Just try topping the success story of Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler | Habib

MIAMI GARDENS — The season hasn’t even begun, and already we have the best story of the year. Don’t believe me? Check back in January when you have something to beat Zach Sieler. I’ll be right here, waiting.

By now, everybody knows the basics. Cast away by the Ravens, Sieler (and his trailer) came rolling into South Florida. Made enough of an impression to stick, then get a contract extension, and now … now, he and his wife are set for life with a second extension. Three years, $38.65 million, with $20 million guaranteed. The guy can buy all the RVs his heart desires.

If you really want to know how good the story is, though, check in with those closest to him and see their reactions to his story of perseverance.

His mother?

“Tearing up,” Sieler says.

His father?

“Just speechless.”

His head coach?

“The absolute climax of the coaching experience,” Mike McDaniel says. “It is everything.”

His tag-team partner on the defensive line, Christian Wilkins?

“I couldn’t be more proud, more happy, more excited for someone than Zach Sieler, honestly,” Wilkins says.

Mike McDaniel: Getting fired raises question ‘Am I good enough?'

Tuesday was cut-down day in the NFL. It’s a stretch, but not by much, to say that half the players sweating their way through training camp suddenly found themselves without a job in the interest of the 53-man roster limit.

“One of the worst days in football, in my opinion,” Sieler says.

We’ll hear little or nothing from many of them. A small percentage will get a second chance and make a stick. A minuscule percentage will make it stick the way Sieler has.

“None of this could have happened without, I think, my faith, truly, knowing there’s a plan, not stressing too much on what’s happening,” Sieler says.

Sounds simple for those of us on the outside. McDaniel never experienced it as an NFL player but he did as a coach, getting fired by the Houston Texans. So let him set the scene:

“That body blow to be released from a team,” McDaniel says. “To battle against the human nature that is, ‘Am I good enough?’ The fortitude to keep pressing forward for the right reasons. The belief it takes in oneself. All of that, and to see someone come out the other side, we’re so fortunate to have Zach.”

A hectic two days lead Zach Sieler to South Florida

Dec. 4, 2019, was a Wednesday. It’s when the Ravens informed Sieler they were through with him. Sieler heard Cleveland might claim him off waivers. Thursday brought clarity. Some clarity, anyway.

“My agent calls and said, ‘Hey, you’ve been claimed,’” Sieler says. “I’m like, ‘All right. Where am I going?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know yet.’

“And then a half-hour later, Miami called and said, ‘Hey, there’s a flight at 8 or 9 o’clock. Tell me what you want to get on.’ So I flew out at 9 o’clock that night and been here ever since.”

He walked into the old facility in Davie certain he’d become an anchor on the Dolphins’ offensive line. No, wait. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

“My head was spinning,” Sieler says.

About 3½ weeks remained in the regular season, but soon enough, Sieler struck up a friendship with Wilkins.

“We were able to ride this thing out together since he came here,” Wilkins says. “It was salt and pepper. Me and him always had a tight bond since Day One.”

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Tough to top the moment Sieler let Wilkins in on the fact he and the Dolphins had settled on a contract.

“He called me the morning of,” Wilkins says. “He wanted to be the first to tell me.”

We all know how excitable Wilkins can get over a 3-yard run. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture the ear-splitting pain Wilkins inflicted on his buddy over the phone. And it must not be overlooked that Wilkins remains in the state Sieler had just vacated. Wilkins is looking for a big contract extension. With the Dolphins operating under a salary cap, Sieler’s gain could prove to be Wilkins’ loss. Nobody wants it that way. It just is in this business.

“There’s nothing more I’d love than to play with Christian for a long time,” Sieler says.

Today, Sieler can walk through a Dolphins locker room that has a different vibe than a week ago. There’s more space to move around, space created when one man after another was asked to clean out his locker and go up to see McDaniel.

A few years ago, the player in that position was Zach Sieler.

Today, Zach Sieler has some advice for a player in that position.

“I’ll tell him just keep your head up,” Sieler says. “It might be over. It also might — tomorrow you might get a chance. You might get picked up and have a chance somewhere else.”

Sometimes, a chance is about all it takes.

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at  hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins DT Zach Sieler gets contract extension; what about Christian Wilkins?