On a day where the biggest league wide news was supposed to be the opening of the 2011 NFL combine, the Dolphins have had themselves a buzz worthy 24 hours. We all know that the Dolphins have a lot of work to do this offseason on the offensive side of the football, but there was one crucial order of business that needed to be taken care of on the other side.

Of course I’m referring to retaining nose tackle Paul Soliai, who was scheduled to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent before the Dolphins placed the franchise tag on him today. It’s a huge investment for the Dolphins, as Soliai is now guaranteed $12.381 million in 2011. But you could argue that letting him hit free agency would have been considerably more costly. The Dolphins don’t have any legitimate weaknesses on defense, and with Soliai now slated to once again anchor the D-line, Mike Nolan’s unit may be all set to rise to elite status in 2011.

I still think they could upgrade in the pass rushing department and either Reshad Jones or Chris Clemons needs to develop into a reliable free safety, but bringing Soliai back ensures that the Dolphins should pick up where they left off in 2010 as one of the stingiest front sevens against the run in the entire league.

In other news, the Dolphins are apparently the leading candidate to land suddenly available Jeremy Shockey. League sources reported earlier today that Shockey passed a physical with the Dolphins. Although nothing has been confirmed as far as negotiations go, it’s only logical to assume that both parties are interested in getting a deal done.

Shockey reportedly would love to return to Miami, where he played college ball for the Hurricanes and where he currently resides in the offseason. The Dolphins, meanwhile, could use a tight end with the receiving skills Shockey would bring to the table. On paper, everything adds up. But let’s hold off on further delving into how Shockey would benefit the Dolphins until we hear official word of a signing.

Foxsports.com is reporting that the Dolphins are not expected to resign impending free agent left guard Richie Incognito. We were all well aware that the front office would have their hands full this offseason remodeling the interior offensive line, but their mysterious plans for Richie Incognito hindered how we perceived they would go about addressing the issue.

There was the possibility that the Dolphins would resign Incognito to move him over to center, where he showed some flashes of potential in the couple games he saw time there. They could have also brought him back and kept him put at left guard, where he was only decent and was a lackluster puller, but often times the only positive contributor on an otherwise putrid interior. Instead, though, if these reports are accurate, the Dolphins will have a little more work on their hands than we originally thought.

A couple other in house solutions to the interior mess include right guard John Jerry and the ever so versatile Nate Garner. Jerry didn’t show much promise as a rookie, but the fact that he was only a rookie leaves the door open for drastic improvement down the road. Garner was sidelined for the entire season with a foot injury, but he looked like starting material in 2009 when he was forced to play tackle, guard, and center due to a plague of injuries. It wouldn’t be shocking if one could fill one of the three voids inside, but to bank on both would be foolish.

I wouldn’t mind seeing the Dolphins allowing Jerry and Garner to battle it out on the right side in training camp, but that still leaves two gaping holes that need to be filled. But with Incognito supposedly soon to be out of the picture, we now know that center will be one of the biggest needs on the roster this offseason, with guard, either left or right, or potentially both being not far behind. Keep in mind, though, this is all still speculation at this point. These Incognito rumors come from Fox Sports, not one of the usually reliable South Florida media outlets. Until we hear consensus from the Dolphins’ beat writers or a statement from the team itself, let’s not rule out the possibility of Incognito returning.

Earlier tonight, Adam Schefter reported that the St. Louis Rams have released veteran free safety O.J. Atogwe. In the past two offseasons many fans let it be known their desire for the Dolphins to pursue Atogwe, as the free safety position has been a hole on this roster for several years.

Ultimately, though, upper management never made a serious play for Atogwe. Instead, they decided to bring in Gibril Wilson two years ago, who plagued the secondary with missed tackles and appalling coverage all of 2009, and last offseason, they chose to stay out of the Atogwe sweepstakes and entrusted the starting position to second-year safety Chris Clemons.

That decision should probably be looked at under a positive light, as Clemons was far from a disappointment and rookie Reshad Jones exhibited enough potential to forecast a stiff competition for the starting free safety job in this year’s training camp. Still though, both have a long way to go before we can proclaim that the Dolphins finally have themselves a solid starter at free safety. So when a sure bet like Atogwe becomes available, should Jeff Ireland seriously contemplate making a play for his services?

Matt Williamson of ESPN’s Scouts Inc. told ESPN’s AFC East Blog yesterday that “Miami’s defense is one good free safety away from being one of the elite units in 2011.” In his six seasons in St. Louis, Atogwe totaled 390 tackles, 22 interceptions, and broke up 38 passes. I would say that would qualify as a good safety. If it’s really that simple, should Stephen Ross open up the checkbook for a likely pricey contract if it means the Dolphins would project as an elite defense in 2011?

Considering rumors have been circulating for about a week now that the Dolphins have a strong interest in Cam Newton, it is a fitting time to evaluate Newton as an option to fill this franchise’s long pressing quarterback void. While I take every rumor I hear with a grain of salt or two this time of year and really all the way up until the draft, the fact of the matter is, Newton may be the most realistic option for the Dolphins if they plan on staying put at pick #15 in order to invest a mid-first rounder in a quarterback.

