Jevon Holland’s return to South Florida ended with a preseason win, and then a message that immediately turned heads for all the wrong reasons.
After the New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Holland posted on his IG account: "Big Dub! **** EM!!" It was a blunt shot at the team he used to play for, and it didn’t land as a classy parting note.
The Dolphins chose not to re-sign Holland after his contract expired following the 2024 season. He didn’t draw the kind of free-agent buzz he expected at first, but he eventually landed with the Giants.
Holland’s exit from Miami had already been shaped by the front office and coaching changes around him. Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel were the pair tied to his departure, and both are gone now.
Tom Garfinkel is gone too, and Stephen Ross has, to a degree, handed control to his son-in-law, Danny Sillman. That leaves the question of who, exactly, Holland was aiming at with the post.
There was a time when Dolphins fans had plenty to cheer about from Holland. He burst into the league with a strong rookie season and was even better in 2022.
But the production dipped after that, and his coverage became more uneven as his stint in Miami went on. His contract pursuit also became a point of friction, with the Dolphins not willing to meet the number he wanted.
The talks never got anywhere, and Holland played out the final year of his rookie deal. At the time, McDaniel told the media that Holland deserved to test free agency.
Holland’s most memorable play in Miami came against the Jets in 2023, when he intercepted a Tim Boyle Hail Mary as the first half expired and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown.
By the time he left, the Dolphins roster had already been thinned out by salary cap issues, bad contracts, and a lack of direction from Grier and McDaniel. There also weren’t many players left from the 2024 team. Still, Holland’s on-field effort wasn’t always viewed as matching an “all-in” mindset.
Before signing with the Giants, Holland made clear he wanted a different environment. He said he wanted to play for a team with "Leaders who set an example by actions, not by their words." But after returning to Miami and leaving with a preseason win, he was the one doing the talking.
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