It’s another edition of Miami Dolphins Q&A, where South Florida Sun Sentinel writers David Furones and Chris Perkins answer questions from readers.

Q: Any sense of and or whispers of (owner Stephen) Ross doing anything? I don’t know how much I can blame Mike (McDaniel) for the disaster of a roster (GM) Chris Grier has built in 7/8 years… and having to game plan an offense for a QB who can’t get hit… —Noah Redstone on X

The word remains that Dolphins owner Steve Ross plans to be patient with coach Mike McDaniel as nothing new has come out since then.

Now, that was leaked in national reports heading into the Sept. 18 loss at the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins were 0-2 going into that Thursday night loss. They were competitive against the Bills, defeated the New York Jets in Week 4 and then lost to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, blowing a 17-point lead in an epic, embarrassing collapse.

As I wrote Monday coming off the crushing defeat, patience could start to wear thin very soon if there’s another loss to a bad team — I’m eyeballing Week 7 at the Cleveland Browns — or if there’s another blowout loss, like was witnessed in the opener in Indianapolis, as soon as this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

I understand some only blame Grier and not McDaniel, or vice-versa, but I see the two as tied at the hip and mutually responsible.

Grier took over as the lead football decision-maker for the franchise at the start of the rebuild in 2019. The roster appeared to be on a positive trajectory with a budding young core and winning seasons under former coach Brian Flores in 2020 and 2021.

Flores was fired, and he included the Dolphins in a large-scale lawsuit against the league claiming racism in hiring and retention practices while alleging tanking and tampering practices by the organization.

McDaniel was then the man appointed to lead the next phase of the rebuild, when Grier went all-in with acquisitions of the likes of wide receiver Tyreek Hill, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, left tackle Terron Armstead and edge rusher Bradley Chubb and more.

The 2022 and 2023 seasons resulted in playoff appearances, but they were disappointing in the grand scheme, considering the talent on the roster.

The roster structure, with Grier largely guided by McDaniel, has proven flawed since. The tandem has not successfully built a strong offensive line that can stay healthy, has a young defensive line getting exposed early this season and deploys a secondary of all new faces, including a cornerbacks unit comprised of players who were not even rostered to start training camp.

If you ease up on McDaniel criticism because of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s limitations, you also must acknowledge McDaniel went to bat for him when it was time to negotiate a contract extension.

They all should go down together if and when the franchise goes in a new direction, which should be with a fresh, clean slate of new minds.

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Q: Why aren’t we signing either Asante Samuel Jr. or Stephon Gilmore? —Travis Lewis on X

Former Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., a South Florida product and St. Thomas Aquinas alum, is still recovering from offseason neck surgery, last I checked.

Something could be developing for him soon, from my understanding, if he remains on track in rehab.

I’m not exactly sure where things stand for 35-year-old former All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore, but I turn the question on you: Why would he choose to sign with a 1-4 team if he wants to make anything of a season so deep in his career?

Gilmore was still very serviceable for the Minnesota Vikings, a playoff team in 2024, just last season.

Q: Was Jonnu Smith’s strong year last year due to his ability, how he was utilized or both? —Restoring Honor on X

A combination of those two things and, I would add, the attention opposing defenses devoted to Hill and Jaylen Waddle on the outside.

Teams just didn’t want those two to beat them. There was a lot there in the passing game for Smith and De’Von Achane out of the backfield.

I think the Dolphins made a statement that seems right in that his high levels of TE production last year would be hard-pressed to be duplicated in another setting. Now, Darren Waller is benefitting and playing phenomenally in his first two games with the team.

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