Emmanuel Ogbah Stayed Ready For Miami
Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
It would have been easy for Emmanuel Ogbah to do any number of things after the Miami Dolphins released him early in the offseason. He could have panicked and jumped to the first team that had any sort of interest in him. He could have taken it easy, waiting for a team to sign him before getting back into football shape. Heck, he’s 30 years old, a Super Bowl champion, and has made over $45 million in guaranteed money in his career. He could’ve just rode off into the sunset.
But when the team that cast him off needed him back, Ogbah showed the organization exactly why they valued him enough to guarantee him $32 million back in 2022. Ogbah’s not back in Miami for much, his salary is just $3.25 million, with $2 million guaranteed. He’s there because he wants to be part of the franchise, and he made that clear with his actions and when talking to the media on Monday.
“I definitely had options,” Ogbah said when asked if his agent Drew Rosenhaus tried to direct him towards another team, rather than stay patient. Why not take them? “I just wanted the right fit, the right environment. That’s kind of why I took so long to sign with a team.”
He’s in the right spot now, the one where he knows the team and its culture well. The place where he saw the peak of his career, in terms of individual numbers, with 9.0 sacks in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021. Ogbah saw his playing time decrease last season, playing just 25% of the defensive snaps for the Dolphins, but has new opportunities in front of him.
Miami has had an exodus of pass-rushing talent, with Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel leaving the organization in free agency. In addition, Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips are starting the year on the PUP list. First-round pick Chop Robinson can only stop the bleeding so much, particularly after Shaquil Barrett’s surprise retirement.
After Barrett retired, Miami had Ogbah and former Pro Bowler Yannick Ngakoue come to South Beach for workouts. Ogbah won out, and has rewarded the team by looking every bit like the impact player he was at his peak with the Dolphins so far in training camp.
Back and already on the aux
🎲 @EmanOgbah pic.twitter.com/mSeWoAMwiI
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) July 25, 2024
“I knew going in I had to stay ready for any call I was going to get. So I just stayed down here and stayed training, just stayed in shape, just ready,” Ogbah told reporters who were impressed with his high level of conditioning after being unsigned for months. “I’ve been in the league long enough to know how to be prepared.”
That preparation is going to require him to learn a new defense, along with the rest of his teammates. But with new coordinator Anthony Weaver’s communication skills, Ogbah knows what’s being asked of him, and it appears Weaver wants him to play in a way to highlight his strengths.
“[Weaver] explained to me in detail what he expects of me and what I expect of him,” Ogbah explained. “I feel more comfortable in this defense. I’m not asked to do way too much.”
That was a problem last year, where in Vic Fangio’s defense (not that the pro lineman threw his old coach under the bus by name) had Ogbah going out of his comfort zone. It explains the drop in not just playing time, but his production, as well. But just as Ogbah was ready to put aside Miami cutting him, he’s ready to put the down season behind him, as well. “It’s a new year, enough with the old.”
Top Dolphins training camp performers so far.
1. Tyreek Hill
2. Jalen Ramsey
3. Tua Tagovailoa
4. Jaylen Waddle
5. Quinton Bell
6. Jevon Holland
7. Emmanuel Ogbah
8. Ethan Bonner
9. Jeff Wilson
10. Chop Robinson— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) August 6, 2024
And why wouldn’t he focus on the here and now, when he’s doing so well beside Robinson in training camp? He’s doing it all in training camp, getting to the quarterback, stopping the run, knocking down passes in vintage form. Now playing linebacker in lieu of Chubb and Phillips, Ogbah is seizing the new opportunity and embracing the “next man up” mentality.
“It’s just the mindset, the work we’ve put in,” explains the pass rush’s effectiveness without their top names. “We’ve got to put in the effort, we got to work while we wait on them to get healthy…. We’re just trying to be the best we can be right now.”
They are accomplishing just that, and it all starts with Ogbah and his commitment to being ready at a moment’s notice to step back into the Dolphins’ defense. He stayed ready for them, and because of that, the Dolphins are ready for the season despite the many curveballs that have come their way.
Up Next