This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/goodbiforever on 2026-02-25 16:11:04+00:00.
Intro
The haters said the Dolphins would take a huge step back this season, and they were right. Honestly, great call by the haters. A season that I expected to have growing pains was instead an 18-week-long humiliation ritual that cost the Dolphins’ General Manager, Head Coach, and starting QB their jobs. So, gather round for a eulogy for the Grier/McDaniel/Tua iteration of the Miami Dolphins.
To see the rest of the 32/32 posts, head to the hub post here. Happy off-season everyone!
Team Stats
Division: AFC East (3rd)
Record: 7-10
Playoffs: god no
Points For: 347 (20.4/game), 25th in the NFL
Points Against: 424 (24.9/game), 24th in the NFL
Offseason Review: Notable Trades and Free Agency Acquisitions
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
In a rare player-for-player swap, the Dolphins sent TE Jonnu Smith to Pittsburgh in exchange for a familiar face. Minkah Fitzpatrick returned to the team that drafted him pre-Flores drama, where he quickly became the leader of a young and depleted secondary. But Minkah is already rumored to be on the trading block once again as the new regime looks to fix its cap mess, so his second tenure with the Dolphins might be even shorter-lived than his first.
CB Rasul Douglas
Rasul Douglas was the savior of the Dolphins corners despite getting signed just days before the preseason. His box stats don’t look world-beating (2 INTs and a FF) but his impact was seriously felt in the secondary. He even netted himself an AFC Defensive Player of the Week award for locking down the Jets in Week 14, and hopefully will be back for next season to bolster a young CB room.
TE Darren Waller
A signing that got memed to death actually turned out to be more productive than expected. Waller came out of retirement to take over for Jonnu Smith before being sidelined by a pec injury for most of the season. He looked impressive against the Jets and in garbage time against the Steelers, showing at the very least that he can still play at a starter level. Whether the injury concerns will scare the Dolphins away from re-signing him remains to be seen.
QB Zach Wilson
Lol. Lmao, even. Before the season, this signing sort of made sense—the Dolphins haven’t had a decent backup QB in years, and Wilson looked at least average in limited time with the Broncos. But with the gift of hindsight, now knowing that McDaniel almost immediately leapfrogged over Wilson to rookie Quinn Ewers when the team needed a new starter, it feels like the team basically just paid Zach Wilson to vacation in Miami for a year. I guess I could imagine worse employment situations. I will be very surprised to see Wilson back on the team next year.
S Ifeatu Melifonwu
Dolphins were in crisis mode trying to replace two starting safeties to start the year, so Melifonwu was a smart signing from Detroit. Later paired with Ashtyn Davis from the Jets, Melifonwu proved to be a capable starter, but both players just wrapped up one-year deals. They’ll be interesting players to watch as the new Dolphins brass strip down the roster and stop the cap bleeding in 2026.
WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
On paper, this made a lot of sense; the Dolphins have sorely needed a big-bodied WR to complement Hill and Waddle. In practice, NWI was just running laps out there. Whether it was a scheme-fit issue or lack of chemistry with Tua is unclear. Either way, highly doubt he’ll be back.
G James Daniels
Daniels was signed from the Steelers, played four (4) total snaps in Week 1 against the Colts, injured his pec, and was quite literally never seen again. As a Dolphins fan, sometimes you just have to laugh, and this was one of those times. It’s sort of poetic that Chris Grier leaves with this as one of his last free agent signings: a player with major injury history that got hurt the second he suited up for Miami.
2025 Draft Selections
Round 1, Pick 13: DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan
KG was billed as one of the best run-stuffing DTs in the draft and so far has looked as advertised. I’m not going to be too critical on a relatively quiet season (2 sacks, 2 TFLs, 33 total tackles) as I think defensive lineman necessarily take some time to develop, but given his draft position, the pressure will be mounting next season for Grant to look more dominant in both run and pass defense.
Round 2, Pick 37: G Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona
Jonah’s rookie outing was… not great, to put it lightly. PFF currently rates him 81st out of 81 guards in the NFL. While this sounds like a typo, based on how he played this year, it is unfortunately accurate. Jonah was on the turf way more than you’d expect to see a 6’5", 336 pound offensive lineman. When he wasn’t on the ground, he was getting driven backwards into his QB’s lap and blowing up the play. Hopefully the new Dolphins staff can coach him up; anything would be an improvement at this point.
