Chris Perkins: Dolphins headed for mediocrity in 2025 before 2026 rebuild

[mwestberry]

Perhaps it’s the optimist in me but I don’t see it being as drastic as Perkins does. Players come and go. Armstead and Campbell weren’t going to play forever. Patrick Paul and Kenneth Grant now play in their spots. Hunt left two seasons ago now and Daniels/Savaiinaea replace him and the other G slot. Holland leaving could hurt so for now I’ll say that’s an incomplete assessment. Their current record secondary is weak until Grier decides to sign someone else. Hill gone after this year? Again, the expectation wasn’t for him to play here for 10 years. WRs should be easy to replace.

I can't disagree.

The current staff, including the owner, hasn't given fans any reason to believe they can sustain forward progress.

I believe the players on the team have the talent to contend.
I don't have faith in the offensive scheme or leadership.

The current state of the team with regard to being part of the system for three years should give the Dolphins an edge offensively.
The offense should be carrying the D for a few games at the start of the season.

I don't think the team is where it should be after three seasons of building.
The "core" players should have the offense down to a science, and the defense has had a year of seasoning, so that team shouldn't be a "deer in the headlights".

It all seems to trickle down to management, in my opinion.

 

[BrowardDolfan]

Correct, but the national narrative has the Dolphins missing the playoffs and being around a 9 win team at most, so this in line with how the media sees our season and our team in general. We arent thought of very highly, and I think they are valid in their reasoning, we were a team that relied on high end talent who lost a lot of that high end talent in recent seasons and we dont have a lot of depth because our drafts have been pretty awful, namely 2022 and 2023 when we only came out with one decent contributor in those 2 years (Achane).

There are posters on this site that have a much higher opinion of our team than anyone in the media.

The national narrative in May 2024 was Washington was in the beginning of a rebuild with their newly drafted franchise QB so a down year was expected. They reached the NFC Championship.

Let at least one game be played before predicting the sky is falling. Perkins has gotta sell newspapers though so I get it.

 

[Krush]

Chris Perkins: Dolphins headed for mediocrity in 2025 before 2026 rebuild​

The Super Bowl window has closed for this core of Dolphins that’s led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The imminent departure of star cornerback Jalen Ramsey means something as basic as winning a playoff game isn’t a realistic option in the next couple of years.
A rebuild, led by a culture change, must occur after this season.
The Dolphins have way too much talent, especially offensively, for 2025 to be deemed anything resembling a rebuild.
That’s the good news, if there is any good news in this situation.
The bad news is the Dolphins are positioned very poorly for a rebuild.
They don’t have the resources to add significant talent, and in the meantime they’ll continue losing top talent.
What does that mean for 2025?
Mediocrity. Again.
It means the 2025 season is basically a duck-and-cover drill for executives, coaches and players.
It means the 2025 season is one that plays out the string while the front office plots the next Super Bowl run, maybe in 2028. This is a season that sets up the future while paying minimal attention to the present.
I think the Dolphins can win nine games in 2025. They’re not far from being a playoff team.
Simply making the playoffs, however, is an embarrassingly low bar that must be raised as part of the required culture change.
Here’s what I mean: when the talent-rich Dolphins made back-to-back playoff appearances in 2022-23, their first-round playoff exits were deemed a major success and celebrated with lucrative contract extensions amid a wave of optimism; when the so-so Miami Heat made back-to-back playoff appearances in 2024-25, their first-round playoff exits were deemed a major failure and earth-shaking changes have been contemplated amid a sense of frustration.
The Dolphins must rebuild in many ways.
Think of 2025 as a pivot year, the year to get things right for the future. This year’s team has almost no chance of winning a playoff game or any other significant accomplishment. That’s the reality.
I originally thought 2024 would be the get-right season and 2025 would be the go-for-it season in a final hurrah for this core of players.
But this core won’t have another “go for it” season.
The glory days are gone. Over. Finished. The Super Bowl window for this collection of players is closed and locked.
There was a small crack to squeeze through before the Dolphins and Ramsey mutually agreed to seek a trade shortly before the draft in April.
But Ramsey’s imminent departure slams the Super Bowl window shut for the core of the Dolphins players that began being gathered in 2022, coach Mike McDaniel’s first season.
Key players such as left tackle Terron Armstead, guard Robert Hunt, defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, safety Jevon Holland and, in a few weeks, Ramsey, have gone away, stripping this squad of any chance of being better than the gold standard of this disappointing era, the 2023 team that finished 11-6.
As for the near future, well, consider that Tyreek is scheduled to count $51.9 million against the salary cap in 2026. One way or the other, he’ll likely be gone after this season. Once Tyreek leaves, it’s all over for this offense. It must be totally rebuilt.
And Tua’s contract becomes easier to part with after 2026 when his $34.8 dead cap money hit becomes more digestible. He’s due to count $56.4 million against the salary cap in 2026, $53.4 million in 2027, and $65.8 million in 2028, his eighth season.
Few teams are willing to stay with a quarterback who earns that much but can’t win a playoff game, so extending Tua’s contract to lower/spread his salary cap charge wouldn’t seem a wise option.
In a span of three years, the Dolphins could lose Tyreek, Tua, Armstead, Campbell, Ramsey and Holland.
Also, they must make a decision on whether to re-sign edge rusher Jaelan Phillips or allow him to depart in free agency after this season. He’s playing on his fifth-year option.
A major rebuild is coming.
The draft classes of 2023 and 2024 must form a new core, and there’s not much hope for that to happen at this way-too-early point of the process.
Running back De’Von Achane and edge rusher Chop Robinson form the nucleus of the new core, and they’re not nearly enough.
We’ll see if defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and guard Jonah Savaiinaea, this year’s first- and second-round picks, respectively, can help form a new nucleus.
But there’s not much more to offer from the previous three drafts.
Perhaps this season the Dolphins’ under-achieving offense, which loaded up on everything from coaches to quarterbacks this offseason, can finally carry this team to big things.
After all, if not for offensive additions such as senior pass game coordinator Bobby Slowik, backup quarterbacks Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers, guard James Daniels, Savaiinaea, running backs Alexander Mattison and Ollie Gordon II, backup guard-tackle Larry Borom, big wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and in-line tight end Pharaoh Brown this season would be the rebuild year.
Those, however, are major additions.
So there’s a chance the offense can put the 2025 Dolphins on its shoulders and carry it to big things.
But most likely, the Dolphins are playing a waiting game during the 2025 season, merely killing time before they can get to the inevitable rebuild beginning in 2026.

