Dolphins Friday Mailbag: Judon, Cam Smith, Big Trade, and More

Miami Dolphins OLB Matthew Judon spoke to the media after his first practice the team | Alain Poupart - Miami Dolphins On SI

Part 1 of a preseason finale weekend Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From Mark Lever:

Any chance we cut Cam Smith? Also, who do you think takes the RB2 spot?

Hey Mark, yes, there’s a chance the Dolphins will cut Cam Smith, but understand they would prefer giving him every opportunity to develop and blossom. And let’s just say he’s looked good enough the past two weeks that I’m a lot less convinced now he’ll be released. As for the No. 2 running back, I think Jaylen Wright will get first shot at it in the regular season, provided the injury he sustained in practice Thursday isn’t significant.

From Mike Marchese:

Having to cut 37 players after this game, do they even bother to play any of the lower half of that number on Saturday? Merci!!!!

Hey Mike, yes, traditionally every player at the bottom of the roster should see action Saturday, even those the Dolphins already have decided they’re not going to keep.

From Devin_ATL:

Do the Dolphins keep 5 or 6 wr on the 53 and if so who’s your 6th wr…???

Hey Devin, that’s a great question and let’s always remember that if they go six, which is a high number, that means one less player at another position. Having said that, right now I’m slightly leaning toward them keeping five. If they go six, my sixth would be Tahj Washington.

From The_Finsider:

Looking at the Judon addition, who is someone who now becomes on the bubble of being cut from this addition?

I think Chubb, Chop, Phillips and Quinton Bell were very solid or locks before this move, and if they keep five, I’d see the Judon addition pushing out Cameron Goode, who I’ve always pegged as making it based on his special teams contributions.

From Nick Soto:

AL! Will the backup OLine be as terrible once a few ppl come back from injury?

Hey Nick, no inevitably the O-line depth gets better once Austin Jackson returns, once Liam Eichenberg returns, once Andrew Meyer returns. Is it great depth? Probably not, but it’s not as shaky as it is now.

From Ed Helinski:

What’s been the most eye-opening things from this year’s Dolphins training camp?

Hey Ed, I did a story on the training camp highs and lows earlier Friday, but if you’re asking specifically about eye-opening things, I’d say how dominant Patrick Paul often looked this summer, how good Jaylen Waddle looked (like, a step beyond his usual), but also how shaky the offensive line can look at times.

From Jesse Munoz:

Will Ollie Gordon II emerge as the Dolphins’ best running back this season?

Hey Jesse, I like Ollie Gordon and his potential, I really do. But there’s no way I’m going to suggest or predict he overtakes De’Von Achane as the best running back on the roster. If he merely came close, that would be a big win for Miami.

From Matthew:

Hey Alain. I've been catching up on The Dolphins Collective today, as I fell behind, and I just wanna say the 4 of you guys are the best together. Question is more related to that; will we ever get a show with the 4 of you all together in the same place?

Hey Matthew, thanks for the kind words on the Dolphins Collective. I certainly hope you enjoy the All Dolphins Podcast as much (or close to as much). As for your question, I personally would enjoy that, but not sure if the logistics can ever work.

PREDICTION TIME

From Dillon Medina:

Hey Alain, it’s all about the trades. 1 surprise player the Dolphins trade for? 1 surprise player the Dolphins trade away?

Hey Dillon, the surprise player the Dolphins would trade away for me would be Tyreek Hill because I just don’t see it. It makes zero sense given how important he is to the offense. As for a surprise player the team could acquire, I’ll say either Micah Parsons or Trey Hendrickson because neither makes any sense for the Dolphins and so it would be a huge surprise if they traded for either.

Detroit, Michigan, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) waves a towel before their game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. | Eamon Horwedel-Imagn Images

From The Fin of the North:

With the preseason coming to an end, what’s your prediction for this year’s Dolphins ? Will they finally win a playoff game?

Hey FOTN, I’ve been very consistent for a long time in saying I don’t like predictions and I don’t do predictions because if I knew I’d be going to Vegas and betting a lot of money. All I can offer is the most likely outcome, and at this point I’m sorry to say I just see too many question marks to be overly optimistic about the 2025 Dolphins. What that looks like in terms of record? Who knows.

From Olive Grove Jon:

Hey Alain, do you think there is any block on the Fins using high draft picks to strengthen the team? Is Stephen Ross holding onto picks in case he has to blow it all up in 2026?

Hey OGJ, the approach of using a high draft pick to land a high-end veteran only should be used if you think you’re close to title contention, and I don’t see a realistic scenario where that applies to the 2025 Dolphins. What they need to do is build and amass assets for the future, not go all in right now. So it’s not so much a block by Ross as it would be bad business to squander a high pick for a veteran IMO.

From Jorge boyd:

Hi Alain, as always thanks for your mailbags. They are very useful. I wanted to ask you, are all these injuries (achane, wright, grant, brooks, etc.) short-term injuries or are we heading for a very bad first few games without them. Also does the Rookie RB Ollie Gordon has a shot to star?

Hey Jorge, we don’t know yet the extent of the injuries to Wright and Brooks, Grant should be fine by the start of the regular season, and who knows with Achane because a calf injury is problematic for a running back who depends on speed. We should know more in the next couple of days. As for Gordon, I do think there’s something there and I wouldn’t rule out the possibility he could become a star in time, but it’s not going to happen overnight or this season and maybe it never happens. But he does look the part.