Ok, maybe disaster is a strong word, and it’s still early in the season, but after five games, I’ve been very disappointed in what I’ve seen out of running back Chase Edmonds. He signed with the Miami Dolphins this off-season as a fast, speedy running back with great hands out of the backfield. I was excited when the Dolphins signed him. The only thing I’ve seen him do consistently this year is dropping the ball. People said he had great hands out of the backfield. Well, I’m not seeing that at this time. He dropped a sure touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in week three but got bailed out when he got hit, and the Bills got penalized for hitting a defenseless receiver. He did score two short touchdown runs as well. Then on the Dolphins’ opening drive against the Cincinnati Bengals, he dropped a pass in the end zone that would have tied the game early. The Dolphins went on to lose 27-15, but if he caught that pass early in the game, the Dolphins don’t need a touchdown at the end, and maybe the play calling had been different, and the Dolphins could have stolen the round.
Then on Sunday against the New York Jets, Edmonds had another dropped pass, and head coach Mike McDaniel is seeing the same thing as Myles Gaskin got more playing time as the game went on. Maybe Edmonds was hurt, but I haven’t seen him on the injury report, or perhaps it was the game plan by McDaniel. I think McDaniel was sending him a message personally, and good for him if so.
The Dolphins have been down this road at running back the last few years, signing running backs or trading for minimal value. They have gotten burned in the previous few years. Jordan Howard, in 2020, wasn’t a fit and didn’t even last the season with the Dolphins. The same year the Dolphins acquired Matt Brieda from the San Francisco 49ers, who was a big-play running back like Edmonds. However, Brieda never really saw the field consistently and was passed by Gaskin on the depth chart. When he did play, he was mostly ineffective. Then last year, the Dolphins signed Malcolm Brown to a one-year deal, and he didn’t do anything of note. The Dolphins have had bad luck with running backs the last few years.
They did sign Raheem Mostert this off-season, and he has started and flashed the last couple of games. He came off of an ACL injury last, and nobody knew what to expect, which is why he got a one-year deal, but he had over 100 yards last Sunday and is starting to establish himself as the clear-cut starter. McDaniel had familiarity with Mostert when he was with the 49ers, and that has been a good find, but Edmonds is supposed to be the change of pace back and receiving threat out of the backfield and has been anything but that. Gaskin is the forgotten man because he has a new coach and a new coach wants to bring in his players because he inherited him, and McDaniel could have easily cut him to save some money under the cap. However, he kept Gaskin, and it’s a good thing. Gaskin ran hard and caught some passes out of the backfield Sunday. Maybe this will send a message to Edmonds and light a fire in him that he has to produce, or someone else will get the work.
There are 12 games left in the season, and Edmonds can quickly turn his season around. If he doesn’t, then the Dolphins can move on from him and his 6 million dollar salary salted for next year, and he will become another running back disappointment from free agency—time for Edmonds to step up or get out.
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