Dolphins’ Sieler’s search for new tag team partner has already begun

Where would macaroni be without the cheese?

It would be pasta used for lackluster cold salads, or hamburger helper.

Jelly and peanut butter are solid independently, but together they are a unified force in the snack community.

And then we’ve got salt and pepper, a table setting staple when it comes to seasonings.

Zach Sieler, who is infamously known as “Salt” in the now defunct pass rushing duo of “Salt and Pepper,” faces the uphill challenge of carrying on without his complement, Christian Wilkins, better known as “Pepper.”

The two ended their five-year partnership together this offseason when Wilkins landed a four-year, $110 million contract from the Las Vegas Raiders two months ago.

Sieler, who signed his own three-year extension worth $30.7 million last summer, openly admits he and his wife Hanna were “heartbroken” the day Wilkins’ tenure in Miami came to a conclusion because it meant their tag team partnership on the football field was over.

But their friendship continues, and Sieler realizes their breakup is part of the business side of the NFL, which is why he’s committed to making the most of a difficult situation.

“Loved playing with the guy, but it’s great seeing him get paid and go somewhere else and make an impact over there,” said Sieler, a former seventh-round pick who Miami claimed in 2019 after the Ravens waived him trying to sneak the 6-foot-6, 300 pounder onto Baltomore’s practice squad at the end of the 2019 season.

In the four seasons that followed Sieler, a Ferris State standout, went from waiver wire find to foundational piece in Miami’s defense while playing next to Wilkins.

Now he’s being asked to anchor the defensive line all alone, and called to do it playing next to minimum salary - or close to it - players.

“In reality, this defense, this D-line isn’t built off just him, or him and I, or whoever inside,” said Sieler, who has started 50 NFL games, all of which have been for the Dolphins. “It takes a whole rotational front. It takes everybody up front.”

And by everybody, Sieler is potentially referring to Miami’s efforts to sign every inexpensive defensive tackle available in free agency.

The Dolphins signed seven veteran defensive linemen with the hopes that some of them might be salvageable, able to fill the void created by Wilkins and Raekwon Davis’ departure as free agents. And Sieler knows plenty of that burden will be put on his shoulders since he’s the only healthy, returning starting defensive lineman on a unit that anchored the NFL’s ninth ranked defense in 2023.

A BOND IS BROKEN

The Dolphins finished the 2023 season with 56 sacks and 131 quarterback hits. The 56 sacks shattered the previous team record of 49, which was set in 2005 by a Jason Taylor led defense.

In this instance, it was Sieler and Wilkins who set the table for everyone else because they combined for 19 sacks, and accounting for roughly 85 percent of the defensive line snaps together.

“They did well in the stunt game because they can play off each other,” Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson said, referring to Salt and Pepper. “That’s something that needs to be created [again] with Zach.”

Sieler’s 10 sacks were third-most among all NFL defensive tackles last season, trailing Baltimore’s Justin Madubuike and Kansas City’s Chris Jones, and the most by a defensive tackle in franchise history. And Wilkins was right behind him with nine.

But time, and players move on, and those who adapt are able to survive, if not thrive.

WHO WILL HOLD THE LINE?

The challenge now is figuring out how to play with Teair Tart (36 starts), Benito Jones (15 starts), Neville Gallimore (14 starts), Da’Shawn Hand (11 starts), Jonathan Harris (9 starts), Daviyon Nixon, Isaiah Mack and Brandon Pili, and hopefully find someone whose strengths complement his, similar to the way Sieler and Wilkins fed off each other.

“It’s been really cool getting to know these new guys, learning their techniques and habits,” Sieler said, referring to Miami’s offseason work. “How does he like to rush? What does he like to do? Is he a twitchy guy, a power guy? It’s about learning how to play off each other and adapting to that.”

Sieler pointed out Hand and Pili, an undrafted rookie who initially made Miami’s 53-man roster, played with him last season, and he’s got history with Jones, who began his career in Miami back in 2020.

“In the NFL players go places. To see him go and get paid where he’s at, all the blessings to him. Love him. I just hope he can kill it out there,” Sieler said about Wilkins. “Now it’s about getting right here in Miami.”