The most personal story around the Dolphins this week has nothing to do with scheme, injuries, or the opener against the Raiders. It starts with a jersey number.
Kevin Coleman Jr., Miami’s fifth-round rookie, spent training camp and the preseason in No. 83. Now he’s switching to No. 21, a choice that carries a meaning far beyond the usual late-summer number shuffle that happens around roster cuts.
Very few wide receivers wear 21, so the move raised a few eyebrows. Coleman explained why the decision was immediate for him.
“When 21 popped open, I thought about my brother instantly,” Coleman said in the Dolphins locker room. “My brother passed away October 21st, 2008.”
Coleman’s brother, 18‑month‑old Rashaad, was killed by gunfire in a St. Louis suburb that night.
Around that story, there’s plenty else happening as Miami heads toward Week 1. The Dolphins are, relatively speaking, in good shape for their season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, according to one report on the team’s injury situation. Rookie wide receiver Chris Bell has also beaten the timeline on his torn ACL recovery, with Bell saying he had believed all along he’d be ready for his first NFL game after the injury he suffered in November.
There’s also no shortage of bigger-picture conversation around Miami’s offense. Assistant Bobby Slowik addressed whether the Dolphins’ attack will resemble Mike McDaniel’s version, while Barry Jackson noted there were 10 takeaways from the first regular-season session with five Dolphins assistant coaches.
De’Von Achane, meanwhile, made his ambitions clear. The running back said he wants the rushing title in 2026, and said it’s a goal he sets for himself every year. Another Dolphins name drawing attention is Jacob Rodriguez, with one piece asking whether he could be the second coming of Zach Thomas after noting the similarities between the two undersized, Texas-raised linebackers who sunburn easily.
On the coaching side, there’s also a noticeable contrast being drawn between Jeff Hafley and Mike McDaniel. Barry Jackson pointed to what he described as a stark difference in how the two handle mindless mistakes and rules violations.
Elsewhere, Miami’s roster picture remains in flux. One breakdown examined the 12 pending Dolphins UFAs in 2027 and which ones are most likely to stick around, while noting the team signed a number of veterans to one-year deals this year, though many have already been cut.
On the Raiders side, there’s plenty of Week 1 chatter too. Coverage included Las Vegas claiming offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue off waivers, plus a look at how new linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker will be tested by Miami’s running game and dual-threat quarterback. Another preview focused on Jordyn Brooks, described as the league’s best tackler in 2025, and what the Raiders will need to do to handle the Dolphins defense.
For Miami’s opener, there was also a reminder that Chris Bell will not be on a snap count restriction and will be a full-go against the Raiders.
In Other News...
Dolphins Just Got A Tougher Week 1 Problem In Las Vegas
The Dolphins Week 1 trip to Las Vegas just picked up a little more edge. Ashton Jeanty, the Raiders running back who had been dealing with an ankle sprain in training camp, has been officially cleared and is off the injury report heading into the season opener, giving the home team another weapon to sort out on defense.
For Miami, it means the opening-game scouting report got a little less comfortable. Jeanty is expected to be part of a Raiders offense led by new head coach Klint Kubiak, and his availability gives Las Vegas a cleaner path to leaning on its run game right from the start of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Tua Tagovailoas Latest Setback Just Put Week 1 In Doubt
An already tricky preseason took another turn when Kevin Stefanski said Tua Tagovailoa will not be available for Week 1, leaving Miami with a real question mark at the most important position on the field. Tagovailoa suffered an oblique injury in practice, and with no clear return timeline yet, the Dolphins are heading into the opener having to adjust their plans on the fly.
Stefanski also said the latest issue is separate from the back problem Tagovailoa dealt with before, which at least narrows the concern but does not make the situation any easier for Miami. With Cooper Rush set to start the season opener and Tagovailoa sidelined for now, the Dolphins are left waiting to see how long this setback lingers and how much it alters the early weeks of their season. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Are Flirting With A Season Fans Will Never Forget
The early shape of this Dolphins season is already unusual enough to feel like a turning point. Miami enters with the youngest roster in the NFL, a group built around rookies and undrafted players, and the kind of uncertainty that comes with leaning so heavily on so little proven production. Add in a first-year head coach in Jeff Hafley and a schedule that does not offer much breathing room out of the gate, and this looks less like a standard reset than a team trying to find its footing while the rest of the league presses forward.
What makes the whole thing even more precarious is the long view. Miami is staring at a record-high dead salary cap hit of $183 million in 2026, a number that already exceeds the cap space tied to the active roster, which means every decision now carries extra weight later. The Dolphins do not just need this group to compete, they need it to help define what comes next, and with so few Pro Bowls and starts across the roster, the margin for error feels smaller than ever. [Read more 🡒]