I fully expect Jeff Ireland to pursue every avenue possible to recover the second round pick the Dolphins lost in the Brandon Marshall trade a year ago, but if he is really sold on Newton, or becomes so sometime in the draft scouting process, it would be worth staying put in the middle of the first round if Newton falls that far, or if he doesn’t, contemplate trading up into the top ten.

Being already void of a second round pick, trading up would further prevent the Dolphins from filling all their holes in the draft. But if Newton shines as bright as most scouts think he will in shorts in the next couple months, no matter how irrelevant that may be, trading up may be the only way the Dolphins can snag the reigning Heisman trophy winner.

Pros: Obviously, when you begin to list Cam Newton’s strengths, there’s no better place to start than his superb athleticism. Don’t compare him to Micheal Vick; he’s not that fast. But don’t compare him to the biggest bust this regime has brought in so far, Pat White, either, because at 6’6, 250 pounds, Newton has the size to successfully translate his running game over to the pro level.

Of course, he won’t be as dominate, defenders are just too big and too fast in the NFL and he will never run the type of spread offense he did at Auburn either. But at the very least, Newton is going to be able to keep plays alive on a regular basis and be the type of improviser in the pocket that Ben Roethlisberger is for the Steelers. If the Dolphins don’t plan on doing away with their wildcat package with new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Newton, unlike Pat White, has the size to run the ball between the tackles, which is the formation’s bread and butter.

As far as a passer, Newton has very solid arm strength. He struggles at times with deep ball accuracy, but he has the ability to make every throw in football. Besides deep ball accuracy, he was usually pretty consistent at hitting his receivers in the short to intermediate passing game and showcased an ability to put touch on his passes when need be. If the Dolphins want to draft someone who isn’t in the same mold as Chad Henne from a leadership standpoint, Newton may be their guy. He’s the type of rah-rah leader that can lead a pregame chant to rally the troops, and would likely be able to establish a good communication level with his coaches and receivers.

Even with all the speculation and uncertainty, previous looming free agency periods were fairly cut and dry when compared to the mess we have on our hands with no new CBA in place. Until the owners and the players union come to some sort of compromise, free agency won’t take place as scheduled in a little over a month. Instead we would have a work stoppage while impending free agents await their fate and teams looking to fill voids with veterans would be forced to put addressing their needs on hold.

Besides merely timing, we are also unaware of what the financial particulars of the new deal will be. Nobody knows what type of salary cap will implemented, thus further restricting our current perspective of how this year’s free agency period will play out. But we can still look into the hopefully near future, and take a glance at which players are scheduled to hit the open market. More specifically, we can set our sights on some of the key impending free agents that would address some of the Dolphins’ more pressing needs.

Let’s start our 2011 NFL free agency preview with running back, a position that the Dolphins desperately need to address in either free agency or the draft, but most likely both. I’m guessing everybody already knows that Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams will both be free agents when a new CBA is agreed upon. Ricky will be 34 by the time next season rolls around and he already appeared to have lost a step in 2010. Don’t forget he also took a few shots at Tony Sparano on his way out the door, which further suggest that his days in Miami are over.

Ronnie, on the other hand, would probably welcome a return to the Dolphins, but combined factors like his age (29), durability, and lack of productivity should insure that Jeff Ireland doesn’t pay him like a Pro Bowl caliber back. Other teams will be weary of those red flags as well, though, so Ronnie returning to the Dolphins isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

But it’s a foregone conclusion that the Dolphins will need to search for at least one starting caliber running back this offseason. Not to mention that backups Patrick Cobbs and Lex Hilliard are scheduled to become restricted free agents while Kory Sheets will become an exclusive rights free agent, giving the Dolphins zero running backs under contract for the 2011 season. Something tells me that Jeff Ireland will, at the very least, strongly consider some of the following free agent candidates.

1. Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants, 24: Ahmad Bradshaw is fresh off of a career year with the Giants, in which he likely played his way into a lucrative long-term deal in a contract year with 1,235 yards on the ground, a solid 4.5 yards per carry, and 8 touchdowns. Bradshaw is the homerun threat the Dolphins’ offense desperately needs, and still likely has four or five quality years left in the tank at only 24 years old. At only 5’9 and a shade under 200 pounds, though, the Dolphins would need to either draft a power back or resign Ronnie Brown, as there are concerns about whether or not Bradshaw could carry the load of a workhorse. Bradshaw would be a great fit in Miami, but it’s hard to envision the Giants letting him get away.

2. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers, 27: A couple rumors have been flying around the web that the Dolphins are very interested in DeAngelo Williams if he becomes a free agent. If legitimate, that news will likely excite many fans as Williams, when healthy, is one of the two or three backs in this league that can dominate football games. He was limited to only six games in 2010 due to a foot injury that landed him on injured reserve but in 2008 and 2009, Williams emerged as a truly elite back. In 2008, Williams surpassed 1,500 yards and racked up 18 touchdowns on 5.5 yards per carry; a season that arguably could be considered one of the better performances by a running back in the decade.