Dolphins landed two bargains signing Calais Campbell and Marcus Maye this week

In the span of a week the Miami Dolphins added two veteran NFL starters for less than $3.4 million.

And that’s not the salary for each player. That’s the total on how much Miami spent to sign safety Marcus Maye and defensive lineman Calais Campbell, signing the pair to one-year deals that can help address weak areas on Miami’s training camp roster.

And despite the latest additions, the Dolphins maintain $16 million in cap space heading into the 2024 season. That money can be used to help extend contracts for impending free agents such as Jevon Holland, sign other free agents, acquire players via trade, or it can be carried over into the next year as a surplus if unused.

Maye, who has started all 77 of the NFL games he has s played for the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints the past seven seasons, landed a one-year deal worth just under $1.4 million.

Maye, who contributed 37 tackles, one sack and pulled down two interceptions in the seven games he played for the Saints last season, received a $167,500 signing bonus, and $400,000 of his salary was guaranteed.

Campbell, a 37-year-old who pushed off retirement for another season because he’s pursuing a Super Bowl win, will be paid $2 million this season, and $790,000 of it was given to him through a signing bonus.

“I take great pride in being one of the best run-stopping five techniques to ever play this game, and I still think I’ve got a lot of juice in the pass rush role too,” said Campbell, who has record 105.5 career sacks, which ranks him behind only Von Miller and Cameron Jordan for career sacks from active NFL players. “I still think I’m very dominant in the five technique.”

The expectation was that Campbell, a former University of Miami standout, could have landed a larger deal considering he contributed 56 tackles and 6.5 sacks, and was the 23rd-ranked edge defender by Pro Football Focus in the 712 defensive snaps he played for the Atlanta Falcons last season, a year where he was paid $7 million.

Campbell is expected to serve as a starting defensive lineman in Anthony Weaver’s 3-4 based defense, and his history with Miami’s newly appointed defensive coordinator from their two seasons together in Baltimore likely gives him the edge over Da’Shawn Hand, Jonathan Harris and Neville Gallimore to pair with Zach Sieler as the five-technique defensive linemen that sandwiches in the nose tackle, which will either be Teair Tart, Benito Jones or Brandon Pili.

However, the Dolphins intend for the defensive linemen to play in waves, distributing the snaps somewhat evenly to keep everyone fresh for the end of games.

Weaver, who worked his way up the NFL ranks coaching defensive linemen, claims he’s looking for the right balance of “grinders,” and “tweeners,” on Miami’s defensive front.

According to Weaver, grinders “change the math” in the middle, forcing an offensive line to assign two blockers to that player.

“We need guys who are athletic enough to win the pass rush, whether that be with power or finesse,” Weaver said. “We’re looking for the right balance, and combination of that. Making sure you have enough of each.

“I think we have that,” Weaver continued. “A lot of these guys may not be household names, but they’ve all had a taste of production in this league and their best years are yet to come.”

Maye will compete with Holland, a three-year starter, Jordan Poyer, an 11-year veteran Miami signed this offseason to a one-year deal worth $2 million, and Elijah Campbell for playing time, and starting roles in Miami’s secondary.

During his NFL career Maye has played both free safety and strong safety. He has contributed 409 tackles, eight interceptions, 4.5 sacks, forced five fumbles, and recovered one.

Mayes only started seven games for the Saints last season because he missed three due to an NFL suspension, and his season ended prematurely because of a shoulder injury he suffered in week 12 against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Ravens, which is the franchise Weaver comes from, used three safeties as much as any team in the NFL last season, and the prevailing thought is that Miami’s base defense — or at least a prominent package — might feature three safeties like how the Ravens used Kyle Hamilton, Geno Stone and Marcus Williams on the field for a combined 2,524 defensive snaps in 2023.