The Miami Dolphins pulled off the shocker of the season on Sunday. They beat the Buffalo Bills and beat them pretty darn good. Buffalo never even really made it a game. The Fins held them underwater for the entirety of the 30-13 whipping. However, while that was a fun result for Miami, they’re still 3-7 and in rebuilding mode, and some believe they took a wrong turn by not being bigger sellers during last week’s trade deadline.
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By the time the clock struck midnight on the deadline, the Dolphins had actually been one of the quietest teams in the league. Their lone move was trading promising edge rusher Jaelan Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick. Teams reportedly called and offered large sums for valuable veteran pieces like Jaylen Waddle and Bradley Chubb, but the Dolphins stood pat.
In stark contrast, the other team at the bottom of the AFC East, the New York Jets, sold two of their most important players in All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner and All-Pro DT Quinnen Williams. Hall of Famer Cris Carter believes the Dolphins should have done exactly what the Jets did: dive headfirst into a rebuild.
“You should’ve traded everything. Chubb, trade him. Trade Waddle… And what scares me is when they didn’t get rid of those players, maybe because the voice in the room is the coach saying, ‘I like those players. Don’t want to replace them.’ Because they told him he’s gonna be there.”
And that is the prevailing thought after Miami’s surprising silence at D-Day: beleaguered head coach Mike McDaniel has the vote of confidence from owner Stephen Ross. He might just survive this 2025 season and beyond. As Carter said, there really aren’t many other explanations.
“I’m trying to add up what you’re doing. Because when you fire the GM right before the deadline, and then you also have a couple chips that people been talking about, as far as trying to move ’em… Like, why wouldn’t they do that? Because they are rebuilding… I do believe McDaniel is a good offensive coach, I just don’t believe he can lead the locker room,” said the former wide receiver.
Once again, the prevailing thought has been that McDaniel should be fired, considering how far downhill the team has gone since its hot 11-4 start to the 2023 season. They have gone 11-19 since then, including playoffs.
But the lack of moves at the deadline does suggest that Miami thinks they can reload in the offseason and try again with this core. Interim general manager Champ Kelly, who replaced the recently canned Chris Grier, also seems to be safe in his job.
The win against the Bills was exciting, but we’d hardly say that it’s a sign of things to come. The word “fluke” certainly comes to mind after that one. Obviously, Mr. Ross believes otherwise.
