Dolphins set to audition multiple veteran pass rushers on Monday. These two are confirmed

Scrambling for help in the wake of Shaquil Barrett’s surprising retirement on Saturday, the Dolphins worked out veteran edge rushers Emmanuel Ogbah and Yannick Ngakoue, and possibly others, on Monday.

Both of those players’ visits to Dolphins headquarters were confirmed by their agent Drew Rosenhaus during his weekly Sunday night segment on WSVN-Fox 7.

Ogbah, who was released by the Dolphins in February, could be a better fit in new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s system than predecessor Vic Fangio’s scheme.

He had 5.5 sacks last season and another three tackles for loss, and 21 tackles overall, while playing just 25 percent of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps in 2023.

Ogbah, 30, played 77 and 67 percent of Miami’s defensive snaps in 2020 and 2021, his first two seasons with the team, and was a key rotation player in 2022 before sustaining a season-ending injury in Week 9.

But Fangio never found consistent playing time for Ogbah in Fangio’s only season as Miami’s defensive coordinator.

The 6-4, 275-pound Ogbah has 42.5 sacks and 41 tackles for loss in an eight-year NFL career, and 24.5 sacks and 19 TFLs in four seasons with Miami. Among front seven players, he also ranked among the league leaders in batted passes during his time with the Dolphins.

The Dolphins released him in February, 23 months after signing him to a four-year, $65 million deal. He had no guaranteed money due in his final two seasons, and his release saved Miami $14 million in cap space.

As for the other confirmed Monday workout... Ngakoue, 29, has played for six teams in an eight-year career and was a Pro Bowler once, in 2017, when he had a career-high 12 sacks for Jacksonville.

He had 22 tackles (including six for loss) and four sacks in 13 games, all starts, for Chicago last season before sustaining season-ending broken ankle in Week 14.

He was also a starter the previous two seasons, starting all 17 games in a 10-sack season for Las Vegas in 2021 and starting all 15 of his appearances in a 9.5-sack season for Indianapolis in 2022.

The 6-2, 246-pound Ngakoue has 69 sacks, 71 tackles for loss and 21 forced fumbles in his eight-year career.

If either Ogbah or Ngakoue signs with the Dolphins, it assuredly will be for less money than they earned a year ago. Ogbah had the Dolphins’ highest paid base salary last season at $16 million, while Ngakoue earned $10.5 million on a one-year deal with Chicago.

The Dolphins are expected to add at least one veteran edge rusher after Barrett surprised the team by retiring on Saturday, citing a desire to “to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping them realize [their] dreams...”

Even with Barrett, the Dolphins already were thin at outside linebacker because starters Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are recovering from major injuries and will begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list.

Phillips, who sustained a torn’ Achilles tendon on Nov. 24 against the Jets, is running fluidly and told ESPN in April that he will be ready for the season, though he didn’t clarify if he meant the Sept. 8 season opener against visiting Jacksonville.

Chubb is recovering from a Dec. 31 torn ACL in his right knee and could return at some point during the first half of the season.

Outside linebacker Cameron Goode also is expected to be sidelined into the regular season after sustaining a torn patellar tendon during the Week 17 game against Buffalo.

The Dolphins’ top healthy outside linebackers are rookies Chop Robinson (the team’s first round pick) and Mo Kamara, Miami’s fifth round pick.

Other outside linebackers under contract: Quinton Bell (who has appeared in nine NFL games for Atlanta and Tampa), undrafted UCLA rookie Grayson Murphy, second-year player Zeke Vandenburgh (who missed last season with an injury) and Cam Brown, who was primarily a special teams player for the Giants but can play both inside and outside linebacker.

Dolphins veterans report to training camp on Tuesday. The team’s first practice is Wednesday morning and the first practice open to the public is Sunday morning.