Every Miami Dolphins brief The Playbook has printed, newest first — 48 editions so far. Below: 3 Ledger calls this paper put in print on them. The Archive runs two days behind the paper.
The 10-24 home loss to Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium confirmed it: this is a 0-3 team that has been outscored by 50 points in three weeks. This paper called that result yesterday, and it landed exactly as predicted. Now the question belongs to Jeff Hafley — not as a tactical matter, but as an institutional one. Malik Willis has 627 passing yards through three games. De'Von Achane, per The Phinsider, went down injured on his third carry Sunday. The offense has scored 36 points across three weeks. Those are consequences of decisions — roster construction, personnel packages, the choice of who starts and who doesn't. Hafley owns those decisions. Minnesota arrives Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium at 3-0, allowing 13.7 points per game. That is the next test. The decisive question is whether 0-4 changes anything structurally, or whether the system absorbs it and moves on unchanged.
Twenty-six points scored through two games is a roster verdict, not a slump. The Kansas City Chiefs arrive at Hard Rock Stadium today at 2-0, averaging 32.0 points scored and 20.0 allowed per game — and The Playbook expects Miami to lose this one by double digits. That is the call, and it rests on the evidence. Malik Willis has 417 passing yards through two games; Caleb Douglas leads receivers with 113 receiving yards; De'Von Achane has 110 rushing yards. Those are functional numbers on a 0-2 team that has allowed 62 points. The Chiefs are not the problem. The system producing those outputs is. Per The Phinsider, Chop Robinson — the third-year pass rusher who missed the 13-35 loss at Levi's Stadium with a concussion — is his fifth documented concussion and his third as a Dolphin, and he will play wearing a Guardian Cap going forward. That is an individual health story, but it is also an institutional one: the decision-makers own every circumstance that precedes it. The roster moves this week — LB Liam Anderson and EDGE Clelin Ferrell elevated, ILB Ronnie Harrison Jr. already on injured reserve — describe a depth chart under pressure before Week 3 has kicked off. What would change the read: Miami controls the third-down conversion rate today and limits Kansas City to under 24 points. Until then, this is a standard, not a scoreline.
Chop Robinson's fifth documented concussion — third as a Dolphins player, per The Phinsider — is the injury story that reframes Sunday's matchup. The Dolphins host Kansas City at Hard Rock Stadium. The Playbook predicts a Kansas City win. A pass rush that cannot dress its most active edge rusher is a structural disadvantage against Patrick Mahomes, who punishes late-arriving pressure more reliably than almost any quarterback in the league. Ronnie Harrison Jr. is already on injured reserve. Robert Beal Jr. is listed out. That is three significant defensive contributors unavailable for a team that has already allowed 62 points across two road losses — 27 to Las Vegas, 35 to San Francisco. Malik Willis has 417 passing yards through two games. Caleb Douglas leads the receiving group at 113 yards. Those are real contributors. They are also contributing to an offense that has scored 26 points in two weeks, facing a Chiefs defense allowing 20 points per game in a 2-0 start. The decision this week belongs to whoever is calling defensive packages without Robinson's pass-rush repetitions — and the consequence is a Kansas City offense that averaged 32 points per game this season will test that decision early.
Miami Dolphins lose to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday 27 September 2026
Kansas City arrives at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday having outscored its first two opponents by a combined 24 points — 32.0 per game to 20.0 allowed — while Miami has surrendered 62 points across the 13-35 away loss to San Francisco and a prior road defeat. The Dolphins will lose Sunday. That call is grounded in 62 points allowed through two games against a Chiefs side that has not lost yet this season. The sharper roster question, per The Phinsider, is whether Chop Robinson — returning to full practice after a concussion — can generate any pass-rush pressure Miami has not recorded in two games. Without a sack in either contest, the front is asking Malik Willis to operate under duress on every third down. Willis has 417 passing yards this season behind an offensive line the coaching staff has already flagged for execution problems, per a no-outlet report this week on Austin Jackson. Caleb Douglas leads receivers with 113 yards; Malik Washington has 96. That is the offense. The decision the home sideline faces Sunday is whether to commit De'Von Achane — 110 rushing yards on the season — to a run-heavy approach to reduce Willis's exposure, or trust the passing game against a Kansas City secondary that concedes 20.0 per game. Robinson's availability does not resolve that equation.
Kansas City fans will be loud on Sunday. The ones who matter most, though — the section of Hard Rock Stadium that has held tickets through years far harder than this — deserves more than a 26-point fortnight as the return. The 13-35 away loss to San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium sharpened the question this matchup will force into the open: whether Malik Willis, 417 passing yards into a young season, can sustain the promise of a competitive first half in California when the Chiefs arrive at 2-0, averaging 32.0 points scored against 20.0 allowed. Kansas City punishes third-down inefficiency — last season Miami converted only 34.9 percent of third downs, a rate that keeps drives short and defenses on the field too long. Per The Phinsider, kicker Riley Patterson has missed field goals in both games, a margin problem the coaching staff has already flagged publicly. Every unconverted drive compounds. The first test of identity at home is Sunday's opening series.
Ronnie Harrison Jr. lands on injured reserve, Liam Anderson is waived 48 hours after his promotion, and a special-teams pickup off the Buffalo Bills practice squad arrives in the same week — that is three roster decisions in five days, each one exposing a different gap in a depth chart that has allowed 62 points across two road losses. Per The Phinsider, the new signing has an existing relationship with special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor, which is the kind of connective tissue that explains the timing even if it does not fix the underlying problem. The constraint Miami is building inside is real: a 0-2 record, a negative-36 point differential, and the Kansas City Chiefs — 2-0, averaging 32 points scored per game this season — arriving at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday. Harrison Jr.'s absence removes an established linebacker from the middle of a defense that has not yet established much of anything. Sunday forces the decision on whether this roster, reshuffled again at the margins, holds structure against a Chiefs offense that has not needed to be tested yet.