Chris Perkins: Dolphins headed for mediocrity in 2025 before 2026 rebuild

I originally thought 2024 would be the reset season and 2025 would be the go-for-it season for this core of players. But this core won’t have another “go for it” season.

www.sun-sentinel.com

I don't respect Chris Perkins writing.

 

[hoops]

Chris Perkins. lol enough said. If its from Alf, Reason, Kyle Crabbs, even Omar. I would say it has merit. This guy doesn't watch any tape at all. It probably will be a disapointing year becasue we will have injuries and no depth. But Chris Perkins opinion has no merit because he simply doesn't watch any film. Just guess work.

You got to watch film to say this teams up **** creek with no paddle?

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I don't hate Perkins. He's a nice guy so I won't pick on him, but yeah, that take sucks. Perkins' take is lazy and amounts to, 'Ramsey leaving means we're dead.'

You can argue that it's a make-or-break year for Leadership. You can even argue that this regime putting its faith in rookie production is a huge turn away from its prior tendencies. But if this team ends up "rebuilding" in 2026 because of failures in 2025 then call it what it is...the failure of this regime to find the next set of pieces.

If you can't see the core, that's on you. Perkins named 2 guys. It's a lot more than that!

The core is Seiler, Grant, Phillips, Chop, Brooks, Kohou, Brewer, Savaiinaea, Daniels, Paul, Ajax, Achane, Waddle, and a series of guys you hope play well and earn a spot as well which includes young players at Safety, CB, TE, WR, and RB.

If you think you're going to die because of the loss of mid-tier players (e.g. Holland) along with a handful of vets on their last legs (e.g. Campbell, Ramsey, etc.)...you weren't that good to begin with, dude.

To your point, there's enough on this roster to contend if a few things go Miami's way. The youth on the defense may also turn out to be a good thing. Hungry players competing for their NFL lives isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's possible that Weaver likes the young secondary players and feels he can work with this group. On paper, the secondary looks bad (unproven might be the better word), but the game isn't played on paper.

Offensively, it's about winning the short-yardage situations at a closer to league average level. The Dolphins were last in the NFL in third and one last year, which stopped many promising drives. There's no reason the offense shouldn't be top 10.

 

[hoops]

It does read like losing Ramsey is the straw that broke the camels back but I don’t agree with that.

I think it was broke well before that.

 

[Blake the great]

Perhaps it’s the optimist in me but I don’t see it being as drastic as Perkins does. Players come and go. Armstead and Campbell weren’t going to play forever. Patrick Paul and Kenneth Grant now play in their spots. Hunt left two seasons ago now and Daniels/Savaiinaea replace him and the other G slot. Holland leaving could hurt so for now I’ll say that’s an incomplete assessment. Their current record secondary is weak until Grier decides to sign someone else. Hill gone after this year? Again, the expectation wasn’t for him to play here for 10 years. WRs should be easy to replace.

