Latest news with #Fins'
Miami Herald
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cote: Jalen Ramsey, now Asante Samuel drama = Dolphins mess at cornerback
The AFC East quarterbacks the Miami Dolphins will face this coming season are the reigning NFL MVP in Josh Allen of the BIlls, a rising star off a Pro Bowl rookie season in Drake Maye of the Patriots and dual-threat guy just coming into his prime in new Jets starter Justin Fields. Can you name the Dolphins starting cornerbacks tasked with stopping those three? Correct answer: Might Be Him and We're Not Sure. A cornerback room filled with more questions than answers is a main reason the betting odds and the consensus of football literati look gloomily upon Miami's 2025 outlook coming off a desultory 8-9 season. And why, by extension, the heat is on coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier like never before. They are trying to fix a broken team 'culture' — always an easy catchall to explain failure — and end a league-worst streak of no playoff wins entering its 25th season. With the start of training camp two weeks away, the Fins' two starting corners via the team's depth chart are John Marshall Jr., a rookie fifth-round draft pick, and the splendidly named but lightly proven Storm Duck , an undrafted 2024 free agent with three carer NFL starts. One suspects nickelback Kader Kohou will wind up outside by dire necessity. Either way, the team is woefully light in proven talent at stopping the pass. Trading star corner Jalen Ramsey in late June to Pittsburgh left an unfilled crater. Reuniting with proven safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in return for Ramsey helps Miami's secondary at another position of need, but doesn't erase the dilemma at corner. All of this, on the eve of camp, makes relevant the current drama involving why they traded Ramsey in the first place and the availability of proven Los Angeles Chargers free agent corner Asante Samuel Jr. The names were intertwined in the podcast of Samuel's father, Asante Samuel Sr., who enjoyed a notable four-time Pro Bowl career at the position that his son has not (yet) matched. Dad hosts the 'Say What Needs To Be Said' Dolphins might call it 'Wish He Hadn't Said It.' 'The Dolphins had no reason to trade Jalen Ramsey other than they're sensitive, there's no leadership in the Dolphins organization,' Samuel said. 'Mike McDaniel is a pushover. Chris Grier, the general manager, he has no backbone. These guys, the Miami Dolphins, they are running this team like a little league team. No one can stand up to the players. They are terrified of their own players and they have no control over their players.' The reference is to Miami trading the All-Pro CB Ramsey along with tight end Jonnu Smith and a 2027 seventh-round pick, to the Steelers for Fitzpatrick and a '27 fifth-rounder. The departed Smith said he needed to go where he was 'appreciated.' Fellow departed Fin Raheem Mostert, the running back, volleyed a shot at his ex-team, writing, 'Hot take: Be a Pro-bowler [sic] on the Dolphins, get treated like [expletive].' More piling on on the culture thing even before the missiles fired from Samuel's podcast. Whether Samuel's rant reflects reality or merely perception, either or both are why the culture makeover is underway. But there is lots to unpack here in what he said. The truth: the Dolphins did have a reason to trade Ramsey. They felt he wanted out and behaved in a way last season that left them little choice but to shop him. Ramsey reportedly was routinely late for team practices and openly disrespected McDaniel, Grier and former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in front of teammates. In other words, if the 'culture' broke, Ramsey was a key culprit. But what of this salvo coming from the father of a player Miami has considered signing to help its cornerback need? Could it be bitterness from Dad because the Dolphins reportedly explored signing Samuel Jr. in May and nothing came of it? Or might Miami still be discussing Samuel Jr. as an answer only to have Dad likely damage if not erase the chances of that happening? We'll see. The fact is, this close to training camp, most of the best CB free agents options are long gone. Samuel is the second best still available on most free agency boards, though he is a sloppy tackler (22.2% miss rate), missed most of last season with a shoulder injury and is recovering from April neck surgery that figures to shelve him much of training camp. The best choices left are Samuel and Bills free agent Rasul Douglas, who is capable but turns 30 in August, his best days ebbing. Whether Miami stands pat and rolls dice with a thin cornerback room or makes a late run Douglas will say much about whether the team remains in win-now mode or is conceding and quietly lapsing into a rebuild. Meantime what's clearest in the murky cornerback situation is: Ramsey — not unlike a star of similar wattage in Jimmy Butler of the Heat — pretty much sulked and unprofessionally forced his way out of town. And from a podcast mic the father of available Asante Samuel Jr. sent enough shrapnel flying at Miami to likely end any possibility of a deal. Bottom line: The Dolphins seem set to enter this season weak at a position that demands strength, and it could be what ends up getting a head coach and a GM fired.
