87 days away from Miami Dolphins regular season football!
By Nick Belotto
We are now in our second week of the countdown to the Miami Dolphins season opener and we are officially in an awkward spot.
It’s number 87, which means we are at a point where there is literally nobody who qualifies for this recognition! I had a feeling this might happen, but I was hopeful that we would get a little further in the countdown before it all fell apart. And yet, here we are.
The majority of players to wear number 87 were complete no-names who only held onto a roster spot for a season or two. Notably, there are a few players who lasted beyond that benchmark. I say notably in a very sarcastic tone, as the two longest-tenured number 87s are Andre Tillman and Dan Johnson, the second of which has such a generic name that he could literally be anybody!
Both Tillman and Johnson played tight end for the Dolphins. Tillman played from 1975 to 1978 and put up 757 yards and 6 touchdowns through the air (stats courtesy of pro-football-reference.com). I know that’s not a lot stat-wise, because it isn’t, but it is sadly good enough for second place in the countdown.
Johnson didn’t do much in Miami either but he at least played on the team for 5 years and seemed to help out more than anyone else on the list.
Johnson played for the Dolphins from 1983 to 1987 and was able to put together 1012 yards and 16 touchdowns throughout his career (stats courtesy of pro-football-reference.com). Again, it’s not much, but it’s the best we have at the position.
Equally sad is the fact that there are not a lot of players who have worn the number recently that could potentially take the award away from Johnson over the next few years. Rookie Erik Ezukanma currently represents number 87, but he will have to make the roster and make an impact on the field to get into contention. What’s good for him, however, is that one quality season could catapult him to the top of the list and next year could be his turn to be recognized.
This one was a bit of a letdown, but number 86 is going to be better!