Dolphins Are Makin' a Free-Agent Wish List, Checkin' It Twice

Okay, so I think we've established that there are no quick fixes for this 2007 Dolphins outfit. Which means that it's going to take time to turn things around in Miami. One way -- and the way preferred by Kansas City fan favorite, Herm Edwards -- is through the draft. The other option is to load up on high-priced free agents. That strategy has been a resounding success in Washington.

Clearly, some mix of the two roster-building methods is the best way to build a team, and the New England Patriots would be the most obvious example. So who might the Dolphins target this off-season? Well, according to the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero, the team should have roughly $25 million in cap space, and he writes that the defense could use an infusion of veteran playmakers.

Topping the free-agent wish list: Colts' safety Bob Sanders, followed by Pats cornerback Asante Samuel. Salguero thinks Sanders could be good for Jason Allen's development, and Samuel would be the team's first "lock-down cornerback" since Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison were in their primes. On the defensive line, Salguero shoots for the moon with Albert Haynesworth.

Here's the thing, though: the Colts will probably make a serious push to keep Sanders (although, they have to re-sign Dallas Clark too; who knows if they will be able to pull off two ginormous contracts), and while it looks like Samuel is done in New England, it's going to take some serous bank -- we're talking Nate Clements money here -- to land him.

Do the Dolphins want to devote so much of their cap to one player? And more importantly, would Samuel want to go from a perennial winner to a team that hasn't won a game 15 weeks into the season?

Haynesworth would obviously be a welcome addition, but head coach Jeff Fisher mentioned during last week's Monday night game that there's a good chance his defensive tackle will be in Tennessee for the foreseeable future. Which pretty much puts the Dolphins right back where they started.