The open casting call has been made, and auditions are scheduled for this spring, as early as next week, and will carry on throughout the summer.<\/p>\n
At this point, just about every role is up for grabs because newly hired Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley openly admits he\u2019s \u201cbarely talked to three-quarters of the team,\u201d since being hired to his new role two months ago.<\/p>\n
Not sure if Hafley meant more than an introduction, maybe an in-depth conversation, digging into topics like what motivates a player. But either way, that confession illustrates exactly where the Dolphins are headed going into next week\u2019s start of the offseason training program, which begins with weight lifting and conditioning work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not worried about how anyone views anything,\u201d Hafley said when asked about the perception the salary cap-strapped Dolphins are rebuilding. \u201cAll I\u2019m excited for is getting our players here.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have some really good pieces on the team. We brought in some free agents. We have the draft coming up. I\u2019m not thinking in those terms,\u201d Hafley said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to get these players here and doing everything possible to get them better to win games. That is how my mind works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plenty needs to be figured out between now and the first weekend of September, which is when the NFL regular season will likely kick off.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins don\u2019t have a depth chart, and if we\u2019re being honest, they don\u2019t have a stocked roster, either.<\/p>\n
Whether this is intentional or not, there are more journeymen, special teams contributors and camp bodies currently on Miami\u2019s roster heading into next week\u2019s start of the offseason training program than there are proven NFL starters.<\/p>\n
Malik Willis was signed to a three-year, $67.5 million deal with the hopes that he will earn the starting quarterback job.<\/p>\n
And outside of him, tailback De\u2019Von Achane, who has been discussed in trade talks while Miami begins negotiating a multiyear extension with the 2025 Pro Bowl tailback, left tackle Patrick Paul, and center Aaron Brewer should be viewed as Miami\u2019s clear-cut starters on offense.<\/p>\n
On defense, it\u2019s hard to write anyone\u2019s name other than Zach Sieler and linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson in ink.<\/p>\n
And even those veterans could be traded in this rebuilding climate, where the Dolphins are seemingly purging bloated salaries, and traded away players who have value \u2014 such as receiver Jaylen Waddle and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick – for draft picks.<\/p>\n
Miami\u2019s entire roster is a mystery, and what the team\u2019s new circle of trust is putting the franchise through is intentional because this regime\u2019s goal is to build a stable, affordable foundation of young talent.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t you dare call this a rebuild to general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and Hafley, the two latest individuals entrusted with resurrecting the Dolphins franchise in life after the Tua Tagovailoa era.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to do everything in our power to build this thing the right way, so over time they will have a product they can be proud of. I don\u2019t have a crystal ball. I can\u2019t tell you how fast it\u2019s going to happen,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cI can tell you that we\u2019re going to show up and compete our tales off, every opportunity we get. I think regardless of what the scoreboard says, you\u2019ll be able to see an upward trend in short order\u2026. They\u2019ll understand where this thing is going short term, and eventually you\u2019ll see a lot of W\u2019s next to the Dolphins.\u201d<\/p>\n
When regimes change there is usually collateral loss because of scheme change, like going from a 3-4 to a 4-3, or the changing landscape of a players\u2019 status with the team for various reasons, which are usually associated with age and money.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins are admittedly going young and cheap with the 2026 roster, which might encourage some veterans to find greener pastures elsewhere. However, Sullivan and Hafley claim it motivated some of the free agents to join the Dolphins instead of accepting other similar offers.<\/p>\n
The one thing Miami has been selling, especially to the new two dozen free agents that signed one-year deals for less than $1.2 million, is opportunity.<\/p>\n
Every cornerback, safety, pass rusher, offensive lineman and receiver added last month has as much of a chance to win a starting role as an early draft pick, such as pass rusher Chop Robinson, a 2024 first-round pick, and Jonah Savaiinaea, an offensive guard Miami traded up to acquire in the second round last year.<\/p>\n
According to Hafley, the Dolphins\u2019 coaching staff isn\u2019t in a position to play favorites, especially with strangers.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo everything in your power to show us that you are the best players at your position. Our job is to play the best players to win games,\u201d Hafley said, sharing his challenge to his new players.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo out there and work,\u201d he continued. \u201cDo everything in your power to improve. Take to coaching. Learn the scheme, and show us, and show the team that you are the best player and our job is to play you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The open casting call has been made, and auditions are scheduled for this spring, as early as next…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[3922,11227,217,7,14706,8628,576,23817,4097,216,251,69477,2087,7583,6,7564,3235,3452,28737,23816],"class_list":{"0":"post-846437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-aaron-brewer","9":"tag-chop-robinson","10":"tag-dolphins","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-jaylen-waddle","13":"tag-jeff-hafley","14":"tag-jonah-savaiinaea","15":"tag-jordyn-brooks","16":"tag-malik-willis","17":"tag-miami","18":"tag-miami-dolphins","19":"tag-miami-dolphins-head-coach","20":"tag-miamidolphins","21":"tag-minkah-fitzpatrick","22":"tag-nfl","23":"tag-patrick-paul","24":"tag-the-dolphins","25":"tag-tua-tagovailoa","26":"tag-tyrel-dodson","27":"tag-zach-sieler"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116327857677521360","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}