Chop Robinson's concussion ruling — his third in the past year, per The Phinsider — is the decision San Francisco 49ers is forcing before Miami even reaches Levi's Stadium. Without their top edge rusher, the Dolphins must generate quarterback pressure from a rotation that includes Clelin Ferrell, elevated from the practice squad for the second week running. That is a thin margin against a 49ers offense that held opponents to 7 points in Week 1. The Playbook predicts Miami loses Sunday, held under 17 points, as a defense missing Robinson and an offense that managed only 13 points in the 13-27 away loss to Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium cannot sustain enough stops or scores on the road. Malik Willis posted 220 passing yards last week; Caleb Douglas leads the receiving corps with 94 yards. That production has to scale against a 49ers unit that allowed 7 points through one game. The Dolphins' third-down efficiency — 34.9% last season — is the number that frames their offensive ceiling here, and nothing in Week 1 suggested they've repaired it. The real Sunday decision is whether the Ferrell-led edge package can disrupt enough to keep this from becoming a blowout.
The injury report is the decision San Francisco is forcing this week before a snap is taken. Per The Phinsider, Miami's Week 2 availability picture is more damaged than it was heading into Las Vegas — and that 13-27 away loss at Allegiant Stadium already exposed structural problems worth worrying about. The Playbook predicts a Miami loss at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, and the numbers make the case plainly: San Francisco allowed 7 points in Week 1, Miami scored 13 against the Raiders on a day when Malik Willis threw for 220 yards but the offense converted poorly enough to finish 14 points behind. Those margins do not improve against a healthier defense. Willis also picked up 39 rushing yards in that opener, and De'Von Achane — described by The Phinsider as having touched the ball 15 times for 36 yards — is the player the offense will lean on if Caleb Douglas's 94-yard debut receiving performance draws tighter coverage. The San Francisco side that scored 27 and allowed 7 in Week 1 will set a third-down conversion standard Miami's 2025 rate of 34.9% was never equipped to meet. Sunday's real decision: whether the coaching staff can manufacture enough explosive plays through Achane and Washington to stay on the field before the deficit becomes unmanageable.
The roster question lands squarely on the manager heading into Levi's Stadium: can Miami hold together enough of its defensive structure to slow a 49ers offense that scored 27 points and allowed just 7 in Week 1? The Playbook expects Miami to lose Sunday, and the margin will widen if Chop Robinson is ruled out. Per The Phinsider, Robinson — Miami's top pass rusher — entered concussion protocol after the 13-27 away loss to Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium, and his status for Sunday is genuine uncertainty, not precaution. That is a structural problem. On offense, rookie Caleb Douglas produced 94 receiving yards in his debut — the live part of an otherwise blunt 13-point showing from Malik Willis, who added 39 rushing yards alongside the 220 passing. The salary-cap picture reported by The Phinsider only tightens the frame: dead money against players no longer on the roster limits Miami's options at depth. The decision Sunday forces is whether Willis can manufacture rhythm against a defense that has shown nothing through one game to suggest it will give it away.
Dolphins fans who made the trip to Las Vegas — or who watched from home, through that particular kind of Sunday dread — absorbed a 13-27 loss that said something specific about where this roster stands. The number that frames it is not the margin. It is 13 points. Miami's offence, with Malik Willis producing 220 passing yards and Caleb Douglas accounting for 94 of those receiving yards, generated just 13 points against a Raiders defence — a total that reflects a failure to convert opportunity into points, whatever the yardage column suggests. Douglas, per The Phinsider, is a Rookie of the Week nominee, and his production earned that attention. But a 94-yard receiving game that ends in a 14-point deficit tells you the red zone and third-down efficiency weren't there when they mattered. San Francisco this Sunday — a 49ers side that scored 27 and allowed 7 in Week 1 — is the first real test of whether Jeff Hafley's offence can answer that question with something other than yards.
Jeff Hafley must decide whether Clelin Ferrell's elevation from the practice squad — made the day before the 13-27 away loss to Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium — survives contact with a 49ers offense that held opponents to 7.0 points per game last season. Ferrell is on the active roster. The edge depth around him is thin enough that the decision was not optional. That is the constraint: Miami enters Levi's Stadium at 0-1, with a pass rush built from elevated practice-squad pieces. The trade-off Hafley accepts is execution risk at the position that most determines whether Malik Willis's 220 passing yards last week becomes a floor or a ceiling. San Francisco's defense allowed only 7.0 points in Week 1. Miami managed 13 against Las Vegas. Sunday forces the question of whether this roster, as currently constructed, can sustain a drive long enough to matter.
The popular read is that Miami's season-opener told us what we feared: a rebuilding team, a modest quarterback, a familiar deficit. That case isn't wrong. The 13-27 away loss to Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium was rarely competitive, and this paper called it correctly yesterday.
But the countercase deserves a moment. Malik Willis threw for 220 yards and added 39 on the ground. Caleb Douglas pulled in 94 receiving yards as a rookie, per The Phinsider, stepping up while Jalen Tolbert sat inactive. A roster this new — ten players out, two questionable — rarely looks fluid in Week 1. The human problem is not the scoreboard. It is whether this group coheres before the margin for error disappears.
The honest test arrives Sunday at Levi's Stadium: San Francisco, 1-0, allowing 7 points on the season. If Douglas and Malik Washington find open grass, the alternative to pessimism gets a foothold.
Miami Dolphins lose to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday
Jeff Hafley's decision today is whether a defence carrying five confirmed absences can generate enough QB pressure to keep Las Vegas's offence off the field at Allegiant Stadium. The Playbook expects Miami to lose this game. That is the honest read of a side with a negative turnover differential last season (-4) meeting a Week 1 environment where scheme installation is incomplete and the injury list is already at five.
