The Dolphins are 0-4, but that record should not push Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley off the path they chose when they began rebuilding Miami after the failure of the Chris Grier-Mike McDaniel era.
That was always going to be the ugly part. Hafley has already said the 2026 season won’t be measured by wins and losses, but by how the roster develops over the course of the year. It sounds a lot simpler in the summer than it does when the losses start piling up, yet the logic hasn’t changed just because September turned into a mess.
Miami’s young players are getting the kind of reps that matter. This was never built to be a season filled with much winning, and trying to squeeze more out of an aging, expensive group would only drag out a dead-end approach. The Dolphins have to resist the urge to patch things with veterans or make any move that would keep their future pieces from learning on the job.
If you’re frustrated by the rookie mistakes and the lack of experience, that part is easy to understand. Even when things started unraveling last season, Miami still looked more like a functioning NFL team than it does right now.
But the same players making life difficult in the present could be the ones driving the team later. That only happens if they keep playing through the growing pains.
There are obvious tradeoffs. It would be nice if Chris Johnson could stay at one position instead of handling a hybrid nickel/boundary corner role.
It would also be preferable if receivers Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell were learning behind veterans instead of being thrown into the fire. But once the new regime decided a hard reset was necessary, that wasn’t the reality anymore.
Bradley Chubb, Jaylen Waddle, and Tyreek Hill aren’t walking through the door. The Dolphins made their choice, and now the only real option is to stick with it.
That doesn’t mean the outlook is bleak forever. Miami is headed toward nearly $100 million in cap space next offseason, and a potential top-3 draft pick could change the picture fast. The value of this season is in finding out what they already have so they can add the right players, not just more players.
The rest of the year may be tough to sit through. But if the plan works, the pain could pay off.
In Other News...
Dolphins May Be Running Out Of Time With Austin Jackson
Austin Jacksons grip on the Dolphins starting right tackle job has become a real storyline through the first month of the 2026 season. After four weeks of allowing multiple pressures, sacks and penalties, the veteran has put Miami in a familiar spot for an offense trying to stabilize the edge while carrying bigger expectations everywhere else.
The Dolphins have already started looking around for answers, with veteran Caedan Wallace and rookies Melvin Priestly and Dodji Dahoue getting a closer look as the staff searches for better play. There is also consideration being given to positional changes involving Kadyn Proctor, a sign that Miami is willing to keep testing options while it pushes a youth-and-development approach and tries to find a cleaner solution at right tackle. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Fans Wont Love This Brian Thomas Jr. Trade Buzz
The Dolphins 0-4 start has already pushed the front office into the kind of early-season roster brainstorming that rarely stays quiet for long, and the search for help around Malik Willis has quickly turned toward the passing game. One name that has surfaced in the chatter is Brian Thomas Jr., a young receiver whose upside remains obvious enough to intrigue teams looking for a jolt, even if his week-to-week production has not always matched the hype.
Bleacher Report floated a possible framework involving Miami sending a 2027 third-round pick to Jacksonville, a kind of deal that would speak to how aggressively the Dolphins may need to think if they want to change the feel of this season. For the Jaguars, moving a player with Thomass talent would not be easy to sell, and his inconsistency only adds another layer to a conversation that is likely to linger until someone actually makes the call. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Fans Are Still Waiting To See If Hafley Is Right
With the Dolphins stuck at 0-4 to open the 2026 season, Jeff Hafley spent his latest media availability leaning into the longer view. The head coach said he still believes in the players and in the process, framing the early slide as something the team can work through with trust, development and a steadier response to adversity. Miami has heard that kind of message before, but at this point the margin for patience is starting to shrink.
Now the focus shifts quickly to Cincinnati, where the Dolphins will try to show that Hafleys confidence is rooted in something more concrete than hope. The Bengals offer the next chance to prove the team can turn practice-room progress into results, and for a fan base waiting to see signs of a real course correction, this game feels like more than just another date on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]