Round 5, Pick 143: DT Jordan Phillips, Maryland
Jordan Phillips (the rookie from Maryland, not the guy on the Bills) racked up 34 total tackles in his first season and so far looks like a sneaky good value for Miami. Deceptively strong for his size, he picked up steam in increasing snaps as the season went on and recording especially impressive games against the Saints and Buffalo.
Round 5, Pick 150: CB Jason Marshall Jr., Florida
Miami native Marshall Jr. ended his rookie year on a high note, picking off Baker Mayfield in the Dolphins’ final home game for his first NFL interception. He was serviceable in a depleted secondary, completing the season with 23 total tackles, a TFL, and a QB hit in addition to the sole INT. The secondary remains a point of concern for the Dolphins going into 2026, so Marshall Jr. should have plenty of opportunities to fight for a starting spot going forward.
Round 5, Pick 155: S Dante Trader Jr., Maryland
Another Maryland selection, Trader Jr. had a quiet NFL debut. He probably had too much playing time for comfort given the sorry state of the secondary, but he still nabbed some impact plays, namely his forced fumble and recovery against the Jets in Week 4.
Round 6, Pick 179: RB Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State
Ollie’s stats (3 TDs, 199 yards) don’t tell the full story of his rookie season. He was exciting to watch in extremely limited appearances, which is saying something for an RB sharing snaps with Devon Achane. Besides some injury hiccups, I think Ollie did enough to build some momentum heading into his second year.
Round 7, Pick 231: QB Quinn Ewers, Texas
Ewers reportedly turned down millions in NIL to enter the draft. Time will tell if that was a good decision, but he’s already started three NFL games, so he’s off to a great start compared to most seventh-round rookie quarterbacks. In limited appearances, Ewers showed promise, ending the season with 3 TDs, 3 INTs, and a 66% completion percentage. Whether he’ll keep his starting job will likely be answered once the new Dolphins regime evaluates QBs in free agency and the draft.
Round 7, Pick 253: DT Zeek Biggers, Georgia Tech
Zeek Biggers looks exactly how you would expect him to look. The big man out of GT only saw limited snaps in nine games this season, but still managed to record 1.5 sacks, a TFL, and 20 total tackles. Not bad production for a late-seventh pick. He should be a formidable force on the defensive line beside fellow 2025 rookies Grant and Phillips.
2025 Game Recaps
Week 1 @ IND | L, 8-33
This felt like watching a team with a major Super Bowl hangover, except the Dolphins have been nowhere near the Super Bowl in the last quarter century, so it was just… bizarre. Tua (1 TD, 1 INT, 114 yds) and the offense looked worse than they’ve ever looked in the McDaniel era, failing to reach the end zone for over three quarters. Meanwhile, Weaver’s defense had Daniel Jones moving like Cam Newton. We should have known we’d be in for a rough season after the team’s pathetic showing across all three phases.
Week 2 vs. NE | L, 27-33
The hits kept coming, as this game marked Tua’s first ever loss to the Patriots. He looked improved after the Week 1 meltdown, but that’s not saying much after how putrid he was in Week 1. This game featured back-to-back punt and kick returns in the fourth quarter: Malik Washington took the lead for Miami on a punt return, but Antonio Gibson took it right back on the following kick. Miami had chances late in the game to grab the lead back, but ultimately couldn’t close the deal and fell to 0-2.
Week 3 @ BUF | L, 21-31
What do you even say after seven consecutive losses to a division rival? The Dolphins came up short in yet another frustrating loss to the Bills. The first half gave us false hope; Miami scored on their opening drive and again late in the second, complementing a solid effort by the defense to keep Allen from going Superman-mode. The teams were tied going into the half, but the Dolphins slowly imploded through the third and fourth quarter. The offense stalled, and on a gotta-have-it drive to give them a chance late, Tua threw a brutal INT to Terrel Bernard, who expertly jumped the route to end the game. Three games, three INTs for Tua… not great, boss!
Week 4 vs. NYJ | W, 27-21
The Jets came to Hard Rock for a battle of…
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