The roster move worth watching is EDGE Clelin Ferrell, elevated from the practice squad on Saturday. Hafley needs pass-rush production from somewhere — Ferrell's elevation is the clearest signal that the edge depth is thin enough to warrant it. Whether a practice-squad elevation can meaningfully close that gap against a Raiders offensive line, in a road opener, is the precise risk the decision accepts.
Last season's 34.9 percent third-down conversion rate — a number this paper has flagged before — stays relevant today. On the road, against a defence that allowed 14.2 points per game last season, Miami's offence cannot afford third-down stagnation. Red-zone efficiency and turnover differential will decide the margin.
Miami Dolphins lose to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday
Jeff Hafley's first real decision comes Sunday in Las Vegas, and the constraint is immediate: five players are out, two more are questionable, before a Week 1 road game against a Raiders franchise that went through its own full roster overhaul this offseason. On balance, The Playbook predicts Miami loses this one — the combination of a first-time starting quarterback, a receiver room built almost entirely around rookies and a second-year player, and a depleted injury report tips the risk ledger toward Las Vegas.
Per The Phinsider, both teams arrive under first-year coaching staffs — Hafley in Miami, Klint Kubiak in Las Vegas — which makes scheme reads genuinely difficult. The Phinsider also draws a pointed comparison between this Dolphins passing game and the 2022–23 Packers: a young, unproven receiver corps catching passes from an unproven starter. Last season Miami converted just 34.9 percent of third downs across 17 games, and turned the ball over four more times than it forced. Road debut, raw personnel, seven players either out or uncertain. The decision Sunday forces is simple: how much can an unproven quarterback limit negative plays before the deficit becomes unrecoverable?
Miami Dolphins' 2026 NFL season is complete. The off-season begins now — roster evaluation, free agency, and Draft preparation are underway.
The off-season is the time for roster decisions, the Draft, and free agency. Addressing positional weaknesses identified during the season will be the front office's primary focus.
The NFL Draft is the next major event on the calendar. Watch for picks in positions of need — the Draft is where championship rosters are built or replenished for the next Super Bowl run.
Miami's point differential last season tells a familiar story — 347 scored, 424 allowed, a 77-point gap that Jeff Hafley now owns. The harder number is the roster he is deploying to close it. Per The Phinsider (SBN), two rookie wide receivers are starting in Week One after the departures of veteran pass-catchers this offseason, a personnel decision that concentrates execution risk at the position where NFL defenses most aggressively target inexperience. Six players are out, two more are questionable — that injury count is not a footnote on a 7-10 roster, it is a structural problem on a team that finished last season converting third downs at 34.9 percent. Las Vegas finished their last completed season at 3-14, scoring 14.2 points per game and allowing 25.4 — a matchup that gives Hafley's offense room to operate, but only if the quarterback and his two first-year starters can hold up. Sunday at Allegiant Stadium is the first real read on whether the rebuild has a functional floor.
Dolphins supporters making the trip to Allegiant Stadium on September 13 are carrying a full off-season of uncertainty into their first real answer. The roster that finished 7-10 last season — outscored by 77 points across 17 games — has turned over meaningfully in the weeks since, with The Phinsider reporting a flurry of waiver claims following final cuts, each one a small bet on identity by a front office still trying to define what this team is under Jeff Hafley. Six players out and three listed as questionable entering Week 1 means the people who bought those flights don't yet know exactly who they're watching. What they do know: a Las Vegas Raiders defense that allowed 25.4 points per game last season offers Miami a genuine opening, the kind of opponent a 34.9-percent third-down offense — bottom third of the league — needs badly in a season-opener. The question Dolphins fans carry onto that plane isn't whether the Raiders are beatable. It's whether this version of the roster has fixed enough of what broke last season to trust the answer.
Dolphins supporters boarding a flight to Las Vegas on September 13 are doing so with a clearer picture of what they're rooting for than they had twelve months ago — and it is not a comfortable one. The Phinsider reported this week that national projections have Miami as low as 1-16 this season, and the surrounding commentary, per that outlet, centers on dead cap, roster exodus, and a front office rebuilding from the ground up. That is the institution Jon-Eric Sullivan inherited: a 7-10 team that gave up 424 points last season while scoring 347, a differential that tells you the defense collapsed faster than the offense could compensate. The Raiders finished 3-14 last year, averaging just 14.2 points per game, so Week 1 offers a genuine opportunity to bank a win — but with six players currently out and three more questionable, the question of whether Jeff Hafley can field a healthy enough roster to take it is the first test of whatever trust this rebuild is asking supporters to extend.
Jon-Eric Sullivan faces a roster built from the bottom up — seven waiver claims after final cuts, per The Phinsider, plus six players currently out and three more questionable entering the week. That is the constraint. A 7-10 team that allowed 424 points last season now opens 2026 carrying significant injury exposure before a single regular-season snap. The decision Sullivan made — waiver volume over market spend — buys depth at the margins and accepts risk at every starter-adjacent position. The trade-off is visible: nine players either absent or uncertain this week represents a significant portion of a roster assembled largely from other teams' discards. The Raiders finished 3-14 last season, scoring 14.2 points per game — a number that makes Sunday at Allegiant Stadium the most favorable opener Miami could have drawn. Whether the roster holds together long enough to take advantage of it is the only question Sunday forces.
Jon-Eric Sullivan's first roster call as Miami's general manager was not a single move — it was a league-record seven waiver claims filed after the 53-man cutdown, per The Phinsider (SBN). That volume signals something specific: the depth chart Sullivan inherited was thin enough that he was willing to burn every available claim rather than preserve optionality. The constraint is real. Miami finished last season 7-10, allowing 424 points against 347 scored, and the roster exodus that followed left obvious holes the wire had to fill. Seven claims buys bodies; it does not guarantee scheme fits. Quinn Ewers leads an offense still sorting its personnel hierarchy, and six players currently out plus four questionable means the depth just acquired faces immediate stress-testing. The decision Sunday at Allegiant Stadium forces — against a 3-14 Raiders team that allowed 25.4 points per game last season — is whether Sullivan's waiver haul holds the line long enough to learn what this roster actually is.
