Tony Jefferson should be on Miami’s radar after coming out of retirement

The Miami Dolphins should consider adding former Baltimore Ravens safety Tony Jefferson, who announced he’s coming out of retirement.

The Miami Dolphins are finalizing the 90-man training camp roster but there’s still time to make changes before practice ramps up come late July. The Dolphins are set for a post-June 1 payday of $18.5 million after parting ways with cornerback Xavien Howard and could use that money to reinforce the trenches or add to a top-heavy secondary.

The Dolphins will jump from No. 30 to 14 in available salary cap space. However, considering the team is already $11 million over the 2025 cap without a franchise quarterback under contract, top-remaining free agents like two-time Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons may be out of Miami’s price range.

How about former Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, and San Francisco 49ers safety Tony Jefferson?

Jefferson, 32, announced this week that he’s coming out of retirement in hopes of playing in 2024. The former Oklahoma Sooners safety played seven seasons in the NFL before announcing his retirement on May 25, 2023.

Jefferson battled a foot injury in 2022 and appeared in six games with the 49ers and Ravens in 2021. He was signed to Baltimore’s practice squad on Dec. 13, 2021 — when Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver served as defensive line coach and run-game coordinator.

It’s important to note that the last time Jefferson played in more than six games was in 2018. He’s battled a torn ACL and didn’t play in 2020 before spending time on a pair of practice squads.

That said, the Dolphins wouldn’t be signing Jefferson for his 91 total tackles in 2016 or six passes defended in 2018, but instead to serve as a spark for a unit that could use some guidance.

Jevon Holland and Elijah Campbell (two career starts over the last four seasons) are the team’s only returning safeties from last season. Miami added former Buffalo Bills captain Jordan Poyer, 33, and filled out the remaining roster spots with a promising trio of rookies in Patrick McMorris, Mark Perry, and Jordan Colbert.

Jefferson could be trusted if Poyer or Holland can’t play early in the season. Additionally, his years of experience and familiarity with the defensive system could help the newcomers hit the ground running.

“I think a lot of success comes from just the communication part, especially on the back end,” Poyer recently said. “If you want to be successful you got to know who you’re playing with essentially. You’ve got to know the guys on and off the field.”

The Dolphins have slowly become a destination for experienced players following four straight winning seasons. Players like Poyer and three-time Pro Bowl receiver Odell Beckham Jr. joined Miami to play meaningful late-season game

“I want to win a Super Bowl,” Beckham said in his first press conference with the Dolphins. “I still dare to be great. There is a reason that I’m still doing this, still playing. The expectations are still there, but it’s not the end-all be-all for me.”

No team wins the offseason in June — even the NFL Draft doesn’t move a team’s odds for the upcoming year. Jefferson isn’t coming out of retirement to start 16 games and the Dolphins already have a dynamic safety duo with Holland and Poyer. Still, Jefferson has the short-term potential and long-term experience to improve Miami’s safety group for 2024.