How a Bad Spring Is Costing (Dearly) the Dolphins in the Fall

The Dolphins have gotten insufficient contributions from their newcomers, but it's not just the rookie draft picks who are underperforming

Miami Dolphins guard James Daniels (78) works on the field during training camp at Baptist Health Training Complex. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

There's no shortage of reasons the Miami Dolphins have stumbled to a 1-5 start in a 2025 season that seems inches, if not centimeters, from completely going off the rails, but there's one aspect that maybe hasn't gotten enough attention.

And it centers around what happened in the spring — OK, technically the first several days before spring arrived, by you get the gist — and it doesn't have anything to do with the early struggles of Kenneth Grant and Jonah Savaiinaea.

That's been disappointing, no doubt, but maybe even a bigger issue has been the limited — and that even might be dangerous — contributions of the Dolphins' 2025 free agent class.

The Dolphins clearly adopted a more frugal approach to free agency in 2025, and it may be cliché or exaggeration, but they so far have gotten what they paid for.

Looking at the top newcomers on the team, it's probably not a great sign that arguably the top two performers so far in 2025 have been two guys who arrived not in the spring but in the summer — cornerbacks Jack Jones and Rasul Douglas.

There were 11 players signed as unrestricted free agents in the offseason, and that list consists of Larry Borom, K.J. Britt, Artie Burns, Pharaoh Brown, James Daniels, Ashtyn Davis, Willie Gay Jr., Alexander Mattison, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Zach Wilson.

On the surface, one could point out that seven of them have started at least one game, but that group includes three players who are little-used backups most of the time with Britt, Gay and Melifonwu.

Not one of those players is having what anyone would call a good season, with PFF ranking Borom, Davis, Melifonwu and Westbrook-Ikhine in the bottom half of players at their position.

To be fair, injuries have been a factor, with Burns, Mattison and Daniels all on injured reserve and Daniels the only one with a chance to return in the 2025.

And Daniels was the one free agent to whom the Dolphins gave a big contract, his deal coming in at three years, $24 million.

Of the 11, really, the most impactful has been Borom, who has started at right tackle since Austin Jackson sustained a toe injury in the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts. And even then, Borom is ranked 62nd among 76 NFL tackles by PFF — not suggesting that's the final verdict on his performance, but even the eyeball test would say his performance has been uneven.

The injury to Daniels was the real bummer here because the Dolphins really needed him to solidify their offensive line, but it was another example of the bad luck that's hit Miami up front. Yes, Daniels was signed after missing most of the 2024 season, but what happened to him this year (pectoral injury) had nothing to do with what sidelined him last year (Achilles).

The safety shopping also has been disappointing, with Melifonwu limited to two. defensive snaps last week against the L.A. Chargers despite being over the injury issues that slowed him in training camp. While he has started four games, Davis is ranked 73rd out of 80 safeties by PFF.

The way they spent suggested the Dolphins focused more on adding depth in free agency than reshaping the starting lineup, but that's come up short on both ends.

THE PAST WITH FREE AGENCY

This has been a clear drop from what the Dolphins got in free agency in 2024 when center Aaron Brewer and linebacker Jordyn Brooks quickly became core players on offense and defense.

The Dolphins also got key contributors Terron Armstead, Connor Williams and Raheem Mostert among the UFAs they signed in 2022.

The Dolphins didn't get much impact from their UFA class in 2023, though safety DeShon Elliott and linebacker David Long Jr. became starters.

But the Dolphins didn't lose anybody of great significance in that 2023 free agency period — linebacker Elandon Roberts probably was the biggest loss — and that definitely wasn't the case in 2025.

This past spring, the Dolphins lost in free agency three starters, including core defensive lineman Calais Campbell and four-year starting safety Jevon Holland, along with key defensive line rotation member Da'Shawn Hand. And that doesn't account for the retirement of Armstead.

Simply put, the Dolphins needed free agency to compensate, to at least a certain degree, for their losses.

That simply has not happened yet. Not even close.