Dolphins’ Jordyn Brooks has assumed a major leadership role in every way but one — which is exactly how Miami wants it

"There's some guys that just can go out and play in an elite level just by listening, not having to make calls, not having to make checks, not having to stand in front of the huddle and verbalize. They just want to listen. Get aligned, get their key, and go play. Jordyn Brooks is elite at that. The thing that happens sometimes with guys when you when you're forced to make a guy that's a listener, now he has to be the talker — you could take away an aspect of his playmaking ability in his game.

Some guys have no problem being in either role, but some guys do have, some guys aren't, aren't wired that way, and that's okay, you know? The bad thing is, if you ever have two listeners out there, and you got to force one of them to be a talker, that that's not a good situation."

— Dolphins linebacker coach Joe Barry on why team captain and star linebacker Jordyn Brooks will not wear the green dot and be wired into coaches on game days

The Dolphins certainly appeared to steal a good one when they claimed Tyrel Dodson off of the waiver wire last season from Seattle. He saved Miami's linebacker room from total disaster when veteran David Long Jr.'s season went completely off the rails by the halfway point of the season — rendering a starting spot open as Miami released a team captain for his poor performance.

Accounts out of South Florida this offseason suggested that Dodson was a leading presence in the team's investment of their own personal time after structured sessions on the practice field and that he was fully embracing and attacking an ownership of the calls and serving as a traffic controller for Miami's defense. This allows the Dolphins to get the best of both worlds in theory — a player who is best letting his instincts take over being free to do so in Brooks and a player in Dodson finding his niche as the one handling the calls and ensuring the defense is in order.

Brooks has plenty of weight he's carrying this season as a leader and, now, a captain. Letting his running mate handle the calls offers a power dynamic that Miami hopes guides both players to being their best selves in 2025.

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