Quite a stir was created in the Miami sports scene Thursday night when Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills took to his Instagram account. What started as a rather innocuous live video stream became the talk of a city and many corners of the sports world when reigning Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield entered the comments.
The message was simple: #GetMeToMiami
Kenny Stills is live on Instagram. And Baker Mayfield is letting people know where he wants to be drafted. #miami #dolphins pic.twitter.com/iyUvpXg5Yo
— Simon Clancy (@SiClancy) January 18, 2018
Two factions of sports fans were sent into a cascading stream of gossip and conjecture. The first group was Miami Dolphins fans disillusioned by the injuries and mediocre play of their current starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, and the second contingent were those looking for any minor flaw they could use to expose the polarizing Mayfield.
The discussion reached such a fever pitch that the former Oklahoma quarterback came out to mitigate the damage.
Just so everybody knows... I commented about playing for Miami because I was talking to a former Sooner in Kenny Stills. Everybody can relax, I will play anywhere that gives me a chance. I'm not picky, I will go anywhere and strive to uplift a franchise and win ball games.
— Baker Mayfield (@baker_mayfield6) January 19, 2018
Obviously, both sides overreacted to this and the story took on a life of its own in our 24-hour news cycle. Some Miami fans have still not quieted down, however, beating the drum fervently for the team to draft Mayfield.
This of course to any acute football observer would be a huge mistake. That stands as no knock on Mayfield who may turn out to be a tremendous NFL quarterback.
It is a commentary on the Dolphins needs. This is a roster that went 6-10 in 2017 and has serious question marks almost everywhere on both sides of the ball.
One could even make the argument that a healthy Tannehill makes the quarterback position the second-most solidified on the roster next to Miami's wide receiver corp that is headed by Stills, free agent to be Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker.
Miami can win with Tannehill under center as was evidenced by 2016's 10-6 campaign that put the team in the playoffs for the first time since 2008. While he may be no better than a league average signal caller, look at teams like the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars who respectively have names like Case Keenum and Blake Bortles starting for them and are playing on Championship Weekend.
It is deeply embedded in the fabric of Miami to chase flash and pizzazz, something Mayfield has in spades. Since luxury hotels began rising along the beach in the 1950s, the city has attracted notorious big names from far and wide.
Mayfield fits that bill, but he does not make smart football sense. In fact, it has been a long time since the Dolphins have made enough sensible roster building moves to create a sustained winner.
In part egged on by a fan base obsessed with star culture, the team has pursued celebrity owners like the Williams sisters, big names like Bill Parcells to guide the franchise off the field and large personalities like Ndamukong Suh to improve their fortunes on it. This revolving door strategy has landed flat every time.
Perhaps the Dolphins are finally eschewing their insistence on grabbing the headline and instead building something sustainable under Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Adam Gase. This 2018 NFL Draft will certainly be a big litmus test.
The roadmap is clear: Just say no to Baker.
Carson Ingle is a South Florida native. He has been a sportswriter and sports talk radio host based in Orlando for the past ten years. He can currently be seen several times a week on Spectrum Sports 360's Face-Off segment at 10:30 p.m. on Central Florida News 13, channel 1013. Follow him on Twitter.
Stay connected to all the Miami Sports News and Events by subscribing to 305area, your subscription is always free!
