The Campbell Signing Is Having Ripple Effects On Miami’s Roster
Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
A couple of weeks ago, the Miami Dolphins signed veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell to a veteran minimum contract. Campbell was the last high-quality defensive lineman on the free agent market, and the Dolphins are getting a proven veteran who played over 700 snaps for the Falcons in 2023, mostly as a defensive end. Campbell finished last season with a PFF grade of 80.0, and he is posed to start alongside Zach Sieler and either Benito Jones or Teair Tart, both of whom are vying for the starting nose tackle job.
Everyone knows that Campbell is a really good player who will be an important part of Anthony Weaver’s defense. That being said, this signing created a domino effect within the Dolphins’ defensive line room. Players who were once viewed as safe bets to make the team are now in danger of falling short of making the final 53-man roster. So let’s go over the big-picture ramifications of the Campbell signing and what it means for the rest of the Dolphins’ roster.
Three players should be on notice after this signing: Neville Gallimore, Jonathan Harris, and Da’Shawn Hand. All three guys will be competing with each other for the same job. Let’s start with Hand, whose fate may be the least impacted by the Campbell addition. Hand is entering his second year with the Dolphins, and at one point was viewed as the favorite to start alongside Sieler at defensive end. Back in 2014, Da’Shawn Hand was the top high school recruit in the country who ultimately failed to produce at Alabama and fell to the fourth round where he was drafted by the Detroit Lions.
However, Hand was very effective in the limited snaps he played last season. Hand had just 26 snaps where he lined up over an offensive tackle and a mere 5 snaps at nose tackle. For the remainder of his 168 snaps, he played as a defensive tackle facing off against guards. Still, in that short opportunity, Hand finished the 2023 season with an overall PFF grade of 85.0, which makes him the highest-graded defensive lineman out of the three aforementioned players. Therefore, Hand should get some second-team reps at defensive tackle and ultimately be ahead of Harris and Gallimore on the depth chart.
That leaves Harris and Gallimore, who are both fighting each other for a roster spot. In a post-Christian Wilkins era where the Dolphins are still trying to establish their defensive line rotation, the team should be expected to keep a total of six defensive linemen. Right now, Sieler, Campbell, Jones, Tart, and Hand are squarely in the top five. There’s one spot left, so which of the two remaining linemen is worth keeping on the roster?
Harris and Gallimore are both new additions to the Dolphins in 2024. Harris entered the league in 2019 as an undrafted free agent from Lindenwood University and signed with the Chicago Bears. A couple of months later, Harris was waived by the Bears and was signed by the Denver Broncos. Jonathan was a mainstay on Denver’s practice squad for a few years before playing a career-high 529 snaps for the Broncos in 2023. Harris finished the season with a pedestrian PFF grade of 52.0. His run defense (52.8) and pass rush (51.3) grades were nearly identical, with Harris performing slightly better against the run.
Meanwhile, Gallimore entered the league with a lot higher draft pedigree. Gallimore was once viewed as one of the better defensive tackles in his draft class back in 2020, which featured the likes of Derrick Brown and Justin Madibuke. Despite showing flashes of high-end talent early in his career, Gallimore never fully lived up to the hype. That being said, he still offers some upside as a pass rusher, as he finished the 2023 season with a PFF pass-rushing grade of 65.7. Additionally, Neville has more guaranteed money in his contract and a larger signing bonus than Harris does, which means the Dolphins have less financial incentive to cut Gallimore.
With all things considered, Harris is now looking like the odd man out and is likely to be cut before the start of the regular season. As for how Campbell affects the rest of the defensive line rotation, his addition should allow guys like Hand and Gallimore to be used more sparingly in sub-packages, as opposed to playing more snaps than they can realistically handle. The ability to ease these less-proven players into larger roles and responsibilities will be just one of the many ways that Campbell will make an impact this season.
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