Isaiah Prince — Rich Barnes-USA Today Sports

Number 72 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now 72 days away from the start of the NFL regular season, so we honor the best players who have worn that number for the Miami Dolphins

Author:
Alain Poupart
Publish date:
Jun 28, 2022 8:00 AM EDT

In this story:

Miami Dolphins

The countdown to the start of the 2022 regular season has begun now that we're under 100 days away, so we'll honor every day the best players to wear the corresponding number for the Dolphins.

Today, we're at number 72.

As a reminder about the ground rules, the top three will be determined only by what the players did while wearing that uniform for the Dolphins.

Players who wore 72 for at least one regular season game for the Dolphins:

DL Whit Canale (1966), DT Bill Keating (1967), LB Rudy Barber (1968), DT Bob Heinz (1969-77), DT Mike Fultz (1981), Richard Bishop (1982), T Ronnie Lee (1984-89), G Steve Jacobson (1987), DE Karl Wilson (1993), T Tom McHale (1995), DT Barron Tanner (1997-98), G-T Vernon Carey (2004-11), T Will Yeatman (2012-13), T Jeff Linkenbach (2015), T Isaiah Prince (2019)

The breakdown of 72 with the Dolphins

The number 72 is another position that failed to produce a Pro Bowl season for the Dolphins, but there are three players who clearly stand out here. A second-round pick in 1969, Bob Heinz started 55 games for the Dolphins, including eight during the perfect season of 1972 and all 14 when Miami repeated as Super Bowl champion in 1973. Ronnie Lee started 62 games in six seasons wearing 72 for the Dolphins in what was a second stint after he had started 37 games as a tight end from 1979-82. Vernon Carey started the last seven of his eight years in Miami, moving from right tackle to left tackle to right guard.

Worth noting

Canale joined the Dolphins after being a 17th-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1965 NFL draft. ... Ruby Barber played two games for the Dolphins in 1968, the same number as his son Kantroy (a fullback) played for the Dolphins in 1989. ... Fultz played four games for the Dolphins in 1981, four years after he was a second-round pick of the Saints. ... Wilson played 16 games for the Dolphins in 1990 wearing 77 before coming back for two games in 1993 after stints with the Rams and Jets. ... McHale started four of the seven games he played in 1995 in the final season of his nine-year NFL career. ... Yeatman appeared in 12 games with no starts as a tackle after starting two games as a tight end wearing 89 in 2011. ... Prince started two of the four games he played for the Dolphins in 2019 as a rookie sixth-round pick before he was waived and picked up by the Bengals.