If newly-signed guard Daniel Brunskill is the 54^th man on a 53-man roster, his addition to the roster will still have been a wise one by the Miami Dolphins front office.

Brunskill comes to the Dolphins by way of the Tennessee Titans the last two years, and the San Francisco 49ers before that. It’s his time in San Francisco that brings value to his signing, as he and head coach Mike McDaniel were there together in 2019 and 2020.

Last year with the Titans, he played in 17 games, starting 10. He spent 125 days on the free agent market, so no team was in a true rush to get him. And people are always looking for linemen.

But for Miami, Brunskill not only brings position versatility as a player, he adds a mind in the room who has played all five positions and did so with McDaniel as his run game coordinator. That is likely the greater value right now than his play, and maybe not coincidental to the timing of rookie Jonah Savaiinaea’s recent signing.

At 31 years old, there’s no question he’s on the decline but projected starting guards James Daniels and Savaiinaea have never played in McDaniel’s system. Regardless if he ends up filling in for one of them on the field, he can help fill them in as they work their way through film and the playbook.

Brunskill appeared in 92 games with 66 starts – one at left tackle, one at left guard, 16 at center, 44 at right guard and four at right tackle – in six seasons between San Francisco (2019-22) and Tennessee (2023-24). He also played in nine postseason games with three starts with the 49ers in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

He entered the NFL in 2017 as an undrafted college free agent with Atlanta, where he spent two seasons (2017-18) on the practice squad before joining the San Diego Fleet of the now-defunct Alliance of American Football.

He played collegiately at San Diego State (2013-16), where he appeared in 53 games with 32 starts in four seasons with the Aztecs.

In all his time in the NFL, he is probably best remembered by 49ers fans who appreciated that – despite his relatively limited skill set – he was able to neutralize a future Hall of Famer in Aaron Donald.