The Tank for Tua rebuild was a fail. With tons of resources (drafts picks and free agency money) this front office has failed the mission. They should have been fired for their shortcomings this past season. I don't see how this year's team is any better than last couple years and so no progress is being made. We are once again spinning our own wheels to no where. This front office hasn't been good enough, plain and simple. What is one more year going to do? What else is there to see? I've been saying this, we are just delaying the inevitable with this core that includes the head coach, the GM, and The QB. I believe Tua will be more or less a bridge QB until new regime drafts their guy.

For whatever reason Ross ALWAYS waits a year or two too late before moving on from a head coach. Seems like crap has to hit the fan hard before he makes a decision to fire a head coach and it's apparent the way Ross has continued to allow Grier be our GM that Ross has a difficult time firing someone.

 

[Finsup1981]

It does read like losing Ramsey is the straw that broke the camels back but I don’t agree with that.

I think it was broke well before that.

Years of bad decisions have led up to this point, cant point to anything specific just years and years of small and large decisions that got us to the point we are at now: a top heavy roster with little depth.

 

[Finsup1981]

The Tank for Tua rebuild was a fail. With tons of resources (drafts picks and free agency money) this front office has failed the mission. They should have been fired for their shortcomings this past season. I don't see how this year's team is any better than last couple years and so no progress is being made. We are once again spinning our own wheels to no where. This front office hasn't been good enough, plain and simple. What is one more year going to do? What else is there to see? I've been saying this, we are just delaying the inevitable with this core that includes the head coach, the GM, and The QB. I believe Tua will be more or less a bridge QB until new regime drafts their guy.

For whatever reason Ross ALWAYS waits a year or two too late before moving on from a head coach. Seems like crap has to hit the fan hard before he makes a decision to fire a head coach and it's apparent the way Ross has continued to allow Grier be our GM that Ross has a difficult time firing someone.

Lets just hope there are no half measures like he usually does and we get a clean break from the entire regime. I want a true fresh start.

 

[MrChadRico]

Chris Perkins. lol enough said. If its from Alf, Reason, Kyle Crabbs, even Omar. I would say it has merit. This guy doesn't watch any tape at all. It probably will be a disapointing year becasue we will have injuries and no depth. But Chris Perkins opinion has no merit because he simply doesn't watch any film. Just guess work.

So if its written by one of the three biggest cheerleaders of the team it would have merit, but anyone else it gets thrown away.

 

[MrChadRico]

To your point, there's enough on this roster to contend if a few things go Miami's way. The youth on the defense may also turn out to be a good thing. Hungry players competing for their NFL lives isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's possible that Weaver likes the young secondary players and feels he can work with this group. On paper, the secondary looks bad (unproven might be the better word), but the game isn't played on paper.

Offensively, it's about winning the short-yardage situations at a closer to league average level. The Dolphins were last in the NFL in third and one last year, which stopped many promising drives. There's no reason the offense shouldn't be top 10.

Contend for a Superbowl?

 

[MrClean]

