The 2024 Miami Dolphins season was bad, and 2025 was worse. Part of that reason was the team's reliance on players who did not live up to expectations.
We can blame coaching only so much, but at some point, you have to look at certain individuals and say, "You didn't do enough." The task of getting more out of players now falls on Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan.
For the Dolphins this past season, the fans' disappointment can be pointed in a lot of different directions, but you could start by putting that finger in the direction of these players.
Miami Dolphins players who should shoulder some of the blame for 2025
Jaylen Waddle
If you are not at least a little disappointed in Waddle's performance this year, then you look at this team a lot differently than others do. Waddle was good, don't get me wrong, but he wasn't the elite WR1 that everyone expected him to be.
When Tyreek Hill went down, it was an opportunity for Waddle to step in and ascend to that top role. His 2025 season was marred by Tua Tagovailoa's performance for sure, but his 64 receptions were his second-lowest of his career.
Waddle is getting paid number-one receiver money. He has to find a way to make himself available to the QB. What's worse is that he was targeted more than 100 times in 2025. That's a 58% catch rate. On the surface, Waddle did great for a number two receiver, but not for a true alpha receiver.
Chop Robinson and Jaelan Phillips
There was speculation and predictions during the lead-up to the 2025 season that had Robinson breaking out for double-digit sack totals. He had four. A lot of fans realized early in the season that Jaelan Phillips was a short timer. His trade to the Eagles made sense, but in Miami, he couldn't finish.
Phillips and Robinson should have been an elite bookend tandem on defense, but neither one of them provided the spark that was needed. Miami entered the offseason putting a lot of weight on their shoulders to mask the problems in the secondary. Turned out the secondary masked the problems of the defensive front.
James Daniels inability to get healthy
Chris Grier once again entered an NFL season putting band aids on the offensive line. Now that he is gone, the hope is that a serious injury history isn't a prerequisite for joining the Dolphins. Daniels was supposed to fix the Dolphins' guard problems on one side. Instead, he played one quarter of football and headed back to IR.
Daniels was coming off a season-ending injury in 2024, so why were the Dolphins surprised he couldn't stay healthy? The problem isn't with Daniels; it's the fact that Grier looked at him and said, "He is, he is the answer," instead of signing another player to step in when he inevitably went down. You could say the same for the handling of Austin Jackson as well.
Tua Tagovailoa
There are fans of Tagovailoa, and there are a lot more who are not, but even those who don't like him had to be shocked at how poorly he played. Getting benched for Quinn Ewers wasn't the surprise. The surprise was that the Dolphins didn't hide why he was getting benched...or that it didn't happen sooner.
No one knows what is going on with him. He has lost the quick-release accuracy, he no longer turns his hips into his throws, and his vision of the field has become worse, if that were possible.
The Dolphins were only going to go as far as Tagovailoa was going to take them; he didn't take them far. He did manage to stay healthy all year, but what good is a healthy quarterback who has suddenly become gun-shy? A lot is going on behind the surface here, and we may never know what it is or if it can be fixed.