Dolphins Tuesday Mailbag: Cornerbacks, Phillips, Sieler, and More

Part 2 of the pre-training camp Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From Mark Lever:

What are the realistic expectation for Fitzpatrick now that he’s back? Is he still a Pro Bowl-caliber player?

Hey Mark, the numbers weren’t there the past two seasons for Fitzpatrick in Pittsburgh, but I do believe he’s still a high-level player.

From James Vernon:

Hi, with Fitzpatrick I’m not aware of any media interviews from him about rejoining the dolphins, do you think the way he left has any bearing on that or is it just business?

Hey James, Fitzpatrick is a pretty low-key kind of guy, so it wasn’t like he was going to go out of his way to seek attention or want to do a press conference if the Dolphins weren’t going to ask him. He will be speaking with the media this week.

From IMAWriterRobJ:

Alain… what are your thoughts regarding the new special teams coach. Hasn’t been discussed much. Thanks, and welcome home.

Thanks Rob. It’s impossible to make conclusions on special teams coaches in the spring, so the jury is still out. It’s fair to be skeptical, though, considering Craig Aukerman was fired from his position with Tennessee before the end of the 2023 season and was out of the NFL last year.

From NYCFiFan4Life:

First off, hope you had amazing vacay, my dude. Japan is a must for me & kiddo, huge anime fans, Yakuza games & culture in general. Question is do you see Minkah being a factor? What dark horse are you looking to make an impact?

Can’t recommend visiting Japan enough, though I’d suggest going in the spring or fall (unless you like Miami summer weather). Minkah absolutely should be a factor and it would be a massive disappointment if he weren’t. As for a dark horse, I’ll throw out Grayson Murphy as a edge defender.

From SportsTrooper:

The Dolphins are clearly going younger. Do they have enough coaching to get those young players to perform, and does the season hinge on their ability to make them perform?

In part, but the season hinges more on the team’s best players being their best players and staying healthy and leading the way.

From Jorge Boyd:

Hi Alain, how do you see this current OL playing out? Do you think they will be any good?

Hey Jorge, I think the starting five should be pretty set with Paul, Savaiinaea, Brewer, Daniels and Jackson, but there are question marks with the health of Daniels and Jackson and Paul and Savaiinaea both being unproved NFL players. So I’d say there’s reason for optimism but also reason for concern.

From Charles Boyd:

Alain, thanks for answering questions. Who do you think the Dolphins will add at CB before the season begins?

Hey Charles, that’s a very good question. I think the Dolphins will sign a veteran, say, a week or two into camp and I’d think it’ll end up being Rasul Douglas.

From Dillon Medina:

If the season started tomorrow, who is CB 1 and 2? And how well would you expect them to perform week 1?

Hey Dillon, if the season started tomorrow, you top two cornerbacks likely would be Kader Kohou and Storm Duck. And I think they’d be fine if the pass rush in Week 1 was getting to Daniel Jones or Anthony Richardson, whichever winds up starting for the Colts.

From Troy Ortiz:

Hey Alain, appreciate your work. I doubt you’ll post my question, but I’ll ask anyway. What comes first, another Tua concussion or a Dolphins playoff victory?

Hey Troy, I will go ahead and post your question because I appreciate your participation in the mailbag exercise, but I will go back to my stance about not making predictions. Let’s just say for everybody’s sake that we can only hope we don’t have to deal with another Tua concussion ever again.

From Simon Burnett:

Jaelan Phillips is my favorite Dolphin. What kind of season does he need to have to get contract extended? And what kind of deal is likely?

Hey Simon, Phillips, is in a tough spot because of his two significant injuries in back-to-back years. Those are going to limit what the Dolphins will be willing to give him on a new contract unless he absolutely dominates in 2025 — and stays healthy, obviously.

From Frenchie Lupiano repin’:

What CBs do you think will get the starting nods at the boundary spots?

Let me start by clarifying a misnomer that gets repeated too often: “Boundary” corner would refer to the outside cornerback on the short side of the field if a defense flips their corners that way. If a team keeps their corners at the same spot the whole game, then the correct terminology would be simply outside corners. That out of the way, I’d say right now that Storm Duck and Kader Kohou would be the two outside cornerbacks unless the Dolphins lined up in the nickel, in which case Kohou would be in the slot and then somebody else would be outside. At the moment, that somebody else very well might be veteran newcomer Kendall Sheffield.

From FJV :

Hi Alain, do you find it a little concerning that Fitzpatrick has not made any public comments regarding his return to the Dolphins?

Not in the remotest. See my previous answer.

From Gary surrency:

Hi Alain, do you think the Phins would make a run at Isaiah Bond if his legal troubles are cleared up?

Hey Gary, the wide receiver from Texas went undrafted because of his legal issues, but he certainly would be worth a look if the situation has an acceptable conclusion. The Dolphins look set with their top four wide receivers for 2025 with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Malik Washington, but adding talent at a bargain always is the right play — again, assuming, everything gets cleared up and his legal situation is resolved.

From Jack Ross:

Team needs a physical line of scrimmage…will Fins have a physical OL or DL? You can’t win if you do not control the line of scrimmage.

Hey Jack, the Dolphins offense wants to stretch defenses side to side and exploits the gaps created by that movement, which doesn’t necessarily lend itself to physical domination. On defense, the Dolphins certainly would like to have a physical line, which helps explain why they selected three D-tacklesd in the draft.

From FishyFootball:

Who gets most snaps on D-line outside Grant and Sieler?! Who is backup LT?

The D-lineman who’ll get the most snaps after Grant and Sieler logically will be Benito Jones. At this time, the backup left tackle probably would be Larry Borom.

From Giorgio Phins Fan Porch:

Please can you tell us if there's anything that you're hearing about Tua and Reek having an issue? So tired of people saying there is without any first-hand Knowledge. Please and thank you.

I’m not aware of any specific beef between the two players, understanding that Tua wasn’t thrilled about Tyreek’s actions and words in and after the Jets finale last year. They’re also two completely opposite personalities in that one is attention-seeking and the other would prefer staying low-key (don’t need to tell you who is who), and Tua undertands full well that Tyreek is Tyreek and you gotta deal with what comes with that.

From DytellStorm:

What are the chance Grier gets another OL and a CB to solidify those positions?

It all will depend on how things look in training camp and whether there are any lingering injury concerns. But the possibility absolutely does exist, yes.

From Karl Safchick:

You were recommended to me by one of your followers. I don't know if your readers will care about this question, so I don't know if it's "newsletter worthy," but if you don't mind... Have you noticed good or bad play from UDFA DL Alex Huntley? Anything newsworthy?

Hey Karl, first off make sure you become a follower as well and also every serious question is worthy. That said, I wish I could tell you I noticed Huntley very much during the offseason practices, but that wouldn't the truth. He's also somebody facing very long odds to make the 53-man roster after the Dolphins spent three draft picks — Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers — on defensive linemen.

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