Are the Dolphins Really Rebuilding?

The Miami Dolphins are rebuilding, right?

I mean, they're in the midst of a miserable season that will produce a 25th consecutive year without a playoff win, the GM already has been removed, and the job security of both the head coach and the franchise quarterback has been questioned repeatedly in the form of a potential firing and benching respectively.

So it's gotta be a rebuild, right?

In one of the 7,000 NFL-related talk show segments last week, ESPN even rank the toughest rebuilding jobs in the league and reporter Field Yates had Miami at the very top.

So, again, rebuild, right?

Or is it?

The Dolphins haven't said anything about a rebuilding project because team officials just don't say such things, but anyway actions always speak louder than words.

And there was nothing that happened at the NFL trade deadline Tuesday with the Dolphins to suggest they're looking at starting over after this painful ride of 2025 ends against the upstart New England Patriots on the first Sunday of January.

On the contrary, the team's inactivity screamed the opposite, that the Dolphins want to see if they can get things back on track in the second half of the 2025 and then maybe even run it again with the same cast of main characters next year.

This is all speculative, of course, because we don't know for sure what owner Stephen Ross' plans are beyond his comments at the end of the statement that accompanied the announcement that the team had parted ways with GM Chris Grier.

"You deserve a championship-caliber team you can be proud of," the statement from Ross said. "There’s much work ahead to return the Dolphins to sustained success, and that work begins now, finishing the season strong, evaluating all areas of our football operation, and moving forward with a clear vision for the future.”

Reading the statetement, it's probably not out of line to suggest it means there currently is no clear vision for the future.

THE PLAN FOR THE REST OF 2025

The vision for the present, though, clearly is trying to win as many games as possible, otherwise the Dolphins would have made a made beyond the trade of Jaelan Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2026 third-round pick.

Based on national media reports, the Dolphins got offers for both wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and Bradley Chubb on Tuesday, but held on to both of them when their demands weren't met.

While trading Waddle even in full rebuilding mode only would have made sense with a great return in terms of draft capital, the same can't be said about Chubb.

The edge defender has some value because of his strong resume, still solid level of play and his leadership ability, so he absolutely can help the Dolphins down the stretch. But he's also got a contract situation ($31 million cap number in 2026) that screams that he'll either be released next offseason or be asked to restructure his contract, likely to take a pay cut for a second consecutive year.

If/when the Dolphins do move on from Chubb, they'll now get no draft pick compensation, whereas they could have taken an offer made Tuesday. That's what a truly rebuilding team would have done.

And we're not even getting into any of the other players who could have fetched something in return, such as safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, cornerback Rasul Douglas or edge defender Matthew Judon.

Again, in true rebuilding mode, any of those three likely would have been moved.

They weren't.

So what's the plan then.

With McDaniel's job still believed to be on shaky ground, he'll be looking to win games down the stretch or have the Dolphins as competitive as possible instead of focusing on player evaluation for next season and beyond, which is what the New York Jets will be doing after unloading their two best defensive players, Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner.

But the Jets are in a different spot than the Dolphins with a first-year head coach and first-year GM who have some job security. And they also don't have a quarterback with a $54 million guaranteed salary in 2026.

Because of that contract (and also because he's much better than Justin Fields), Tua Tagovailoa probably remains more likely than not to be the Dolphins' starting quarterback in 2026 even if his performance has slipped so far this season.

And because it's McDaniel who's gotten the best out of Tagovailoa and because he guided the Dolphins to the playoffs in 2022 and 2023, and because he signed a contract extension through 2028 last year when he had two years left on his contract, it might be that McDaniel also will be back as head coach next year.

And that would go against the idea of a full rebuild.

Just like the lack of action at the trade deadline did.

Of course, things can change if the Dolphins suffer a few more embarrassing losses down the stretch, but the actions (or lack thereof) certainly spoke loudly at the trade deadline.