If it wasn’t for the New York Jets, the Miami Dolphins would be at the bottom of the AFC East where they belong. At 2-7, the Dolphins are rudderless, but with enough talent sprinkled throughout the team to have a bloated salary situation and a feckless roster.
If that sounds like high praise, it truly is. Dolphins fans must be over the moon with an awful record, a walking-dead head coach and an overpriced quarterback who is darn near impossible to trade.
Outside of getting a third-round pick in return for edge rusher Jaelan Phillips from the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dolphins did next to nothing at the trade deadline. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky thinks that’s an absolute travesty and called the Dolphins the NFL’s “biggest loser” at the deadline on Tuesday.
“You’re going nowhere right now,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “This team is devoid of talent. We’ve already fired the general manager. You had multiple people that teams wanted in their on their roster. Jaylen Waddle. I would have moved Waddle. Really good player. I would have moved Waddle for more picks. Bradley Chubb, really good player. I would have moved Bradley Chubb for the future. Minkah Fitzpatrick, I would have moved Minkah Fitzpatrick for the future.
Miami Dolphins didn’t make nearly enough moves at the deadline
What isn’t known at this point is whether the Dolphins were reluctant to trade guys like Waddle, Fitzpatrick and Chubb at all, or if they couldn’t get what they deemed to be fair value in return. If they were holding out for a king’s ransom with any of these guys, they were never going to get it.
Orlovsky thinks they should have taken less just to get the picks and move on.
“This team is not 2026 away,” Orlovsky continued. “This team is so behind when it comes to the top six or seven teams of NFL talent on their roster, they are a team that absolutely, unequivocally needs picks and younger talent. I think the Miami Dolphins only moving Jaelan Phillips is a mistake.”
One would think it would be worth it to take a bag of magic beans for some of these guys, if nothing else to ditch some salary and try to wash the stink off of the team. It’s not that any one of these guys is some sort of problem or locker room cancer, but this franchise needs a deep clean. Even the Gatorade boys shouldn’t feel safe.
What direction are the Miami Dolphins going?
Last Friday, Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross decided that general manager Chris Grier should be the first guy to walk the plank.
“This morning, I made the decision along with general manager Chris Grier to mutually part ways. I have incredible respect for Chris and his family, and I want to thank him for his many contributions to the Miami Dolphins over the last 26 years,” Ross said in a statement.
Okay fine, but then what? Head coach Mike McDaniel is going to coach out the year it seems, like that’s going to do anything but help get a higher draft pick that he won’t be around for. It’s now two days past the deadline and this woebegone franchise is only minus a G.M. and an edge rusher and they are a third-round pick richer.
Ross alluded to this in his statement last week.
“There’s much work ahead to return the Dolphins to sustained success, and that work begins now, finishing the season strong, evaluating all areas of our football operation, and moving forward with a clear vision for the future.”
That’s an awfully quixotic outlook. So, this was the work that was done with that clear vision for the future? Are you being a serious person right now? You had a chance to unload players, dump salary and accrue draft picks and you really didn’t do any of that.
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