After worrisome start, Dolphins seem to be mindful of this area that has caused problems

The moment the Dolphins came to terms with linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. — their first outside free agent addition this week — the thought immediately came to mind:

Are the Dolphins going down this road again of signing players with a history of injuries? Really?

That concern has mostly eased since then — thank you, general manager Chris Grier — but the general point remains the same: The Dolphins, in recent years, likely should have made a players’ durability and medical history a more important factor in making personnel evaluations.

They didn’t seem to do that Walker, who missed 23 games with injuries during the past three seasons. But they seemingly did that with their seven subsequent additions, even though four of them have had significant injuries since 2021.

The good news is that nearly all of them played all or nearly every game last season, which mitigates the concern.

In recent years, the Dolphins have largely overlooked durability concerns in adding several players with a history of injuries, including Terron Armstead, Bradley Chubb, Tua Tagovailoa and Isaiah Wynn. All four have played well for Miami when healthy.

But all four have also missed a lot of games, including 11 by Armstead in his two seasons with the Dolphins and 10 by Wynn in his one season in Miami. (Wynn remains an unsigned free agent.)

Chubb’s torn ACL last year was not to the same knee that sustained the same injury in 2019, so that was something of a fluke. Last year, Tagovailoa made it through a full season healthy for the first time in his four NFL seasons.

The Dolphins ignored the fact that Titans coach Mike Vrabel called David Long Jr. a “repeat offender” with soft tissue injuries and were fortunate that he didn’t miss a game in his first season in Miami.

Here’s how the Dolphins’ new additions stack up on the durability meter:

▪ Brooks: He sustained a torn ACL (knee) just 14 months ago, in a game on Jan. 1, 2023. But he surprised everyone by returning at the start of training camp and playing 16 games.

Because he has played all but two games over the past two years, we wouldn’t consider him an injury risk. In fact, the fact he could come back so quickly off an ACL tear is a positive sign about his body.

▪ Tight end Jonnu Smith: He has played at least 14 games each of the past five seasons, and all 17 last season, so there’s no concern there.

▪ Center Aaron Brewer: He played all 17 games the past two seasons, so no concern here, either.

▪ Linebacker Shaq Barrett: The only concerns, from a durability standpoint, are his age (31) and torn Achilles tendon that limited him to eight games in 2022. Aside from 2022, he played 15 or 16 games in the four other most recent seasons.

▪ Safety Jordan Poyer: Age is one concern; he will be 33 in April. The good news is he played 16 games five of the past six years, including 16 last season.

He was limited to 12 games in 2022 because of a sprained foot, rib injuries that included a punctured lung in Week 4 and a torn meniscus in Week 15. He then sustained a concussion in the playoffs. But I wouldn’t deem him an injury risk.

▪ Special teams ace Siran Neal: No worries. He has played at least 16 games each of the past four seasons.

▪ Defensive tackle Neville Gallimore: He played 16 and 17 games the past two seasons after appearing in only five (all late in the season) in 2021 due to a dislocated elbow sustained in a preseason game.

▪ Walker. This is the only addition with red neon concerns, because he has missed those 23 games over the past three seasons.

Walker missed three games with a hamstring injury in 2021, missed all but three games of the 2022 season with a torn quadriceps and missed the end of this past season because of knee surgery necessitated by an injury sustained in a December practice.

But the investment is minimal: one year at $1.37 million, with $971,500 of that sum guaranteed.

Update: Two veterans added by the Dolphins on Thursday, after this column was posted - cornerback Kendall Fuller and defensive tackle Benito Jones - have been generally available. Jones played all 17 games for the Lions the past two seasons. Fuller has played between 14 and 17 games each of the past four seasons.

Former Chiefs tight end Jody Fortson is fully recovered from a shoulder injury that sidelined him all of last season.

So after alarming us early in free agency, the Dolphins have followed a wiser course on the history-of-durability issue with their other additions.

Durability is one reason why Miami will miss defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who didn’t miss a game the past three seasons.

Availability and durability are critical aspects of evaluation, and it seems like the Dolphins are taking that into account more.

THIS AND THAT

▪ ESPN’s Ryan Clark, on the Dolphins’ addition of Poyer:

“I believe Jordan Poyer is one of the more underrated players in the entire NFL. What he and Micah Hyde were able to do as a safety tandem in Buffalo was absolutely phenomenal.

“Now you pair him with Jevon Holland, who I believe is a young star in this league. And now a new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver can have the back end of this defense run between these two young men with an intellectual approach to the game and Jalen Ramsey on the outside locking down receivers.”

▪ NFL Network’s Jason McCourty said this week: “Once you pay Tua Tagovailoa a new contract and you put him among those top QBs in the NFL, that takes away from the rest of your team. They’ve already lost a ton of guys.”

But most of those subtractions have come from the defense.

Because tight end Smith should give the offense a new dimension, the Dolphins’ offense should be just as good as the 2023 version if new center Brewer shores up his pass protection and if a solid guard is signed to replace Robert Hunt. Left guard also must be addressed.