McDaniel, Dolphins Vets Sound Off on Rough Start for the Rookies

The NFL is a different beast than college football.

Through the first five weeks of the 2025 season, that is the most obvious takeaway for Miami Dolphins rookies Kenneth Grant and Jonah Savaiinaea; Miami's first- and second-round selections have struggled mightily to start their pro careers.

Head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Monday that it's about improving in the "heat."

"There's a belief in those guys that they'll get through to the other side and feel extremely happy about their play, but it's going to be earned," he said. "The biggest thing to me is you understand – that's inherent and those guys need to continue to get better, but you understand that with rookies, and it's why the veterans don't just point fingers at the rookies and say, ‘do better.’ We should have less things come up from veterans so that it doesn't compound on top of things that you're working through. Bottom line is it's not always as obvious as it seems. There's 159 plays in this past game and there's ebbs and flows. You want to see more consistency and you want to see things get fixed and that's our job."

McDaniel emphasized the need for each respective unit to improve collectively. That could be considered an understatement, as the Dolphins' trench game on both sides has been arguably the most glaring weakness for this team.

The coach noted how critical the response to five lackluster performances will be.

"I think you continue your ultimate investment and understanding that together we have to improve play, or we're going to have to find other solutions, and that's just inherent in the National Football League," McDaniel said. "There is a fine line, and I think you reach that when you identify an inability of a player to do something that you're asking them to do, or you don't see steadfast growth within those things that you're asking specifically.”

What the Veterans Had to Say

Dolphins veteran Minkah Fitzpatrick was blunt regarding keeping a player like Grant motivated through struggles.

"That's something that [Grant] has to do himself," Fitzpatrick said. "You’re a professional football player. If you need any external motivation – which I’m not saying he does, I’m just saying in regards to what you’re presenting – if you need any type of external motivation, then you’re in a bad spot. If anybody has to push you in order to reveal to you that you need to be better when it’s clear that you aren’t doing well, then you’re in a bad spot, which if that’s where they are, they’re young guys and we have to help them be pros. But at the end of the day, I see [Grant] work. I see all these other rookies work and I know that they’re trying to sharpen their tools and get better. There’s a period for grace, but then there’s also a period for sharpening. Even though they’re young, they’re out there on the field and they have to do their job."

The expiration date on Fitzpatrick's so-called "grace period" is more of striking a balance between tough love and constructive coaching.

"There’s things that Game 1, where it’s like, ‘you know better than to do that.’ And there’s also things where it’s like, OK, they’re running a designed a run that you don’t see in college and they know that there’s a rookie there," he said. "I’m not going to beat [Grant] over the head about it, but it’s like, ‘You’ve seen it once, you’re going to see it again. Let’s learn from it.’ You’re definitely not abusing grace and you’re definitely not bashing them over the head."

Veteran offensive lineman Aaron Brewer had a softer approach when addressing the rookie struggles.

"Just don’t get too down on yourself and make anything bigger than it is," he told reporters. "You’re not as far off as you think you are. You critique one little thing in your technique and you can be hitting that sweet spot, so that’s pretty much what the message is to the young dudes. Don’t get too frustrated, it’s the NFL. It’s a long season, you’re also a rookie – you’ve never been in this position before. Just stay in the film room, when we’re on the field the little things that you know you need to fix, lock in on it, focus on it and get better.”

Linebacker Jaelan Phillips backed up Brewer's sentiment of pushing through the mistakes. He said he was confident "they'll be just fine."

"I think they are aware and everybody is aware of their potential and how talented they are and can be. It’s just a matter of rookie year – people have different rookie experiences," he said. "Some people come in and make a huge immediate impact, some people come in and it takes them a little while. Some of the best players of all time have struggled in their rookie season or first couple of years. It’s not anything to where you’re losing confidence or discouraged in those individual players, you’ve just got to encourage them to – I think the biggest thing with rookies especially there’s a lot of pressure, obviously, and a lot of expectations. I think that if you kind of embodied those expectations, it can kind of affect your play in a sense and might make you play tight, or make you less confident, or whatever the case may be."

Second-year wide receiver Malik Washington is not far removed from the rookie experience. He highlighted to reporters that "there's not really a learning curve."

"There's not really a time for them to figure things out, they’ve got to learn it right now," he said. "We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to go win football games. So for the rookies, obviously, it's a tough spot they're in, but we got to be ready to go right now.”

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