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For much of the Miami Dolphins roster, training camp is a time to prepare for regular season action. For some, it’s a battle for a job.
While Tua Tagovailoa’s spot at No. 1 on the quarterback depth chart is safe, and there’s little doubt that Patrick Paul and Austin Jackson will be his offensive tackles, a few places in the starting lineup are up for grabs.
Here are eight battles that will be sorted out in camp:
Jonah Savaiinaea vs. Liam Eichenberg
This competition should be an easy one to sort out if all goes according to the Dolphins’ plan.
Eichenberg started the first 14 games of the 2024 season and played about half of the offensive snaps in the last three. Simply put: he wasn’t close to good enough. The Dolphins signed free agent James Daniels to fill one of their guard vacancies and they drafted Savaiinaea in Round 2 of the 2025 NFL draft to fill the other.
But a starting spot is earned and Savaiinaea will have to take it from Eichenberg.
“[Eichenberg] added value, and we’re happy to have him on the Dolphins,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel told reporters in April. “And for him to be a starter, he’s gonna have to be his best version of himself that he’s ever been.”
Barring the arrival of a significantly improved version of Eichenberg next week, Savaiinaea shouldn’t have too much trouble earning a starting job (assuming his contract negotiations don’t drag on too long).
Jake Bailey vs. Ryan Stonehouse
When the Dolphins hired Craig Aukerman to be their new special teams coordinator in January, it took less than two months for him to be reunited with Stonehouse, his former punter in Tennessee. But Miami didn’t immediately jettison Bailey after signing his potential replacement, and the impending competition for the punter job is far from a no-brainer.
While Stonehouse has boomed punts downfield at a record-breaking rate in his career, he frustrated Titans coaches by out-kicking his coverage with low hang-time punts. It’s a problem he says he’s “honed in on” correcting this offseason.
Stonehouse’s punts were returned for 701 yards during the 2024 season. No other punter allowed even 600 yards of return yardage. While Jake Bailey’s 47.1 yards per punt paled in comparison to Stonehouse’s 50.6, the Dolphins allowed only 238 punt return yards because their coverage team had time to get to the opposing returner.
If the competition was purely about leg strength, Stonehouse would win easily. But he’ll need to show he’s added hang time to his repertoire to take Bailey’s job.
Zach Wilson vs. Quinn Ewers
When the Dolphins signed Wilson to a fully guaranteed one-year, $6 million deal, it didn’t seem to leave much wiggle room for competition. But Miami’s seventh-round rookie Ewers will try to make the team think twice about that.
The former Texas Longhorns starter has made a point to show off his leadership skills so far this offseason and has all the arm talent necessary to make noise in camp. But Ewers is certainly the underdog in the battle to be Tua Tagovailoa’s No. 2, and the Dolphins’ $6 million investment in Wilson gives him a significant leg up.
Ollie Gordon II vs. Alexander Mattison
Last year, the Dolphins kept four running backs on the roster. But Jeff Wilson Jr. only recorded 19 touches all season and was a healthy scratch in eight games. With De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright set to be the one-two punch in the Miami backfield, it may be more prudent for the Dolphins to keep just three backs at the end of August.
That could mean the battle between Gordon, a sixth-round rookie, and Mattison, a seventh-year veteran, isn’t just a competition for No. 3 on the depth chart, but a spot on the 53-man roster, as well.
Tyrel Dodson vs. Willie Gay Jr vs. K.J. Britt
Dodson spent most of the back half of the 2024 season as a backup in Miami after he was claimed off waivers in November. But when Anthony Walker Jr. dealt with an injury late in the year, Dodson stepped in as a starter and impressed. In just eight games and three starts, the former Seahawks linebacker led Miami in interceptions with three.
After the season, the Dolphins allowed Walker to exit in free agency and brought back Dodson on a two-year deal.
But Miami also added Gay, who has 55 career starts, and Britt, who started 11 games with the Buccaneers last season.
Dodson’s late surge in Anthony Weaver’s system will make him the favorite to start alongside Jordyn Brooks, but there are a couple veterans who will be breathing down his neck in camp.
Ifeatu Melifonwu vs. Ashtyn Davis vs. Patrick McMorris
The Dolphins allowed both of their 2024 starting safeties, Jevón Holland and Jordan Poyer, to reach free agency and added a pair of free agents, Melifonwu and Davis, to compete for the vacancies. But one of those spots was filled when Miami reunited with five-time Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a June trade.
Now it’s an open competition for one spot and McMorris, a 2024 sixth-round pick, may make a push to get into the mix too. While Elijah Campbell and fifth-round rookie Dante Trader Jr. will also hope to make a statement, they’re significant underdogs.
5th wide receiver
There are four wide receivers on the Dolphins’ roster — Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Malik Washington — who are all but guaranteed a spot on the 53-man roster. After that it’s a crapshoot.
The other eight receivers includes two Dolphins draft picks (Erik Ezukanma and Tahj Washington) and four undrafted rookies (Andrew Armstrong, Monaray Baldwin, AJ Henning, and Theo Wease Jr.).
Whether that octet is competing for one or two spots in the wide receiver corps probably depends on their collective performance.
Starting cornerback
The Dolphins’ decision to trade Jalen Ramsey didn’t come out of nowhere. But even after a couple months of trade talks that eventually sent the star cornerback to Pittsburgh, Miami hasn’t done anything (yet) to add veteran talent in Ramsey’s place.
So that leaves a long list of young, relatively unproven corners with a chance to seize a wide open opportunity to start in 2025.
Storm Duck, who started three games and played in 14 as a rookie, and 2023 second-round pick Cam Smith are among those with a chance to impress. However, it’s very possible the room will soon be joined by a veteran free agent like Asante Samuel Jr. or Rasul Douglas.
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