2023 NFL free agency: Las Vegas Raiders sign former Dolphins defensive tackle John Jenkins

Mar 25, 2023 - 5:38 PM

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The Miami Dolphins plan to leverage a nose tackle in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s 3-4 zone-heavy scheme. Defensive tackle John Jenkins spent the last two years with the Dolphins, but now general manager Chris Grier and the front office will look elsewhere to find depth behind nose tackle Raekwon Davis.

Jenkins, 33 is now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, the team announced on Friday.

Jenkins logged 20 tackles, and two run-stuffs in 16 games with Miami last year. He played just seven games with the Dolphins in 2021. That said, it was actually a second-stint in South Florida for Jenkins, who earned 34 tackles and a sack while playing 16 games with the team in 2019.

The 2013 third-round draft pick spent his first four years with the New Orleans Saints before spending a season with the Seattle Seahawks. He had two stints with the Chicago Bears (2017, 2019) with a total of 212 tackles throughout his 10-year career.

The Dolphins have $3.8 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap. While backup nose tackle is a need for the team, it is a position they can address late in the draft — or wait until June when $13 million of cap space becomes available due to the release of Byron Jones.