Jeff Hafley inherited a 7-10 team that allowed 424 points last season — 77 more than it scored — and the roster math entering September 2026 is still catching up to that gap. The constraint is real: the Dolphins accumulated a league-record seven waiver claims after the 53-man cut, per The Phinsider, which signals volume as the strategy for rebuilding depth rather than targeted acquisition. That is a legitimate philosophy, but it front-loads execution risk on a roster still being assembled. The Phinsider also reports that quarterback moves — including the release of Mark Gronowski from the practice squad — reflect Hafley's office churning through options at a position that carries the whole offense. A 347-point season is a structural problem, not a personnel footnote. The opening game at Allegiant Stadium against a Las Vegas Raiders squad that finished 3-14 and allowed 25.4 points per game is the first real decision Hafley's depth chart faces under live fire.
NFL · Preseason | 7W–10L | Preseason · Next: Not confirmed — check club channels.
The decision Jeff Hafley faces entering the regular season is roster depth against position value — and his answer, per The Phinsider, was volume over selectivity. Miami made a league-high seven waiver claims Monday, then added eight more players to the practice squad Tuesday. That is fifteen roster moves in two days on a team The Phinsider reports is the youngest in the NFL. Young rosters carry execution risk at every level. The 12-17 home loss to Atlanta Falcons at Hard Rock Stadium — a preseason finale in which Miami scored 22 points across three games and allowed 63 — confirmed the depth chart has gaps that waiver wire additions alone may not close. Six players are currently listed out, four more questionable. Hafley's next decision is which of these claims survive the first injury test of September.
NFL · Preseason | 7W–10L | Preseason · Next: Not confirmed — check club channels.
Jeff Hafley's decision this week was not philosophical — it was arithmetic. Per The Phinsider, the Dolphins trimmed to the 53-man limit Sunday, then claimed seven players off waivers Monday and signed free agent defensive end Malik Herring, forcing eight additional departures from the initial cut. That is fifteen roster decisions in 48 hours. The constraint is real: a 7-10 season produced 347 points scored against 424 allowed across 17 games, and the preseason closed with 22 points across three losses — including the 12-17 home loss to Atlanta Falcons at Hard Rock Stadium. The roster Hafley is building from has a documented scoring problem. The waiver claims buy depth and competition; they accept the trade-off of unproven contributors at positions where the team already struggled. A CBS Sports mock draft projection published Monday named Miami at the top of the 2027 class — useful context for where outside evaluators peg this roster's ceiling. The question the first Sunday of the regular season forces: does the new 53 hold?
NFL · Preseason | 7W–10L | Preseason · Next: Not confirmed — check club channels.
Jeff Hafley's decision entering roster-cut weekend was this: carry Kyle McCord as the depth quarterback behind Malik Willis, or carry nothing. Per The Phinsider, Miami traded away Quinn Ewers to Jacksonville, then released two other quarterbacks, leaving Willis as the sole established arm on a 53-man roster now finalized for 2026. That is a thin room. McCord accumulated 622 passing yards in preseason — the number belongs to the Dolphins' recent history, not a projection — and the rest of the depth chart reflects a club that leaned into De'Von Achane's 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards as its offensive floor last season. The running game is the structure Willis inherits. The constraint is clear: a 7-10 record and a preseason that produced 22 points across three games offer no margin for quarterback attrition. The decision the first Sunday of September forces is whether that floor holds when the regular-season scoreboard runs faster than the preseason one did.
NFL · Preseason | 7W–10L | Preseason · Next: Not confirmed — check club channels.
The decision facing Miami's roster architects today is how to rebuild a 53-man depth chart after a preseason that produced 22 points across three games and a -41 point differential. That number is not a morale problem — it is a structural one, and the cuts now underway are its first honest response. Per The Phinsider, the Dolphins completed 12 cuts and one trade to open the roster-reduction window, with the Ewers move to Jacksonville returning a 2028 sixth-round pick — late-round capital for a quarterback who produced 622 passing yards in a limited preseason role. The math is defensible at the margin. The larger constraint is what remains: De'Von Achane — 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards last season — is the clearest verified production on the roster, while the quarterback room that will distribute the ball around him is still taking shape. This paper said Miami beats Atlanta on August 28; the 12-17 home loss closed that call wrong. The first Sunday of the regular season will force the decision no preseason cut can answer: whether the production around Achane is enough to carry a rebuilt offense.
NFL · Preseason | 7W–10L | Preseason · Next: Not confirmed — check club channels.
Jeff Hafley has the roster cuts now — 53 spots, decisions made, the 2026 preseason a closed book. What the three games left behind is a point differential of minus-41: 22 scored, 63 allowed across the final window. Per The Phinsider, starters sat for the 12-17 home loss to Atlanta Falcons, so the production on the field belonged to depth players fighting for roster spots, not the men Hafley is counting on in September. That context matters, but it does not erase the 3-26 home loss to the Giants, where the starters were present and the offense generated three points. This paper called Miami scoring more than 10 at home against Atlanta — it happened, barely. Quinn Ewers posted 622 passing yards across the preseason. De'Von Achane piled 1,350 rushing yards in the regular season and added 488 as a receiver. The decision the September opener against Las Vegas forces is whether the structure around those two can hold when the evaluations become permanent.
