#miami-dolphins

#miami-dolphins

Bouncing from Cam Newton, to Mac Jones, to Bailey Zappe, to Jacoby Brissett, and finally to Drake Maye, sent fans on a mostly painful rollercoaster ride. New England is also extremely fortunate. They wound up with the third quarterback off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Maye has a chance to be the best of a bunch that includes Caleb Williams of the Bears and Jayden Daniels of the Commanders.

That begs one question: How in the heck did the Dolphins miss on the backup quarterback situation yet again?! This is two years in a row, and three years in a four-year stretch that the Dolphins have major questions at backup quarterback. It's absolutely ridiculous for the Dolphins to miss so badly at such a crucial position. It's NFL malpractice .

CLEVELAND - Miami Dolphins linebacker Tyrel Dodson cleared concussion protocol and will be available for Sunday's game against the Browns in Cleveland. The Dolphins, as they traveled Saturday, removed Dodson from the team's injury report. Coach Mike McDaniel said Friday he was "hopeful and confident" Dodson would clear the NFL's five-step protocol to return to play from a concussion before the game, but Friday came and went without such a development. Miami's middle linebacker suffered the concussion in the Oct. 5 loss to the Carolina Panthers and missed last week's home defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers.

MIAMI GARDENS - The Miami Dolphins are a mess right now. They enter Sunday's game at Cleveland as an interesting mixture of well-intentioned jocularity, obstinate optimism and predictable frustration. There's still a dark cloud hanging over the locker room due to the team's disappointing 1-5 start, unfounded trade rumors , questions about coach Mike McDaniel's future , and a recent blunder by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa . But every now and then, rays of hope surface. Thursday and Friday were two of those days.

The forecast, according to Accuweather as of Friday afternoon, calls for wind blowing south-southwest at 27 mph with gusts up to a whopping 52 mph. That's enough to qualify for a tropical storm. There is a 96 percent chance of precipitation, with a 29 percent probability of thunderstorms. At least the October daytime temperatures for the 1 p.m. kickoff at Huntington Bank Field should be in the 60s.

"It's definitely hard," Phillips said at his locker Wednesday. "That's something where it's disappointing as hell, and I'd do anything to have that back. But you can't do anything about the past, so the only thing that would be worse than that play itself is to let that linger and let that keep me from being present and getting better."

MIAMI GARDENS - Miami Dolphins second-year left tackle Patrick Paul is a tall man with a tall task ahead of him in Sunday's matchup with the Cleveland Browns. The 6-foot-7, 326-pound Dolphins lineman will have the primary responsibility of blocking elite Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. "As competitors, you want players on your team that look for the competitive challenge of attacking some of the league's best," Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said.

MIAMI GARDENS - When the Dolphins can't even win at home, things are in a bad place. And that's where we are after Sunday's heartbreaking 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Dolphins (1-5) are struggling to find anything they can do consistently well and they haven't found it yet. It seems coach Mike McDaniel's days are numbered. Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips said last week that this team isn't a "dumpster fire", but evidence says otherwise.

Brewer was expected to be available after coach Mike McDaniel said Friday he was "hopeful" despite Brewer being limited in the week's three practices. On Saturday, Miami did not sign another offensive lineman to the active roster or elevate one from the practice squad, meaning the unit will roll with its eight blockers already on the 53-man roster against the Chargers.

With the team depleted at the position, the team will be signing a cornerback to be named later, according to McDaniel, specifically one who can line up as a nickel. "Among several things, we will be adjusting our roster," McDaniel said. "We will be adding a nickel. ... We'll be adding a player, and then there will be some subsequent moves that we'll do throughout the week."

Free agent NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who spent last season with the Miami Dolphins, revealed in an interview released Tuesday that he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs for 2024. Beckham told NFL podcast "The Pivot" of the positive drug test that would've occurred while he was with the Dolphins. The one-time star who turns 33 within a month said he has no intentions of retiring at this point in time, and Beckham would be subject to a six-game suspension upon any return in which he signs with a team.

We talked about the challenge ahead to get ready for the Chargers. And that was kind of the extent of it.