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Dolphins make list of top 5 worst offseasons

Finsup1981

Finsup1981

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For these 5 NFL teams, the 2025 offseason can't end soon enough: Lions, 49ers are trending downward

Examining the five NFL teams that had the worst offseasons
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4. Miami Dolphins​

Mike McDaniel caught the attention of the NFL world by quickly developing Tua Tagovailoa and building an offense that sometimes can look like the most explosive unit in the league, but the dirty truth is that Miami just doesn't beat good teams. Under McDaniel, the Dolphins are 24-9 vs. non-playoff teams, and 4-14 vs. playoff teams. McDaniel is also still looking for that first postseason win.

Did the Dolphins improve this offseason? It's hard to answer in the affirmative when you lose a talent like Jevon Holland in free agency. Miami had a solid draft, and put an emphasis on shoring up the trenches with defensive tackles Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips plus offensive guard Jonah Savaiinaea, but are those players that will get Miami over the hump?


The vibes feel low in Miami, don't they? The Dolphins' offseason got off to a terrible start when Tyreek Hill told reporters in the locker room that he was "out" directly after the regular-season finale. Hill did more than just walk back those comments. He came to OTAs humble and focused on winning back the trust of his teammates. Hill even said he doesn't deserve to be voted a team captain. That's honorable, but I would rather have Tyreek, the outspoken confident personality that believes Tua is the best quarterback of all time, than Tyreek, the somber wide receiver who is the subject of trade rumors.

Speaking of trade rumors, star cornerback Jalen Ramsey is expected to be dealt soon. General manager Chris Grier made it clear in April that Ramsey wouldn't be on this roster in 2025, and it's a huge hit to what could be the worst secondary in the NFL this season.
 
Just trying to give the board an idea about how the national and local media thinks about us..95 percent of them think we are going to take a big step back this year.

Really gonna come down to health, but seems we took the cautious route and that’s why we got graded so low.
 
dolphinswire.usatoday.com

Dolphins receive dubious distinction from CBS

Has Miami's offseason really been that bad?
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Do the Dolphins Really Have a Bottom-Third Roster in the NFL?

Coming off a disappointing 8-9 season that saw the team miss the playoffs for the first time under Mike McDaniel, the Miami Dolphins were expected to spend the
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Miami seems sure to lose a star in its defensive backfield in short order in cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith could still be on the move after a career year in 2024, too.

With Ramsey likely on the move, some NFL analysts feel like Miami's secondary could be in the discussion for the league's worst position group. Miami signed defensive backs Artie Burns, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis during free agency and the Dolphins drafted Florida cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. in the fourth round and Maryland safety Dante Trader Jr. in the fifth.


Still, there's legitimate questions to be had on whether or not Miami has properly addressed that bunch or if Storm Duck, Cam Smith and Patrick McMorris can take significant steps forward.

While that's a concern, Miami's 2025 hopes rest mostly with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's health and whether or not he can author his best season with the Dolphins. After ranking second in points per game in 2023, the Dolphins slipped to No. 22 in that category last season.


If Hill's frustrations have subsided and he's fully bought back in, then Hill and Jaylen Waddle still form one of the NFL's most explosive wide receiver duos. De'Von Achane is one of the league's best young running backs. That trio of stars alongside a healthy Tagovailoa needs to get Miami back into the mix as one of the NFL's top offenses.

Miami did also bolster its offensive line with the signing of guard James Daniels, added running back Alexander Mattison and signed former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay
 
Poupart/SI thoughts:

PFF cites issues around the Dolphins’ passing game regression and whether Patrick Paul can anchor left tackle as reasons why the roster is ranked in the NFL’s bottom third.
Let’s look at the Dolphins’ roster and see whether the team really has the NFL’s 24th-best roster.

Where Miami’s Roster Falls Short ​

In PFF’s defense, the Dolphins’ roster does have some pretty obvious holes.
The Dolphins’ long-term outlook at defensive tackle feels pretty good, but there are always growing pains when relying on rookies. We like Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips specifically, but them topping Calais Campbell’s play will be hard.


Also, on defense, the team’s safety room doesn’t look great on paper. Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis likely are upgrades on Jordan Poyer, but that’s hardly a high bar to clear. Jevon Holland struggled last season, but had previously been an above-average player.
Melifonwu is an oft-injured player, and Davis hasn’t been a significant factor on defense during the past couple of seasons. It’s easy to see why that group doesn’t inspire confidence.
Then, there’s the most obvious hole on the team: cornerback. Ironically enough, it seems like PFF is grading the Dolphins with Ramsey taking up a starting spot, even though we know that won’t happen this season.
Regardless, Kader Kohou is the only other player in that room who has played above-average football at any point. That said, he’s been inconsistent while bouncing between outside and the slot.

