The Miami Dolphins cycled through long snappers in 2024. What should they do with Jake McQuaide heading into 2025?
We are less than two weeks from the start of the 2025 NFL league year, bringing with it the start of free agency. When the clock strikes 4 p.m. Eastern on March 12, players with expiring contracts will be allowed to sign with new teams. For the Miami Dolphins, there are 32 players scheduled to hit the free agency market. Between now and March 12, the team has to decide what they are going to do with each of those players.
Will they allow the player to hit the free agency market? Will they re-sign him to a new contract? Could they use their one franchise or transition tag on the player? Each year, as we progress toward the start of free agency, we ask you those questions about each Dolphins play who might become a free agent.
Today, we turn our attention to a player who joined the team late in the year as Miami shuffled through several long snappers. What should the Dolphins do with Jake McQuaide this offseason? You can vote in the poll below, and feel free to head to the comments to discuss your reasoning as well.
Last five free agent reviews:
Biography
Jake McQuaide
Position: Long snapper
Age (when season begins): 37
Draft: 2011 undrafted free agent signed by St. Louis Rams
Experience: 14 years
Previous Teams:
- St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams (2011-2020)
- Dallas Cowboys (2021-2022)
- Detroit Lions (2023)
- Minnesota Vikings (2024)
- Miami Dolphins (2024)
- Note: McQuaide spent two weeks on the Chicago Bears’ practice squad during the 2024 season, but did not play in any games.
Pro Bowl/All-Pro: 2016 and 2017 Pro Bowl selection
Expiring Contract
1 year, $1.2 million ($164k salary cap number)
2024 Review
Vikings
4 games played
Dolphins
3 games played
McQuaide was initially signed by the Bears to their practice quad in October, then released two weeks later. The Vikings then signed him to the practice squad in November, promoting him to the active roster late in the month before waiving him in December. The Dolphins then signed him to their practice squad in mid-December, promoting him to the active roster the following day. Miami spent the second half of 2024 rotating long snappers as they replaced Blake Ferguson, who spent much of the year on the reserve/illness list. The Dolphins also used Matt Overton and Zach Triner at the position, elevating them three times from the practice squad before moving on the next player. McQuaide was promoted to the active roster when wide receiver Grant DuBose was placed on injured reserve, playing in three games for the team at the end of the year.
2025 Outlook
McQuaide appears to be the veteran long snapper teams look to add when they have an unexpected need at the position. A two-time Pro Bowl selection, he can keep the position stabilized when an injury or illness suddenly pop up on a roster. That would likely be his role again in 2025, with a team looking to add him to the practice squad for a temporary fill-in or the active roster as an in-season replacement.
Walk, Tag, Re-Sign?
Projected tag value (Special teams): $6.3 million (franchise); $5.7 million (transition) (via OvertheCap.com)
Walk. McQuaide was signed to cover the long snapper position for the three games at the end of the season and into the playoffs if the Dolphins had made it. Heading into 2025, the Dolphins will either have Ferguson back or, if the illness issue is severe enough to warrant a roster move, they will look to add a younger player. McQauide is a solid veteran option, but he does not feel like someone Miami plans to bring back.