The Miami Dolphins have been one of the worst teams in football this season, sitting at 2-6 heading into their Thursday night matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. As a result, many are expecting the Dolphins to blow it up by the NFL trade deadline.
Why wouldn’t they, right? Tyreek Hill is out for the season, and it seems blatantly obvious that Miami is by no means a contender, especially in an AFC East that features the Buffalo Bills and the surprising New England Patriots.
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However, Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN has reported that Miami is not planning to sell any players before next Tuesday.
“Rumors have circled on social media about Dolphins players being available at the trade deadline, particularly wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, and linebackers Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips,” Louis-Jacques wrote. “A team source told ESPN the Dolphins aren’t looking to offload players, and McDaniel publicly disregarded trade rumors as ‘baseless.’ There’s cautious optimism inside the Dolphins’ building.”
Not trading Waddle is understandable given that he is under contract through 2028, but Chubb has no guaranteed money coming to him beyond this season, and Phillips is slated to hit free agency.
While the Dolphins did rout the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, they have shown very few signs of life throughout the season. Just two weeks ago, they were hammered by the Cleveland Browns.
Miami is facing a litany of questions right now. Head coach Mike McDaniel is on the hottest of seats, and there is widespread concern that Tua Tagovailoa is not the answer for the Dolphins under center (this even though he signed a massive four-year, $212.4 million contract extension with the team back in July 2024).
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There probably isn’t a single person outside of South Beach who has Miami pegged as a playoff contender, and most Dolphins fans likely aren’t even thinking their team can make the playoffs.
Of course, this could all be posturing on the part of Miami, possibly not wanting to lose leverage in trade discussions. It could also be that McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier are both fighting for their jobs. But if the Dolphins stand pat because they truly think they will be contending in the AFC, it would be one of the more bewildering decisions of the 2025 season.
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