Jeff Hafley has a decision to make tonight that goes beyond the depth chart. The Phinsider (SBN) reports Miami is relying heavily on rookies and one-year prove-it veterans in 2026, a roster architecture that will be stress-tested at Hard Rock Stadium against Atlanta. Tua Tagovailoa — who recorded 2,660 passing yards for Miami last season before departing to the Falcons — starts for the other sideline. That is the matchup's sharpest edge. The Dolphins beat Atlanta tonight. Miami's rebuilt structure carries real execution risk: Quinn Ewers managed 622 passing yards last preseason, De'Von Achane carried the running game with 1,350 rushing yards and added 488 receiving, and two of Miami's top six production contributors from last year are now gone. The Atwell trade to the Rams, per The Phinsider (SBN), strips another receiving option from a room still finding its shape. With nine players listed injured or questionable entering kickoff, the constraint isn't scheme — it's availability.
Jeff Hafley's most consequential Thursday decision isn't the depth chart — it's whether Kenneth Grant suits up. Per The Phinsider (SBN), Hafley has flagged Grant's availability for the Atlanta game as genuinely in doubt, which hollows out the defensive tackle rotation before the regular season begins. The Playbook predicts Miami wins this home preseason closer against Atlanta on Thursday. That call comes with a caveat: two home and away losses by a combined 10 points scored against 46 allowed don't suggest a unit ready to dictate terms, and the offensive line has already lost Jamaree Salyer to an injury settlement, per The Phinsider (SBN), thinning protection depth behind Quinn Ewers, who managed 622 passing yards last season in a limited role. The defensive tackle group, meanwhile, has drawn genuine praise — per the South Florida Sun Sentinel via The Phinsider (SBN) — but Grant anchors that room, and his absence shifts the risk onto developmental players against Atlanta's offensive front. The game itself is a preseason closer; what it actually tests is whether the defensive line depth, minus Grant, holds structure long enough for Ewers and De'Von Achane — 1,350 rushing yards last season — to dictate pace. The decision Thursday forces: how much of the first-team defense does Hafley play without his anchor tackle?
Jeff Hafley faces a stripped protection depth chart and a defensive tackle depth crisis before Thursday's preseason closer against Atlanta. The Playbook expects Miami to score more than 10 points at home against the Falcons on August 28 — but the margin for error is thin.
Per The Phinsider, Hafley stated he is concerned Kenneth Grant may miss the Dolphins' opener, a significant blow to a defensive interior that already allowed 46 combined points across two preseason losses. The same Yahoo Sports dispatch flagged Trey Moore's injury and broader depth concerns, and per The Phinsider, Miami reached an injury settlement releasing Jamaree Salyer, thinning the offensive line further. The roster context matters for Thursday: Quinn Ewers operates behind a line losing pieces, not gaining them, and his 622 passing yards from last season offer a narrow read on how he handles edge pressure when the pocket collapses. De'Von Achane's 1,350 rushing yards suggest the run game is Miami's most reliable leverage point — and against Atlanta, Hafley's decision is whether to lean on Achane's production or trust Ewers to carry a structured passing attack. That call Thursday will be the one worth watching.
Trey Moore's non-disclosed injury handed Jon-Eric Sullivan a decision: absorb the depth loss at inside linebacker or move quickly before the league's remaining free agents scatter ahead of final cuts. Per The Phinsider (SBN), Sullivan signed Jaheim Thomas off Monday's workout, adding a body to a position group that was already thin before Moore went down. Ethan Conner arrived at tight end in the same transaction cycle; Jim Bonifas and Ahmari Harvey were waived to clear the space. Chris Bell shedding his non-contact jersey matters separately — a receiver returning to live reps with one preseason game remaining gives Sullivan a cleaner read on the 53-man picture. Miami's offense managed 10 points across two preseason games, and that number tightens the margin for error on every positional call. The question Saturday against Atlanta forces: does the depth Sullivan built this week hold up when the evaluation window closes for good?
The fans who made the trip to Hard Rock Stadium on August 22 watched a roster they barely recognised. The Playbook called a Miami win that night — it didn't happen; the Giants won 26-3, and the margin said something about where this organisation stands right now. Trey Moore, one of the rookies the fanbase had begun to invest in emotionally, left the game in the first quarter with a left leg injury, per The Phinsider — which is the kind of moment that tests whether a community's trust in a rebuild is warranted or just hope wearing a number. Across two preseason games, Miami has scored 10 points and allowed 46, a differential of -36 that reflects a roster still shedding last season's identity: Tua Tagovailoa is now with the Atlanta Falcons, the next opponent on August 28, and Quinn Ewers holds the quarterback room. What that reunion reveals about the ground Miami has or hasn't gained is the only question that matters this week.
The decision sitting in Miami's coaching staff this morning: who starts under center when the New York Giants come to town, and what Thursday's joint-practice film revealed about that choice. Per The Phinsider, the Giants dominated that session throughout, repeatedly sacking Malik Willis — which is not the scouting report you want heading into game day. Miami wins this one on balance, but narrowly, at home against a Giants side missing Malik Nabers per syracuse.com's preseason preview. Quinn Ewers logged 622 passing yards last season and represents the more legible option to watch in this evaluation window. De'Von Achane, who ran for 1,350 yards and added 488 receiving yards last season, remains the offense's most reliable lever. With Mason Reiger ruled out and ten players listed as questionable, execution risk sits heavily on whoever takes the first snap.
Quinn Ewers' 622 passing yards from the preseason opener won't answer the quarterback question Saturday — but the 7-20 loss at Northwest Stadium, where Miami managed just one scoring drive against Washington, makes the offensive output against the New York Giants the only number that matters this week. Per The Phinsider, roster cuts loom as the Dolphins push toward the 53-man limit, with position battles still unresolved heading into Hard Rock Stadium. De'Von Achane's 1,350 rushing yards last season remain the offensive floor this team builds from; whether Ewers can connect with that backfield — Achane also logged 488 receiving yards — will define Miami's early-season identity under an entirely new regime. Tua Tagovailoa, now with the Atlanta Falcons, recorded 2,660 passing yards for Miami last season before the organization moved on, per The Phinsider. Expect the Dolphins to post at least 20 points at home against the Giants.
