The Miami Dolphins spent the offseason turning over the roster, and that shake-up has left a few familiar depth players staring at a brutal training camp fight just to stick around.
New general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and his scouting staff have already pushed out a number of holdovers from last year’s team, and the additions didn’t stop there. Miami also brought in a wave of one-year stopgaps, a move that only tightens the squeeze on the players already on the fringe. With the Dolphins carrying a 13-member rookie class and leaning hard into a youth movement, the margin for error is tiny.
That puts a handful of less-used Chris Grier-era players squarely on the bubble, and their futures could be decided as much by roster math as by what happens on the field.
Ethan Bonner is one of the clearest examples. There’s always a chance he could pop in his fourth NFL season, but Miami’s offseason actions don’t exactly scream confidence in that outcome.
The Dolphins traded up to draft Chris Johnson in the first round, then added Darrell Baker Jr., Alex Austin, and Marco Wilson in free agency. Baker has started 25 games over the last three years, Austin has been with the Patriots for the past few seasons, and Wilson brings elite athletic traits.
Bonner also has to deal with JuJu Brents, a former second-round pick who looks like the favorite for the CB2 job opposite Johnson. Even Storm Duck has logged far more defensive snaps for Miami than Bonner has. Cornerback has been a problem area for the Dolphins for a while, and Jalen Ramsey’s injury-hit two-season stretch only went so far in covering it up.
Bonner does have one thing working in his favor: Baker and Duck are on the PUP list to open camp. Still, that only buys him time. It doesn’t make his path any easier.
Tahj Washington faces a similar uphill climb at receiver. The former USC playmaker was productive in college, finishing his final season with 1,062 receiving yards on 59 catches, an 18-yard average, and eight touchdowns.
Miami took him in the seventh round of the 2024 draft, and since then his NFL journey has been anything but smooth. A lower-leg injury wiped out his rookie season, and in 2025 he managed just three catches for 37 yards along with a lost fumble.
For a moment, it looked like Washington might have a real opening. With Tyreek Hill not being kept and Jaylen Waddle having moved to Denver after trade speculation swirled around him, there was at least a path to more work. But Sullivan’s moves at receiver changed that quickly.
Jalen Reagor was added, Dee Eskridge was added, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was added, and River Cracraft was added. Nick Nash was also brought in, while Grant DuBose is on the roster.
Bell is inactive to start camp while rehabbing from a torn ACL. With that many bodies in the room, Washington is likely to be buried in the pecking order, and he’ll also have to fight Malik Washington for slot snaps.
That doesn’t mean Tahj Washington can’t play his way into the conversation. It just means the preseason may be his best shot to force the issue.
Cameron Goode is in a tough spot too, thanks to the Dolphins’ changes up front. Miami has essentially pushed him down the depth chart at defensive end, even though he’s listed as a linebacker. That designation is tied to the team’s move toward more of a base 4-3 look after years in 3-4 fronts.
The front seven has been flooded with new names, and that’s bad news for Goode. Rookie Kyle Louis can line up all over the field, while fellow fourth-round pick Trey Moore is moving from off-ball linebacker back to the edge. Chop Robinson is locked in as the starter at one defensive end spot, but the other side is wide open and likely to be handled by a rotating cast that includes Josh Uche, David Ojabo, Moore, and Robert Beal Jr.
For players like Bonner, Washington, and Goode, camp isn’t just about making a splash. It’s about surviving the numbers game the Dolphins created all summer long.
In Other News...
Malik Willis Now Faces The Question Dolphins Fans Dread Most
Jeff Hafley spent part of training camp talking through Malik Willis growth, and for the Dolphins the conversation is about more than just reps. The head coach said the quarterback has made progress since offseason work began, with the focus centered on building confidence and getting better timing with his receivers, two areas that can shape how quickly a new offense settles in.
Willis also put in work with his wideouts away from the team this offseason, a sign the Dolphins are trying to speed up the chemistry process before the games start counting. He had some uneven moments early in the offseason program before settling in later, and with Miamis season outlook already carrying plenty of skepticism, how quickly Willis turns that improvement into steady play may end up mattering as much as anything else on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Camp Tryouts Include Two Names Fans Need To Watch
The Dolphins spent the day before the first practice of training camp taking a longer look at some offensive depth options, bringing in eight players for tryouts as the roster begins to take shape. The group included quarterbacks Jack Plummer and Austin Reed, along with wide receivers Elijhah Badger, Elijah Cooks, Jakobie Keeney-James and Tyler Vaughns, plus tackle Ben Te Kura, giving Miami a chance to poke around at a few different positions before the real camp work gets going.
It is the kind of low-profile roster housekeeping that can matter later, especially when teams are sorting through camp bodies and looking for a player who fits a specific need. Miami was not the only club doing that kind of business, either, with four former Dolphins trying out for Washington and punter Matt Haack reportedly landing a contract there, a reminder that this part of the calendar is as much about opportunity as it is about depth charts. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Just Landed On One Brutal List After Daniel Jones Bet
The Colts Daniel Jones bet landed them on an unflattering offseason list, but it also fits a broader pattern around the league: teams are paying for possibility as much as production. Indianapolis is not alone in that instinct. Miami made a similarly aggressive quarterback investment in Malik Willis despite his limited NFL rsum, a move that says plenty about how front offices are weighing upside against certainty this time of year.
It is the kind of market that can make a splash look smart in March and reckless by November. Jones is coming off a serious injury, Willis has only a handful of starts behind him, and the Steelers even added Aaron Rodgers on a short-term deal built around one last run. For teams like the Dolphins, the lesson is obvious enough: when the quarterback market gets this thin, the price of chasing a fix can be steep, and the real verdict usually takes a while to arrive. [Read more 🡒]