MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins are signing former Seattle Seahawks linebacker Shaquem Griffin to a one-year deal after a successful team visit, sources told ESPN.
Griffin defied the odds playing three NFL seasons with an amputated left hand he’s had since age four due to effects of a congenital condition called amniotic band syndrome with left him frequently in pain and with limited function. Now, he joins the Dolphins right before training camp in hopes of making the roster.
The signing doesn’t guarantee Griffin being on the Dolphins 2021 final roster, but it does give him an opportunity to use his pass rush ability and special-teams acumen to compete for a depth role. Griffin wasn’t tendered by the Seahawks as a restricted free agent this spring so he became an unrestricted free agent and after visiting multiple teams this offseason he finds a home in Miami.
Griffin became the first player with one hand to be drafted in the NFL’s modern era when the Seahawks chose him in the fifth round in 2018, reuniting him with his twin brother Shaquill Griffin.
He proved to be more than just a draft-day feel-good story. He made the Seahawks’ roster out of training camp in 2018 and ’19 and was among their top special-teams contributors in each season. He also showed flashes late in 2019 as a pass-rusher when the Seahawks began using him off the edge in sub packages, reprising the role in which he excelled during his college career at Central Florida.
Griffin had a pressure on Jared Goff that led to an errant throw and a Quandre Diggs pick-six in a loss to the Rams in December of 2019. He got his first career sack in Seattle’s playoff loss at Green Bay the next month. He began last season on Seattle’s practice squad before appearing in 14 games with one sack, nine tackles and three QB hits.
If he makes the Dolphins roster, Griffin may get more of an opportunity to rush the passer in a variety of ways in coach Brian Flores’ multiple, heavy-blitz scheme rather than just off the edge as he did frequently in Seattle. He would also be much closer to his brother, Shaquill, who signed a three-year, $40 million deal with the Jaguars this offseason. Over three seasons with Seattle, Griffin appeared in 46 regular-season games, recording one sack, 25 tackles and six QB hits. His lone start came in his NFL debut in 2018.
NFL Network was the first to report the signing. Dolphins players are scheduled to report to training camp Tuesday.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this story.