The Miami Dolphins missed the marked on one of their early goals this offseason: They failed to reach contract extensions with in-house free agents Kenny Stills, tight end Dion Sims and defensive end Andre Branch before Tuesday’s open negotiating period.
Free agency officially begins Thursday. However, other teams can negotiate with pending free agents as of noon on Tuesday. This could make retaining the aforementioned free agents more difficult for Miami. Bidding could get underway over the next two days, especially in the case of Stills, who should get plenty of interest on the open market.