Quinn Ewers and De'Von Achane are the names to watch as Miami's offensive identity takes shape, but the 7-20 preseason loss to Washington raised immediate questions about where the points come from. Achane racked up 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards last season — that dual-threat production is the offense's engine — yet a 7-point output in the opener signals the line in front of him needs work. Per The Phinsider, first-round pick Kenneth Grant is missing practice ahead of Saturday's home preseason game against the Giants, a notable absence for a defense that surrendered 20 in its first look. Ewers, working with 622 passing yards of preseason-window experience, gets his next audition at Hard Rock Stadium.
Quinn Ewers takes over a quarterback room that produced 622 passing yards last preseason — a thin foundation heading into Saturday's home opener against the Giants. The more immediate news: per The Phinsider, Miami activated rookie wide receiver Chris Bell off the non-football injury list this week, reuniting him with fellow third-round pass-catcher Caleb Douglas, who turned heads in the 7-20 loss at Washington. Cam Rice was also signed at defensive line, with safety Tanner Wall waived in the corresponding move. With Tua Tagovailoa now in Atlanta and Jaylen Waddle in Denver, the depth chart is genuinely new — but De'Von Achane's 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards from last season give Ewers a proven safety valve as the offense finds its footing.
Quinn Ewers' groin injury, reported by the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson via The Phinsider, is the real story out of Miami's 7-20 preseason loss to Washington — not the scoreline itself. Ewers managed only 622 passing yards last season and was already the backup; if he misses time against the Giants on August 22, Cam Miller or the freshly re-signed Mark Gronowski steps in. De'Von Achane (1,350 rushing yards, 488 receiving yards last season) gives Miami a reliable floor regardless of who takes snaps, but the quarterback carousel behind center is a problem worth watching before the roster deadline arrives.
The Dolphins' 7-20 preseason loss at Northwest Stadium against Washington was always going to produce two separate storylines, and both came true. Per The Phinsider, the opening drive was the highlight — Malik Willis, De'Von Achane, and Caleb Douglas, who made a one-handed grab through defensive pass interference, moved Miami down the field and onto the board. That was the best 7 points available. Once the starters cleared the sideline, the depth chart was exposed for what it is: thin, unsettled, and carrying the weight of a front office that rebuilt almost everything this offseason.
The season-total numbers sitting behind that one result carry their own weight. De'Von Achane posted 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards — a two-phase threat who remains the offensive identity of this roster. Quinn Ewers, the QB competing for the lead role, managed 622 passing yards across his reps. Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for 2,660 yards before departing for Atlanta, is no longer part of the equation, and Jaylen Waddle, whose 910 receiving yards last season made him Ewers' clearest target option, is now in Denver. Those two departures leave genuine production gaps in both the passing volume and the receiving room that preseason snaps have not yet answered.
Miami's next opportunity to sharpen the picture comes August 22 at home against the New York Giants. Watch whether the Ewers-to-Achane connection in the passing game — Achane's receiving work last season proves he can absorb target volume — can substitute for the loss of Waddle's route-running at the top of the depth chart. That matchup also gives the coaching staff a controlled environment to establish red-zone efficiency with the first unit, something the Commanders game never really offered after the opening drive stalled the momentum.
Tonight in Ashburn, the Miami Dolphins open their 2026 preseason against the Washington Commanders — and the most consequential question isn't the final score. Per The Phinsider, Malik Willis is expected to start under center Friday, which tells you everything about where this roster stands: Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for 2,660 yards last season before departing for Atlanta, is gone, and the Dolphins are working through a genuine quarterback competition. Quinn Ewers is the name worth watching behind Willis — he logged 622 passing yards last season and represents the club's clearest developmental option at the position.
The broader roster context matters here too. CBS Sports identified Miami as one of eight teams with the most at stake in August, and the reasoning is straightforward: new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley arrived alongside a wave of roster turnover that makes these preseason reps genuinely diagnostic rather than ceremonial. On the ground, De'Von Achane — who combined for 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards last season — gives the offense an established production anchor, and Jaylen Wright (288 rushing yards) is the handcuff worth monitoring. Per The Phinsider, Wednesday's joint practice in Ashburn gave both clubs a first look at live competition before tonight's kickoff.
The joint practice sessions also matter tactically: Hafley's staff gets two looks at Washington's personnel before a snap counts, and vice versa. For Dolphins fans, the Willis-to-Ewers handoff and how the offensive line protects each of them — a unit that includes draft capital invested along the front — are the real evaluation points tonight. Third-down conversion rate and red-zone efficiency are the downstream numbers to watch; the new coaching staff will want to see its offense move the chains regardless of who's taking the snaps.
Quinn Ewers takes the first meaningful snaps of his Dolphins career Friday night in Ashburn, and the depth chart released Tuesday gave the clearest signal yet that this is his job to define. Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for 2,660 yards last season before departing for Atlanta, is gone — meaning Ewers, who logged 622 passing yards in his debut campaign, enters this preseason opener as the presumptive starter around whom the offense is being rebuilt. Per The Phinsider, the unofficial depth chart came with surprises and exposed several ongoing position battles, which makes Friday's joint-practice work and the game itself the first real evidence of where those battles stand heading into the regular season.
On the ground, De'Von Achane gives the offense a proven foundation: 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards last season make him the team's most established skill-position weapon and the likeliest valve Ewers will lean on when the pocket tightens against Washington's defense. Jaylen Wright's 288 rushing yards slot him in as the complementary back, and how that rotation is managed Friday will tell coaches what the committee looks like in the fall. Per The Phinsider, the joint practice in Ashburn is also the first test for Miami's rebuilt secondary against an outside opponent — the new corners and safeties haven't faced live competition yet, and Washington's receiving corps represents the first real read on whether that group is ready.
