Ryan Fitzpatrick Doubles Down on Dolphins’ 0-17 Prediction

Ryan Fitzpatrick played for the 2019 Miami Dolphins, who were in a similar situation to this year’s team.

That team finished 5-11 following a 0-7 start.

Recently, on his Fitz & Whit podcast, Fitzpatrick said that if the Dolphins lost to the Las Vegas Raiders, they would go 0-17. During a Zoom call previewing Amazon’s Thursday Night Football, the 17-year NFL veteran doubled down on his prediction.

“Part of it is self-inflicted with all the dead money,” Fitzpatrick said, according to the Miami Herald. “They’ve got over $180 million in dead cap. Tua [Tagovailoa], Tyreek [Hill], Jaylen Waddle, [Bradley] Chubb, [Jalen] Ramsey, Minkah [Fitzpatrick] — all those guys that are on the books but not on the roster; that’s part of it.

“Jeff Hafley’s comments [to Stephen A. Smith, which he has since clarified] and reading between the tea leaves with him saying success isn’t measured by wins and losses. That said a lot. The amount of guys they claimed off waivers [seven] after that first cut. There’s a lot going on that reminded me of that 2019 season there.”

Dolphins’ 0-17 fate could be decided by the way Malik Willis performs

The perception is that the Dolphins are tanking for one of the top picks in the 2027 NFL Draft. However, first-year general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley wanted to reset the team’s salary cap. Miami is projected to have more than $100 million in cap space during the 2027 offseason, with hopes of building around quarterback Malik Willis and a young, unproven core.

Miami signed Willis to a three-year, $67.5 million contract, hoping he could potentially be the team’s quarterback of the future. The early results were not great against the Raiders, as Willis completed 15 of 27 passes for 220 yards and threw an interception. He was also sacked five times.

Willis has the rest of the 2026 season to prove he can be the Dolphins’ franchise quarterback. Otherwise, the team could look toward the NFL Draft in April, which is expected to feature several talented quarterbacks.