MIAMI GARDENS — Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan are saying the right things. They’re putting the best face on what they admit is a difficult situation. When they say they expect the Miami Dolphins to play hard and go out to win every Sunday, you can believe them.
You also can believe what their actions are telling you.
And those actions are saying that when training camp began with low expectations, maybe they weren’t low enough.
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The Dolphins tore it all down right after last season. The draft was supposed to signal a change — that it was time to begin building it back up.
Then came this past weekend, the time for roster cuts to 53. And the Dolphins essentially decided they didn’t even have 53 worth keeping.
The Dolphins responded by diving into the waiver wire hard, claiming seven players — more than double anybody else. We don’t know if it’s a record because there’s no reason to track such a thing. The players claimed included a quarterback with a passer rating of 55.4. Combined, the seven played 16 games in 2025 — not even the equivalent of a full season.
Claiming seven isn’t a deadly sin, but remember, these seven also were bypassed by 10 other teams higher in the waiver-wire pecking order than Miami. And yet they offer greater hope than the seven displaced players who’d been here in training camp?
Ideally, training camp concludes with a reason to feel good about new additions. And, to be fair, I believe Sullivan hit on top picks Kadyn Proctor, a guard, and Jacob Rodriguez, a linebacker, both of whom will start. I believe that among the three receivers drafted, there’s talent to work with. Maybe they have a future WR1 in the bunch, maybe not. But it would be surprising if at least two don’t have productive NFL careers.
As for quarterback Malik Willis, anyone complaining about that signing is looking for a reason to bellyache. In the real world, the Dolphins were never going to land a better option given the constraints Sullivan faced. Now the Dolphins get to kick the tires. Willis pans out? Great, the Dolphins can draft a pass rusher, cornerback or maybe WR1 next year. Willis isn’t what they hope? The Round 1 target becomes painfully obvious.
Having said that, it would have been nice if training camp concluded with a clear-cut conviction on who the stars of summer were. Inconsistency prevented that. If you want conviction, there’s this: This secondary is in trouble, which is why three of the seven waiver additions were defensive backs. Combine that with one established pass rusher (Chop Robinson) and it spells trouble. Oh, and the first three home games are against quarterbacks named Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Derrick Maye. Big trouble.
For Hafley, the immediate future requires him to mash the accelerator. He has 1 1/2 weeks to get this team ready for the opener against the Las Vegas Raiders even though 38 percent of his players either just arrived or are rookies.
Zach Sieler proof that occasionally, GMs hit lottery
Certainly, it’s possible Sullivan will find a gem among the cast-offs. GMs sometimes hit the lottery. Hall of Fame center Jim Langer arrived this way, as did guard Bob Kuechenberg, who ought to be in the Hall of Fame. Another example serves as a much-needed stabilizing figure in the locker room today: defensive tackle Zach Sieler, who pointed out the human element of all this upheaval.
"It's a sad part of the guys that make the 53 and then the next day they're cut," he said.
Nobody has to remind linebacker Jordyn Brooks, another voice of reason at age 28. He and Tyrel Dodson formed an inside linebacking duo that accounted for 312 tackles last season. In a flash over the weekend, Dodson was waived to clear the way for Rodriguez. Whether the Dolphins considered holding onto Dodson for depth is unclear. The move surprised Brooks.
"Somebody that's, off the field, one of my best friends," Brooks said "Somebody that I've got to know very well over the last three years. So just seeing him go, that's always difficult, and then you understand like the business side of things. It's hard not to take some things personal in this business, but I'm excited that he already found a new home (Carolina). I spoke to him, he's in great spirits. The type of person that he is, he's just going to keep going. So I'm not worried about his mental or spiritual right now. I know he's going to be all right, but it does suck not having him as a teammate anymore."
If any of the new guys are walking around in a daze, they ought to look up Sieler.
"I got cut in Baltimore, ‘Good, OK, what's next?’ And then I got a call from Miami," Sieler said. "Just take it and run with it. So I've tried to embrace that in everything in my life and my game. And I tell these young guys the same thing, like, ‘Hey, look, good. OK, what's next?’ "
Embrace change. Not a bad idea if you’re a Dolphins player.
A prerequisite if you’re a Dolphins fan.
Hal Habib covers the Miami Dolphins for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at HHabib@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' low expectations should have been lower | Habib
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