Clelin Ferrell’s path from Clemson stardom to another NFL reset has taken him to Miami, and the former Tigers edge rusher is once again trying to show there’s more in the tank.
Ferrell arrived at Clemson with plenty of buzz, and by the end of his run from the 2015-19 seasons, that hype had turned into a résumé few college defenders could match. In three seasons of playing time, he piled up 50 tackles for loss, 27 sacks and five forced fumbles. Even with a redshirt year in 2015, he still appeared in 44 games and left school with the kind of production that made him look like a future difference-maker on Sundays.
That’s exactly how the NFL viewed him. The Oakland Raiders took him No. 4 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, hoping he could help inject life into a defense that needed it. That breakout never fully arrived in Oakland, and Ferrell has since moved through three teams over seven years before landing with the Dolphins.
Now in Miami, he’s not framing his career like it’s finished. Speaking with the Miami Herald’s Tyler Carmona, Ferrell made it clear he still sees unfinished business.
“I don’t think it’s fair to put my career into words yet. I’m just taking it one day at a time,” Ferrell said. “Everything I do is based on that little boy who once made a promise to himself.”
His college résumé still stands out. Ferrell remains the only player in Clemson history to earn First Team All-American honors twice, doing it in 2017 and 2018. He was also a Ted Hendricks Award finalist in 2017 before going back and winning the award in his final season with the Tigers as the nation’s top edge rusher.
That background is part of why Miami makes sense as a landing spot. Ferrell is joining a team that, as the source notes, has an identity tied to proving people wrong despite being counted out, and he says he’s leaning into that same mindset.
“I believe [in] myself,” he said, “so just putting it on tape and letting other teams know. It’s really the mental game - the consistency over time.”
The Dolphins are bringing in plenty of players with something to prove in 2026, a season many could view as a rebuild. Ferrell has lived through competition and uncertainty before, including the battle in his Clemson position group that led to his redshirt year.
His NFL numbers show a veteran who has already logged a lot of snaps: 184 total tackles and 21 sacks in 98 games. After finishing out his rookie deal with the Raiders, he spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers before returning to the 49ers in 2025.
Now he heads to South Florida for another chance to make his mark, this time under head coach Jeff Hafley in his first season at the helm.
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