One concern clouds the week: Zach Sieler was absent from Wednesday's joint practice with an injury, per The Phinsider, and losing one of Miami's most productive veterans up front — even for a preseason game — creates a gap in the interior the coaching staff did not want to evaluate this early. Per atozsports.com, several veterans were put on notice by the depth chart, which raises the stakes on individual performances Friday. Watch Ewers on third down and in two-minute situations; a quarterback installing himself with a new team needs those windows to show timing and command, and Washington's defense will supply the kind of resistance that makes those reps meaningful.
The season's final offensive ledger tells a complicated story about where Miami stands heading into what is unmistakably a rebuilding summer. De'Von Achane posted 1,350 rushing yards and added 488 receiving yards, the one piece of genuine continuity the Dolphins can build around under new head coach Jeff Hafley. But the passing game was fractured: Tua Tagovailoa, now with the Atlanta Falcons, accounted for 2,660 passing yards for Miami last season before departing, and Quinn Ewers — the apparent successor — logged just 622 yards. The gap between those two numbers is less a statistic than a job description waiting to be written.
Per The Phinsider, the 2026 Dolphins represent a deliberate generational shift, moving away from the veteran-heavy roster assembled during the previous coaching staff toward a younger core under Hafley. That transition shows everywhere in the depth chart Miami released this week ahead of Friday's preseason opener in Washington — a document the team itself labeled "unofficial," a reasonable hedge when the roster is still in motion. Jaylen Wright, who added 288 rushing yards last season, and Ewers headline a group that has youth as its most consistent trait. The offensive line also continues to turn over, with The Phinsider reporting an additional trade on that front as Miami keeps stacking draft-capital-driven pieces along the front.
Friday's game in Washington arrives before any of those questions are resolved, which is precisely why the starters' usage will be watched as closely as any individual play. The Phinsider notes the league now plays just three preseason games, compressing the window for young players like Ewers to build reps and chemistry with Achane. Malik Willis is also on the roster as insurance, but the real audition belongs to the quarterback room collectively — Washington's defense will give Miami's rebuilt offense its first live look at how far this transition has actually come.
The quarterback room is the story that shapes everything else in Miami this summer. Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for 2,660 yards for the Dolphins last season, is now with the Atlanta Falcons, leaving Quinn Ewers — who logged 622 passing yards as his backup — as the man stepping into the starting role. Ewers has never run a full NFL season as the clear-cut starter, and the first real test arrives Friday when the Dolphins travel to face Washington in the preseason opener. The Phinsider reported Monday that the Dolphins' GM has been vocal about rookie receiver Caleb Douglas, a 6'3" pass-catcher from Texas Tech drafted specifically to help replace the production lost when Jaylen Waddle — 910 receiving yards last season in Miami — departed for Denver.
On the offensive line, Miami moved fast before training camp broke. Per The Phinsider (citing ESPN's Mike Reiss), the Dolphins moved quickly on an intradivision trade with New England, acquiring offensive lineman Caedan Wallace before the Patriots could release him. Wallace now appears on the verified roster, adding young depth to a unit that also includes Patrick Paul, Austin Jackson, and Jamaree Salyer. The Phinsider also noted Monday that early camp days have challenged initial assumptions about position groups — wide receiver, once flagged as a vulnerability, has been a relative bright spot, while other areas have drawn more scrutiny as the roster settles.
The backfield, at least, offers continuity. De'Von Achane returns as the engine of the ground game after posting 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards last season, giving Ewers a critical release valve as he learns the offense under game conditions. Jaylen Wright is also back after contributing 288 rushing yards, providing rotation depth behind Achane. What to watch Friday against Washington: whether Ewers can efficiently distribute to the new receiver corps around him, and whether the Wallace acquisition signals the Dolphins intend to get more physical up front than they were a year ago.
The season just completed without a win — a 0-0 record that reflects a franchise in the middle of a genuine reset, not a retool. Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for 2,660 yards before departing for Atlanta, is gone, and so is Jaylen Waddle, who posted 910 receiving yards before heading to Denver. Those two departures strip away the most established production from last year's offense, and the remaining passing numbers tell the story of what's left: Quinn Ewers managed 622 yards in his time under center, a limited sample that makes the quarterback room the central question heading into August.
The one bright spot from last season's ledger that carries forward is De'Von Achane. His 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards make him the undisputed engine of the offense, and per The Phinsider, he enters camp as the clear backfield leader with his pass-catching role confirmed. That dual-threat value matters even more now that the receiving corps has been overhauled around him — every yard Achane generates on third-down conversion attempts and in the red zone will carry extra weight while Ewers and the new-look skill positions establish chemistry. The Phinsider notes that skill positions outside the backfield look significantly different this season, which is exactly the kind of uncertainty that puts pressure on Achane to carry volume early.
The defensive side of this rebuild has its own intrigue. Per Yahoo Sports, linebacker Jacob Rodriguez has stood out at training camp, with the outlet reporting he is making it hard for coaches to keep him off the field. A full overhaul of the coaching staff, front office, and roster — as The Phinsider described it, something a long-tenured Dolphins observer called unprecedented in scope — means Miami will be learning who it is on both sides of the ball simultaneously. The first test arrives August 14 against Washington, and the question isn't whether Miami wins a preseason opener — it's whether Ewers can engineer enough functional drives to give the coaching staff something to build a depth chart around.
The full-scale roster and coaching reset underway in Miami carries real stakes for De'Von Achane, the one offensive constant the franchise is building around. Achane produced 1,350 rushing yards and 488 receiving yards last season — a workload that made him the engine of an offense that otherwise churned through its quarterback situation. Per The Phinsider, fan confidence in the team's direction averaged just 26 percent positive across the 2025 season, a number that reflects how complete the breakdown was. The new regime's credibility runs directly through how quickly they can build a functional structure around that backfield production.