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cote: Dolphins trading Ramsey & Smith for Fitzpatrick a net loss for Miami
The Dolphins and Steelers' midday Monday trade splashed across the front of the ESPN website with one of those red-banner 'breaking news' alerts. That was partly because Jalen Ramsey for Minkah Fitzpatrick marked the NFL's first swap in 21 years in which two players changing uniform had each been named an All-Pro at his position. But what made it even bigger, what made it national news, is that the trade conveyed Pittsburgh's unmistakable win-now intentions in continuing to surround new-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers with what he needs to succeed in likely his one and only season in the black-and-gold. Miami's intentions for this season and path to achieve them are somewhat less clear less than one month from the start of training camp -- and thrown into even more question by this trade. The Dolphins get another go-round with the safety Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round draft pick. Pittsburgh gets the cornerback Ramsey, tight end Jonnu Smith, and a '27 seventh-round pick. Fast result: Steelers win, Dolphins lose. Here's why: By the simplest math Miami gives up two starters and gets one, a lopsidedness that the Fins' slight edge in the picks swap does not make up for. The 2-for-1 part favors the Steelers by my reckoning. Ramsey and Fitzpatrick both are quality players and the latter is two years younger at 28 -- but Ramsey is the better overall of the two. Pro Football Focus rated Ramsey a top-10 NFL corner last season, albeit 10th. He led all CBs with 12 QB pressures and with four passes batted at the line. PFF ranked Fitzpatrick the league's No. 16 safety last season, but with an overall grade of 65.2 that was his lowest since 2021 and ranked 44th. The player who was the Dolphins' first-round pick in 2018 has had only one interception and six pass breakups over the past two seasons. The positive to the deal for Miami is that reacquiring Fitzpatrick instead of trading Ramsey just for draft picks demonstrates the Fins are not diving head-first into rebuild mode. Ramsey had wanted out and Miami had agreed to trade him; at least they smartly targeted the secondary for his replacement. It was including Jonnu Smith in the deal is that swivels the trade more strongly in Pittsburgh's favor. Mike Tomlin wanted Smith as a quick-outlet security blanket for the 41-year-old Rodgers. Smart idea. Trouble is, what he'll be for Rodgers is exactly what Fins QB Tua Tagovailoa will be losing, and missing. Smith, out of FIU, is coming off his best NFL season, and the first in which he made the Pro Bowl. He had a career high 88 receptions on 111 targets, a high catch-rate of nearly 80 percent, for 884 yards and eight touchdowns. You could have made an argument he was the Dolphins' MVP in that 8-9 season. No wonder he wanted a raise. Maybe Miami should have given it. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel may consider offense-minded tight ends as interchangeable; then again, McDaniel's offensive-genius card has tarnished a bit since 2023 and is up for renewal. Also a bit troubling the Miami's offseason thus far: Ramsey is now the fourth Dolphins team captain from last season now gone, following retired Terron Armstead, departed Calais Campbell and released David Long Jr. Smith also is a veteran, a lockerroom presence. That's a curious trend for a team actively trying to change its overall culture in a positive way. Former Fins running back Raheem Mostert (now with the Raiders) took an unsubtle swipe at Miami when the trade news broke, writing on X: 'Hot take: Be a Pro-bowler on the Dolphins, get treated like s---.' I have written and said the Dolphins in 2025 must make the postseason and likely win their first playoff game since 2000 (an NFL-long drought) or major changes are in store -- including owner Stephen Ross quite probably moving on from McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier. Just this week, Mike Florio, host of NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk Live show, had McDaniel No. 1 on his coaching 'hot seat' list entering this coming season. 'It feels like the window has closed for a Dolphins team that could end up flying straight into the glass in 2025,' he wrote. That's a tad pessimistic for me, but it's true the pressure is on, and it's squarely on McDaniel and Grier. Monday's major trade, if only by the math of a negative 2-for-1 swap of key starters, did nothing to ease that pressure, that heat, as the calendar turns to July.
Miami Herald
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
The Miami Dolphins 2025 schedule revealed with five prime time games
The day you've patiently waited for is here. All 17 games for the Miami Dolphins' 2025 season have officially been released. The Dolphins will kick off their season at 1 p.m. Sept. 7th in Indianapolis against the Colts. Their home opener will come at 1 p.m. the following week against the New England Patriots. The order is as follows: 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7 - at Colts 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 - vs. Patriots 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 - at Buffalo Bills (Amazon) 7:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29 - vs. the New York Jets (ESPN) 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 - at Carolina Panthers 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12 - vs. Los Angeles Chargers 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19 - at Cleveland Browns 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26 - at Atlanta Falcons 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30- vs. Baltimore Ravens (Amazon) 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9 - vs. Bills 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 16: vs. Washington Commanders in Madrid, Spain (NFL Network) Sunday, Nov. 23: BYE 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30 - vs. New Orleans Saints 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7 - at Jets 8:15 p.m. Monday, Dec 15 - at Pittsburgh Steelers (ESPN) 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21 - vs. Cincinnati Bengals (NBC; Sunday night) 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday, Jan. 3 or Sunday, Jan. 4: at Patriots The Dolphins have five prime time games this season, the first of which will come at 8:15 p.m. Sept. 14 in Buffalo against the Bills for Thursday Night Football. Miami will then host the Jets at 7:15 p.m. Sept 29 for Monday Night Football in Week 4. Another Thursday Night Football matchup against the Ravens will happen at 8:15 p.m. Oct. 30 in Week 9. A trip to Madrid for the inaugural Spain game against the Commanders starts bright and early at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 16 in Week 11. Miami's final two prime time games will happen in December. The Dolphins will first face the Steelers at 8:15 p.m. Dec. 21 in Pittsburgh for a Week 15 Monday Night Football matchup. An 8:20 p.m. home game against the Bengals for Sunday Night Football on Dec. 21 will close out the Fins' national schedule by Week 16.
