Patriots Should Consider Poaching Defender From Rival

The Miami Dolphins made a relatively shocking decision on Wednesday, releasing linebacker David Long Jr.

It’s only shocking if you haven’t been paying attention, though.

Long was named a team captain at the start of the year, coming off a season where he was one of the best run-defending linebackers in the entire NFL. Miami relied on him to anchor the middle of its defense, but after seeing him regress and transition into a full-time special teamer, the decision was made to move in another direction.

It’s been a startling fall for the 28-year-old, but he shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a new home.

One Patriots Place, to be specific.

The Patriots have struggled to find reliable depth at off-ball linebacker this season, with Ja’Whaun Bentley’s season-ending injury producing a trickle-down effect that ultimately led to the release of Raekwon McMillan. New England still has Jahlani Tavai, Christian Elliss and Sione Takitaki in the room, but the latter two have each missed games with injury, and the former is a much better player when allowed to play on the ball.

Miami didn’t release him because he’d become useless all of a sudden.

“It was a team decision,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said on Thursday, per Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I obviously have a tremendous amount of respect and love for David, and he’s a starting-caliber NFL linebacker, but at this particular time, we chose to go with (Anthony Walker).”

Long has a reputation to fix, and his addition both would provide decent depth and allow Tavai and Elliss to play in more advantageous situations and positions. It’s a no-brainer for New England, who recently made a similar move by claiming pass-rush specialist Yannick Ngakoue last week.

Why stop now?