Other national analysts have made this point already, but a group of Kohou, Storm Duck, Ethan Bonner, Artie Burns and B.J. Adams might be the worst cornerback room in the league. The Dolphins could sign a veteran, but how much would an aging player really change that?
The other area where PFF takes issue is left tackle. They are pretty low on Patrick Paul, who is taking over for Terron Armstead. There’s no doubt that Paul isn’t as good as Armstead, especially in pass protection.
However, Paul has a higher ceiling as a run blocker, and one of the team’s most significant issues down the stretch last season was a failure to generate a capable running game. Paul is a downgrade on Armstead, but we’re a bit higher on his potential than them.
 
Finsup1981 said:
Just trying to give the board an idea about how the national and local media thinks about us..95 percent of them think we are going to take a big step back this year.

Really gonna come down to health, but seems we took the cautious route and that’s why we got graded so low.
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Expect little and the disappointment pill is not as bitter…it’s a solid plan

He is right about McD and decent teams… not only does McD coached teams not beat them but they do not even compete on that level.
That is probably the most disappointing thing to me about his tenure
 
Good_Dylan said:
Expect little and the disappointment pill is not as bitter…it’s a solid plan

He is right about McD and decent teams… not only does his teams not beat them but they do not even compete on that level.
That is probably the most disappointing thing to me about his tenure
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This is my line of thinking, preparing myself for the worst but hoping for the best, this way if we struggle as they expect it won’t get me as dissapointed as normal because I’m prepping myself now.

Let’s all hope they are wrong and we can stick it to all the pundits
 
I need more of this…still think we are a not very good roster because of Grier so not sure how much McDaniel can squeeze out of these guys, he’s got an uphill battle from a roster standpoint

McDaniel needs to be more serious this might be a good first step

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The Ghost said:
Anyone who thinks we had a bad off season didn’t comprehend our needs and biggest weaknesses over the last years = both OG positions.

Backup QB was the other major issue.

It’s probably for the best we aren’t being hyped.
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Yea I didn’t feel we had a top 5 bad offseason..we addressed the trenches, at least the starting trenches the depth still has a ways to go, but everyone nationally is pointing to our secondary as being the worst in the league.

We could’ve used more FA money to address the position and we still can with 3 out of the 4 best remaining FAs being DBs. I’d say our secondary is more unknown than the worst in the league..can it be the worst in the league? Absolutely, but we could also have some breakout guys with all the youngsters back there
 
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Gsmack_42 said:
Oh well we didn’t win the offseason. What did we accomplish winning the offseason from the likes of cbs sports.
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It’s not even winning the offseason, we’ve been the team that does that before like when we signed Suh and Wallace etc and it never worked out for us. I just disagree with their premise that we had one of the 5 worst offseasons in the league, they keep commenting about our secondary without realizing our lines were the biggest issue.

Still think we are gonna struggle to make the playoffs but that’s because we are paying the price for Griers mistakes from past offseasons now, not because this particular offseason was top 5 bad
 
I think the roster is better in a number of places this season but the CB deficiencies are massive. They really need to sign a veteran from somewhere that is capable of starting, you can’t go into the season with Duck and Bonner as the starting boundary CB’s. It could derail the whole season.

OL should be better even with Paul. We will still have a quick passing game which should hide pass protection but Daniels and Savaiinaea should be an upgrade in the run game compared to Eich and Jones.

Pass rush might be the best in the league with Chop, Chubb, Phillips and Sieler.

LB has the best depth we’ve had in years, Gay and Britt are big upgrades on Riley and Tindall.

S is a wash imho as Poyer and Holland were really, really bad.

The main issues are CB, depth and QB health. The roster is threadbare in depth at vital positions, CB looks like it could kill the season at worse and limits how far the team could go at best. Everyone knows our QB isn’t smart and will likely get himself injured at some point.

I thought the team would make the playoffs last season and if not for Tua missing 6 games they likely do. If this team gets lucky with injuries I think they make the playoffs but likely get bounced in the first round. I don’t think they will be as bad as some think.
 
I'm convinced at this point that the Miami Dolphins should do the opposite of "winning the offseason."

That approach has never worked out for us...and Lord knows we've tried splurging and splashing.

Let us be quiet. Let us be responsible. Let us do the other things.
 
I’ve seen several national writers say that our secondary has the potential to be not only the worst secondary, but the single worst position group out of any team. I think that’s a stretch and entirely due to the amount of young guys we have, so signing Douglas or Samuel jr would go a long way towards stabilizing the group.

Really hoping one of the young guys take over a starting position, I have the most hope for Storm Duck and Jason Marshall in the CB room and Dante Trader and Pat McMorris in the safety room…I really think a couple of those guys will emerge as a long term solution.
 
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