Miami Herald
26-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cote: Heat on McDaniel, Grier as Miami Dolphins enter what could be year of massive change
It is comically realistic that the Miami Dolphins -- a franchise trying to keep its head above irrelevance in a stacked AFC -- has identified offensive guard as its biggest need this NFL offseason. It should, no doubt. A better offensive line is much-needed and guard is the greatest vulnerability. The Super Bowl champion Eagles just showed us how important great blocking is, and Miami's need is accentuated by having a quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa who is made of porcelain and must be protected like an heirloom vase sitting high on a narrow shelf. There are so many broader, macro issues with this team, though, that talking about the guard position is a little like a discussion of a famous rock band starting with the roadie crew. Tagovailoa himself is to make $50 million guaranteed this coming season, is on a four-year, $212 million extension -- and, six years in, still must prove with health and productivity that he is worth the enormous commitment and keys to the future. Receiver Tyreek Hill, whose 'I'm out bro,' is the quote best representing Miami's disappointing 8-9 season, turns 31 on March 1 and is coming off a disappointing season and also one calling into question the strength of the Fins' team culture. Might Miami trade Hill this year? It would not shock. Coach Mike McDaniel's job security entering his fourth season also is in some doubt, if you have paid any attention to owner Stephen Ross' track record. Ross entering his 17th season as majority owner has plowed through six coaches to get to McDaniel, who had never head-coached before. Tony Sparano, Joe Philbin and Adam Gase all thought they were on solid ground before being fired. Brian Flores unraveled fast, too. Ross turns 85 in May. You imagine he's in a patient mood? And defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is head coach-ready on Miami's staff. General manager Chris Grier also should consider himself on the proverbial hot seat entering his 10th season as GM with three playoff appearances and zero postseason wins. Grier is one of only three NFL GMs unavailable to the media at this week's Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, leaving McDaniel alone to rep a team in flux and losing ground in the AFC. As Miami faces a crucial offseason portending big change, the Dolphins in the conference are looking up at the pedigreed Chiefs, the nemesis Bills, the mighty Ravens and four other teams that made the playoffs in the Steelers, Texans, Chargers and Broncos. And that's not even counting the Bengals with Joe Burrow. Until its proves otherwise, Miami sits mediocre at ninth-best in the 16-team AFC -- not terrible, surely not the dregs ... but not a contender. McDaniel and Grier had better be in job-saving mode and pray Tagovailoa is poised to prove himself elite, as his '23 Pro Bowl season hinted. Meantime the minutia of an NFL offseason grinds on. Like focusing on offensive guard. The Dolphins as of Wednesday ranked 23rd in cap space with only $5.23 million freed up. That isn't much. In an ideal world I'd be harping on Miami going after coveted free agent guard Trey Smith of the Chiefs when March 10-12 kicks off the F.A. signing period. That might not presently be possible, but that cap-space number could change and grow significantly based on events. Examples: Veteran tackle Terron Armstead might retire or be let go. There is speculation edge rusher Bradley Chubb, with an injury history, could be traded or let go as well. (The team already has cut a few veterans led by running back Raheem Mostert.) McDaniel at the Combine was business-like on Armstead, saying, 'I think with Terron reflecting his ability and all that, he's not totally ready to make that decision. As a result, I think we have to operate [approaching free agency and the draft] as though he won't play – just because you have to prepare for things.' Cap space also will grow as Miami naturally loses many of its own 26 free agents. The F.A.'s the Fins should most want to keep are safety Jevon Holland and guard Robert Jones. More business-first from McDaniel: 'I think Jevón has earned the right to go out and test his market, and that's something that I don't look at as a negative because what I don't want is players being here and wishing they were somewhere else. We feel good about his ability to test his market, and if business works out appropriately, his ability to be back here.' Grier, with a bad track record of building a great offensive line, targets that area as a priority again. If Trey Smith is too pricey in free agency as expected, there are five other guards and six other offensive linemen on ESPN's list of top 50 free agents, so it's an offseason of opportunity there. The April 24-26 Draft in Green Bay will find South Florida focused on whether Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward becomes only the third Cane chosen No. 1 overall, after QB Vinny Testaverde in 1987 and defensive tackle Russell Maryland in '91. But the Dolphins picking 13th overall (barring a trade down) will find a draft rich in O-linemen. Guard possibilities include Kelvin Banks Jr. of Texas, Missouri's Armand Membou or Alabama's Tyler Booker. If Holland leaves in free agency, maybe Georgia safety Malaki Starks? Dolphins also need an upgrade behind Tagovailoa, either a trade for a veteran better than Tyler Huntley or drafting a prospect to groom. Looming over it all is the possibility that 2025 could be Grier's last draft and also McDaniel's last chance as a critical spring and summer leads to a season that may require a playoff win at last to prevent massive change.
