Don’t assume Germain Ifedi didn’t previously have offers, and opportunities for employment by NFL teams just because he signed with the Miami Dolphins last week.
According to the veteran offensive tackle, who has started 90 games during his eight-year NFL career, he had offers to sign before training camp opened, but was being selected about whom he played for, and the opportunities those teams presented him.
“As the years have gone along I try to be a little bit more selective with the opportunities I take,” said Ifedi, who began last season on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad but ended up starting seven of the 15 games he played at left tackle for the Browns. “I looked at this team [and liked it]. I have familiarity with the scheme, and know a lot of teammates and coaches.”
Ifedi is referring to the outside zone running scheme, which he has played in with numerous teams, and offensive guard James Daniels and Larry Borom, whom he played with while a member of the Chicago Bears, whom the Dolphins coincidentally will scrimmage against on Friday, and play preseason game No. 1 against on Sunday.
Ifedi also knows assistant offensive line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre, who coached him for one season in Seattle early in both of their careers.
“I was able to have a comfortable feeling about it,” Ifedi said about the Dolphins. “I like the opportunity I have here.”
The Dolphins present Ifedi, a 2016 first-round pick, a phenomenal chance to make the 53-man roster, or at least earn a spot the practice squad if the 31-year-old impresses the coaches in the next three weeks because offensive tackle happens to be Miami’s thinnest position.
While Patrick Paul, a 2024 second-round pick, is thriving as Miami’s next starting left tackle, consistently performing well in practice, the rest of the Dolphins tackles have struggled.
Bayron Matos sustained a neck/shoulder injury in the first day of training camp and hasn’t practiced since.
And it doesn’t help that Austin Jackson, the Dolphins’ projected starting at right tackle, sustained a lower extremity injury that will keep him sidelined until the start of the regular season, at the earliest.
It should be pointed out that most of Ifedi’s NFL starts have taken place at right tackle and right guard.
That means Larry Borom, a four-year veteran who has started 27 games, Ryan Hayes, a former Dolphins’ seventh-round pick who has spent the past two seasons on Miami’s practice squad, and Kion Smith, a developmental player who has played both guard and tackle with the Dolphins, are Ifedi’s top competition.
Ifedi has played more than 6,000 NFL snaps in regular-season games, so his biggest advantage is his experience level. However, he has battled numerous injuries throughout his career, and at times has struggled to stay healthy.
“I’m feeling good, feeling healthy and excited to be able to help out wherever I can,” Ifedi said. “I’ve got a lot of experience at right tackle, and a lot of experience at guard. As I’ve gotten older I’ve been able to adapt and play multiple positions. When I’m called upon I’m able to produce.
“This is [going into] my 10th year and I think I have a pretty good handle on what it takes to be a productive offensive linemen.”