MIAMI GARDENS — South Florida Sun Sentinel writers David Furones and Chris Perkins answer Dolphins questions from readers.
Q: I fear the dysfunction of this team is bigger than the GM. We simply cannot afford to miss the rebuild by doing it halfway. Ross has a lot of responsibility to get this right. — salcontrino on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
You’re right. Owner Stephen Ross can’t paint ex-general manager Chris Grier as the singular scapegoat or fall guy. After all, Grier led the way in collecting the most talent this franchise has had in two decades. Coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are more responsible than Grier for the on-field disappointment, or, as you call it, the dysfunction. I think bringing back McDaniel and Tagovailoa while Grier is the only one to pay a price would be doing the rebuild halfway.
Q: Teams don’t want the Tua contract. It’s funny to hear a year later after millions of articles written about how important it is to pay Tua his contract last year from the Dolphins media. — Petestakes on Dolphins Deep w/Perk
Plenty of media folks (me excluded) were in favor of Tagovailoa’s four-year, $212 million contract extension in 2024. It’s now viewed as a bad contract, which is what it was at the time it was issued. Tagovailoa is unable to beat quality teams (2-10 vs. playoff teams in 2023-24), he’s immobile and he remains an injury concern. Regardless, the bigger mistake was not properly building around Tagovailoa. He’s capable of winning a playoff game. And if he was/is given a strong running game and a strong defense, Tagovailoa could win a playoff game. But with the rebuild about to hit full swing, Tagovailoa will have no chance of winning a playoff game in 2026, which could be his final year in a Dolphins uniform. It was important for the Dolphins to construct a better supporting cast around Tagovailoa in 2023 and 2024, but they didn’t see it that way and opted to continue focusing on speed.
Q: Ewers over Zach. — Bigotes1775 on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
In theory you could argue that quarterback Quinn Ewers, the rookie seventh-round pick from Texas, should get snaps before veteran quarterback Zach Wilson. He’s younger and he’s a Dolphins draftee. However, Ewers has only been ahead of Wilson for two days, and that was the day before the Cleveland game and the day of the Cleveland game. Before and after those two days, McDaniel has regarded Wilson as the No. 2 behind Tagovailoa. It’s probably more likely for the Dolphins to get strong play from a former first-round pick than from a current seventh-round pick. Right now it doesn’t seem either will get significant snaps ahead of Tagovailoa. However, if the Dolphins lose their next two games and fall to 2-9, anything seems possible.
Q: Dave and Perk, just start being honest. This team sucks. There’s no saving grace on this team. — scottiedoesknow3399 on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
I think this team has greatly underachieved. They’re better than a 2-7 squad. They went 8-9 last year with Tagovailoa missing six starts. They should have been just as good this season with Tagovailoa, to this point, making all the starts. It seems players have stopped listening to their coaches, stopped accepting coaching, and have probably lost faith in their coaches. They still like and respect their coaches, starting with McDaniel. But I’m not certain they’re still listening and believing. This team doesn’t have playoff-claiber talent, but it’s better than 2-7 talent.
Q: Is losing to New Orleans and the New York Jets the best possible thing the Dolphins could do this season? — danabuice6642 on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
I think winning is the best thing for this team. Winning gives you a better idea of who can play and who can’t play as you move forward. Tanking means you don’t want your players to try to win. The Dolphins must have the best idea possible of who they can trust as they proceed with this rebuild, and that means having everyone play as well as they can.
Q: The rebuild success will be determined by draft success. — ccrr8029 on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
You’re largely correct. The way to do things in the NFL, for the most part, is to draft and develop. Obviously, the second part (develop) is very important, so even though the Dolphins select a decent player they must develop him. When you look at the post-Dolphins success players such as Denver safety Brandon Jones (third round, 2020) or Minnesota outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (fifth round, 2019), you see the importance of the development part.
Q: Nobody to tank for in this draft. — philmontgomery95 on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
There’s no quarterback that fits the bill at this point, but there could be other players at other positions. The bottom line is I’m not a fan of tanking anyway, so it’s rare that I would endorse that philosophy. Try to win, draft well, and develop your players and everything else takes care of itself.