There’s plenty of uncertainty in South Florida at the moment.
Does Dolphins star cornerback Jalen Ramsey indeed get traded? If so, when and for what? What about Miami tight end Jonnu Smith? Can the franchise iron down a long-term deal to keep him in the aqua and orange?
Smith is coming off the best season by a tight end in Dolphins franchise history, but his future with the franchise remains in limbo.
And, of course, the overarching question about quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s health will persist until he proves he can make it through the duration of a season unscathed.
With some of that uncertainty swirling and with the Dolphins entering 2025 coming off a disappointing 8-9 finish in 2024, CBS’ Emory Hunt featured Miami among his top five flop candidates. The Dolphins checked in at No. 4 on his panic meter.
“So, here’s the thing with Miami and them being right here at No. 4. Mike McDaniel, we know how much he wants to really get this offense going and be this offensive guru and genius, but I love what they did this offseason. A lot of people questioned their toughness, so they went out and got tougher in the draft. They got tougher in free agency to improve on that.
“The concern here is you have the Jalen Ramsey thing hanging over your heads. Is he going to be on the team? Is he going to get traded to a West Coast team? How are they going to find someone to step in and replace what he brought to the table at cornerback. And when you combine that with the division getting better and can these guys finish in December? Can they tough-out these games on the back end with an improved division? The Patriots‘ defense should be stellar, the Jets should be a team to keep an eye on, we know what Buffalo brings to the table, so so that’s why right now I’m still a little bit concerned about Miami moreso than Minnesota because of those reasons,” Hunt said.
In a descending order of least panicked to most panicked, Hunt ranked Minnesota at No. 5, Miami at No. 4, Cincinnati at No. 3, San Francisco at No. 2 and Detroit at No. 1.