The quarterback question is the most pressing piece of that structure. Tua Tagovailoa, now with the Atlanta Falcons, threw for 2,660 yards for Miami last season before departing; Quinn Ewers, the current option at the position, posted 622 passing yards in his time with the club. That is not yet a full-season sample, and the August 14th trip to face Washington is the first real test of whether Ewers can extend drives and reduce pressure on Achane to carry the offense on his own. The front office has also been active on the margins — per The Phinsider, Miami claimed rookie tight end Jeremiah Franklin off waivers from New England and added defensive tackle Fatorma Mulbah, small moves that signal the roster-building competition is live across every position group.
Washington away on August 14th will be the first public answer to the offensive identity question. Ewers needs to demonstrate he can sustain a third-down conversion rate that keeps drives alive independently of Achane's yards-after-contact, because an offense that funnels everything through one running back becomes a predictable read for any defensive coordinator. The preseason opener will not settle the depth chart, but it will establish whether the new coaching staff has an actual scheme installed or is still sorting personnel — and Dolphins fans, cautiously encouraged per The Phinsider's most recent polling, will be watching for the difference.
The quarterback situation in Miami has been reshuffled entirely. Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for 2,660 yards last season before departing for Atlanta, is gone — and Quinn Ewers, who logged 622 passing yards in his time with the club, is now the name atop the depth chart. That is a significant recalibration: the Dolphins are asking a quarterback with limited snaps to carry an offense that previously leaned on Tua's volume. How quickly Ewers builds chemistry with the skill positions around him will define Miami's ceiling before the regular season begins.
The backfield offers the clearest continuity on the roster. De'Von Achane produced 1,350 rushing yards and added 488 receiving yards last season, making him one of the more complete backs in the conference regardless of who is handing off. That dual-threat production is the stabilizing element Ewers will need early — screens, check-downs, and designed runs that reduce the ask on a new starter. Jaylen Wright chipped in 288 rushing yards as the change-of-pace option, giving the staff a capable rotation behind Achane. With Jaylen Waddle now in Denver, the receiving corps around them is in flux, and the targets that went to Waddle last season — 910 receiving yards' worth — need new homes.
The roster-building work is still moving in the preseason window. Per The Phinsider, the Dolphins claimed rookie tight end Jeremiah Franklin off waivers from the Patriots in early August, and added defensive lineman Fatorma Mulbah after rookie defensive tackle Rene Konga was placed on injured reserve with a season-ending injury. Both moves signal that the coaching staff is still stress-testing depth rather than finalizing a 53-man picture. The first preseason look comes August 14 in Washington against the Commanders — an early read on how Ewers manages pocket situations and whether the new-look receiving group can generate separation behind Achane.
Quinn Ewers takes over a Miami offense that produced 2,660 passing yards from Tua Tagovailoa last season — now with Atlanta — and 910 receiving yards from Jaylen Waddle, who has moved on to Denver. What remains is De'Von Achane, who rushed for 1,350 yards and added 488 receiving yards, giving Ewers the most reliable weapon on the roster. His own 622 passing yards from last season's sample is a thin audition tape for a starter, which makes the depth of the offensive skill group around him the front office's most pressing question before September.
On the defensive side, Miami moved quickly this week to address an injury-driven gap in the trenches. Per The Phinsider (SBN), the club signed defensive lineman Fatorma Mulbah a day after rookie defensive tackle Rene Konga suffered a season-ending injury, then claimed rookie tight end Jeremiah Franklin off waivers from the Patriots — a position-of-need addition that required them to release edge rusher Seth Coleman-Lyles to create roster space. Both moves came on the same Wednesday, signaling the coaching staff is treating these final weeks of the preseason as genuine roster construction rather than maintenance.
The first chance to evaluate how that construction holds up comes August 14th, when Miami travels to face the Washington Commanders in the preseason opener. For Ewers, it is the first meaningful read on whether he can generate the kind of consistent downfield production that Tagovailoa's 2,660 yards represented last season. Achane's usage — as both a rusher and a receiver out of the backfield — will be the offensive design question worth watching: whether the staff builds the passing attack around his versatility or treats it as a supplemental layer while the passing game finds its footing.
A 7-10 record and 424 points allowed tells you most of what you need to know about where Miami's offseason priorities sit — this was a defense that surrendered roughly 25 points per game, and no amount of offensive production papers over that. De'Von Achane gave the offense a genuine floor, rushing for 1,350 yards and adding 488 receiving yards, but Tua Tagovailoa's 2,660 passing yards across the season reflects how frequently the unit was either in catch-up mode or simply offline. Quinn Ewers' 622 passing yards represent more than just depth insurance — the front office heads into August with real questions about the QB room's ceiling if Tagovailoa misses time again.
Training camp is now open, per ESPN and CBS News, with the Miami Herald documenting day six on August 4th. That's the relevant backdrop: the roster being assembled under these conditions is the one that takes the field September-adjacent, and Yahoo Sports noted on August 5th that at least one analyst has projected an historically difficult 2026 season for this group. Whether that reads as pessimism or honest projection depends entirely on what the coaching staff extracts from this camp. Jaylen Waddle's 910 receiving yards last season showed he can still move the chains when healthy and targeted, but the receiving corps needs a second creator if the offense is going to generate the explosive plays that widen third-down conversion windows.
Miami opens the preseason on the road against the Washington Commanders on August 14th — a low-stakes game in the standings but a meaningful early read on whether the new-look pieces fit. The first priority is protecting whoever lines up under center and generating consistent yards per play in the run game, where Achane proved he is capable of carrying a workload. The defense, though, is the chapter that needs the most revision before Week 1 actually arrives.