGowan, and Braylon Sanders, plus rookies Malik Washington, a sixth-round pick, and undrafted Je'Quan Burton
The Dolphins have recently agreed to give Tua Tagovailoa $53.1 million per season. It has two direct consequences. First, it's important to find cheap offensive pieces, and Snead fits that mold. Moreover, the Dolphins want to keep adding pieces around Tagovailoa to make sure he's playing at his best.
Money
It's wild how much the Dolphins have invested in the wide receiver position. General manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel are aligned in the understanding of how valuable the position is to the system, and adding more pieces — even if not top alternatives — is connected with that perception.
In 2024, the Dolphins will pay $19.928 million to Waddle , $19.765 million to Hill, $3 million to Beckham , and several other smaller deals to receivers. Additionally, they are spending $4.31 million with tight end Jonnu Smith and $3.375 million with Durham Smythe. They compensate for that with an inexpensive running back room — Raheem Mostert is the only one earning more than $2 million this season.
The team is also taking advantage of Tua's last cheap cap hit year . By the way the contract was structured, the quarterback will count only $9.525 million against the 2024 cap. It jumps to $59.446 million in 2025 — the most likely scenario is that they will eventually restructure that number next year, but it's still a massive amount.
Corresponding move
To open up the roster space to add Snead, the Miami Dolphins waived undrafted rookie defensive lineman Mario Kendricks.
Related: Miami Dolphins reach massive contract extension with QB Tua Tagovailoa
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