Chris Perkins: Dolphins headed for mediocrity in 2025 before 2026 rebuild​

The Super Bowl window has closed for this core of Dolphins that’s led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The imminent departure of star cornerback Jalen Ramsey means something as basic as winning a playoff game isn’t a realistic option in the next couple of years.
A rebuild, led by a culture change, must occur after this season.
The Dolphins have way too much talent, especially offensively, for 2025 to be deemed anything resembling a rebuild.
That’s the good news, if there is any good news in this situation.
The bad news is the Dolphins are positioned very poorly for a rebuild.
They don’t have the resources to add significant talent, and in the meantime they’ll continue losing top talent.
What does that mean for 2025?
Mediocrity. Again.
It means the 2025 season is basically a duck-and-cover drill for executives, coaches and players.
It means the 2025 season is one that plays out the string while the front office plots the next Super Bowl run, maybe in 2028. This is a season that sets up the future while paying minimal attention to the present.
I think the Dolphins can win nine games in 2025. They’re not far from being a playoff team.
Simply making the playoffs, however, is an embarrassingly low bar that must be raised as part of the required culture change.
Here’s what I mean: when the talent-rich Dolphins made back-to-back playoff appearances in 2022-23, their first-round playoff exits were deemed a major success and celebrated with lucrative contract extensions amid a wave of optimism; when the so-so Miami Heat made back-to-back playoff appearances in 2024-25, their first-round playoff exits were deemed a major failure and earth-shaking changes have been contemplated amid a sense of frustration.
The Dolphins must rebuild in many ways.
Think of 2025 as a pivot year, the year to get things right for the future. This year’s team has almost no chance of winning a playoff game or any other significant accomplishment. That’s the reality.
I originally thought 2024 would be the get-right season and 2025 would be the go-for-it season in a final hurrah for this core of players.
But this core won’t have another “go for it” season.
The glory days are gone. Over. Finished. The Super Bowl window for this collection of players is closed and locked.
There was a small crack to squeeze through before the Dolphins and Ramsey mutually agreed to seek a trade shortly before the draft in April.
But Ramsey’s imminent departure slams the Super Bowl window shut for the core of the Dolphins players that began being gathered in 2022, coach Mike McDaniel’s first season.
Key players such as left tackle Terron Armstead, guard Robert Hunt, defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, safety Jevon Holland and, in a few weeks, Ramsey, have gone away, stripping this squad of any chance of being better than the gold standard of this disappointing era, the 2023 team that finished 11-6.
As for the near future, well, consider that Tyreek is scheduled to count $51.9 million against the salary cap in 2026. One way or the other, he’ll likely be gone after this season. Once Tyreek leaves, it’s all over for this offense. It must be totally rebuilt.
And Tua’s contract becomes easier to part with after 2026 when his $34.8 dead cap money hit becomes more digestible. He’s due to count $56.4 million against the salary cap in 2026, $53.4 million in 2027, and $65.8 million in 2028, his eighth season.
Few teams are willing to stay with a quarterback who earns that much but can’t win a playoff game, so extending Tua’s contract to lower/spread his salary cap charge wouldn’t seem a wise option.
In a span of three years, the Dolphins could lose Tyreek, Tua, Armstead, Campbell, Ramsey and Holland.
Also, they must make a decision on whether to re-sign edge rusher Jaelan Phillips or allow him to depart in free agency after this season. He’s playing on his fifth-year option.
A major rebuild is coming.
The draft classes of 2023 and 2024 must form a new core, and there’s not much hope for that to happen at this way-too-early point of the process.
Running back De’Von Achane and edge rusher Chop Robinson form the nucleus of the new core, and they’re not nearly enough.
We’ll see if defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and guard Jonah Savaiinaea, this year’s first- and second-round picks, respectively, can help form a new nucleus.
But there’s not much more to offer from the previous three drafts.
Perhaps this season the Dolphins’ under-achieving offense, which loaded up on everything from coaches to quarterbacks this offseason, can finally carry this team to big things.
After all, if not for offensive additions such as senior pass game coordinator Bobby Slowik, backup quarterbacks Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers, guard James Daniels, Savaiinaea, running backs Alexander Mattison and Ollie Gordon II, backup guard-tackle Larry Borom, big wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and in-line tight end Pharaoh Brown this season would be the rebuild year.
Those, however, are major additions.
So there’s a chance the offense can put the 2025 Dolphins on its shoulders and carry it to big things.
But most likely, the Dolphins are playing a waiting game during the 2025 season, merely killing time before they can get to the inevitable rebuild beginning in 2026.

Chris Perkins: Dolphins headed for mediocrity in 2025 before 2026 rebuild

I originally thought 2024 would be the reset season and 2025 would be the go-for-it season for this core of players. But this core won’t have another “go for it” season.

www.sun-sentinel.com

Chris Perkins smokes crack.

 

[MrClean]

Cant say I disagree with anything he stated, only way we are winning over 9 games is if we stay injury free all year and we all know thats not happening with the injury prone guys we rely on year in and year out. All i hope is that Grier is finally gone if we have anything less than a playoff victory this year.

The keys are going to be Tua, Ajax, and Daniels (coming off the Achilles). If those three can stay healthy, the offense will cook. None of the other starters on offense should concern us any more than normal

 

[Finswatch]

Chris Perkins. lol enough said. If its from Alf, Reason, Kyle Crabbs, even Omar. I would say it has merit. This guy doesn't watch any tape at all. It probably will be a disapointing year becasue we will have injuries and no depth. But Chris Perkins opinion has no merit because he simply doesn't watch any film. Just guess work.

You're taking Omar over Perkins? No way.

I think even the Dolphins know this is going to be a rough season. I don't like at all what Grier did since free agency opened but there's two reasons why Mr Magoo cut off the checkbook (for the most part) this offseason:

1) He doesn't trust this FO with his money anymore

2) Ross doesn't think that it is worth it to blow through more money with this roster.

 

[bane]

You got to watch film to say this teams up **** creek with no paddle?

if you are a writer you should. Otherwise I don't value his opinion. This clown doesn't even know the Dolphins run wide zone scheme.