You won't have to look far to find pundits who don't expect much of the 2026 Miami Dolphins. For starters, some cold, hard facts are impossible to explain away. The Dolphins did jettison an alarmingly large group of last year's players this offseason, taking on historic financial penalties in the process. They also traded one of their best players — Jaylen Waddle — in the prime of his career for the equivalent of unscratched lottery tickets.
If the whole saga sounds eerily familiar, it's because this isn't the first time Miami has tangoed with the concept of tearing things down to the studs and starting from scratch. There are uncanny parallels between the 2019 offseason and the offseason newly-hired general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and Co. just completed.
The shedding of exorbitant salaries. The dismissal of older players. The trading of a perceived untouchable. The crowning of a tiny nucleus of players to move forward with. Déjà vu doesn't quite do it justice. With the implementation of said strategy comes the dreaded 'T' word: tanking. Of course, for the human beings who suit up and put their health and safety on the line, the concept is mythical, laughable even.
Patrick Laird paints a chaotic picture of the scene that awaited him when he arrived and joined the Miami Dolphins as a UDFA
We sought out a former Dolphin who not only experienced the 2019 rebuild but came out on the other side with the scars to prove it. Enter former Dolphins running back Patrick Laird, who was gracious enough to sit for a comprehensive phone interview with the Phin Phanatic to tell his story.
To begin, we asked Patrick what he's been up to since hanging up his cleats after the 2024 season.
“My wife and I moved back to where I grew up on the central coast of California — San Luis Obispo. I basically retired at the end of the 2024 season. Each offseason [since], I was doing internships and job shadows. I studied business and political science in college. I thought I was going to go into finance — I like to joke that my business career was derailed by football."
"I did this Harvard Business School mentorship program that they host for professional athletes. One of my mentors [introduced me] to the concept of entrepreneurship through acquisition. I care more about getting into your local community and providing a good service than just the [financial] aspect, so I’ve been diving into that.”
“Then, [University of California-Berkeley] reached out last year and they had this idea to do a pregame and postgame show [for football games]. They had a local radio host, Greg Silver, who signed on to do it. They wanted to get a player’s perspective. I had sworn off media, but Cal football just means a lot to me. It just set me up for the life I have currently, so I thought ‘This is kind of a cool opportunity.’
"I never thought I’d be a media talking head, but if this helps Cal football, I’m willing to give it a try. It looks like we’re going to continue as just a postgame show called 'Cal Football: Postgame Live!' this upcoming season.”
Laird had an inkling he might go undrafted. The Dolphins had shown some interest through the pre-draft process, and when all was said and done, he crossed the country with one goal in mind: making the team.
“My mindset was: I like this story about [Brian Flores] being brought in from New England and the potential of bringing that running-back-by-committee philosophy. And the Dolphins had expressed interest early in my post-collegiate career [by] reaching out and talking to my agent. I kind of knew they had a level of interest, and that was going to help me have a chance.”
Sometimes, we benefit from what we don't know. For Laird, that's how it felt treading into the uncharted NFL waters for the first time. The roster shuffling at breakneck pace was not as shocking for a rookie player who didn't quite know what to expect.
“I guess we just got used to [all the roster shuffling]. Honestly, since I was a rookie, my perspective at the time is like, ‘Okay, this is just the NFL.’ You cut guys, you bring them in. As I learned later, we broke the record for most players used in a season [up to that point].”
“I think just being [Brian Flores’] first year, trying to do a turnaround project, and then working with Chris Grier, they were just like ‘Let’s just sign guys, try them out, if they don’t work right away, then we’ll move on and try someone else.”
Just because he understood the constant churning didn't make it any easier to process. As witnesses to the havoc, Laird and fellow rookies Myles Gaskin and Chandler Cox coined a brutal phrase for the row of lockers that would house the weekly import of complete and utter strangers: "death row."
"[Myles Gaskin, Chandler Cox, and I] all had these row of lockers kind of in this corner in the locker room at the old Davie facility. We had our row and then there’s another row that’s right by the entrance. We used to call that ‘death row.’ That’s where all the new signees would get put right when they signed with the team. It was just constantly week by week, just guys coming in, guys [going] out.”
What's more, the constant fluctuation of the roster led to a few awkward moments. On a team with several dozen players, it's to be expected that a name slips the mind. On a team that cycled through the most players in NFL history up until 2020, though, it became an uncomfortable game of Guess Who for all parties involved.
“I played predominantly special teams throughout the year. My big role my rookie year was on the special teams side of things. Later in the season, where we were kind of bringing in all of these defensive backs, I remember there was this play that this defensive back we had [just] signed Monday or Tuesday had this great tackle [on punt]. I’m running down and I go up to him to say ‘Good job!’ And I was like ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met this guy before. I don’t even know his name.’ So, I had to wait for him to jog off the field and check the name on the back of his jersey [to congratulate him]."
As a guy who stuck around for more traditional seasons in 2020 and 2021, Laird quickly realized what he experienced as a rookie was far from the usual. After departing Miami, his next stop was in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers. The organizational differences left a striking impression on the Patriot-slaying folk hero.
“[Miami in 2019] was completely different than [Tampa Bay]. In 2019, it was like a turnaround or rebuild situation. The coaches aren’t getting up in front of the team and saying it’s a rebuild year. It was more like: ‘Look, guys, we’re going to work. This is how we work. This is the standard. If you’re up to this standard, we’ll keep you around.’"
"The cool thing I noticed when I showed up in Tampa is the continuity. I believe it’s a philosophy with [Buccaneers General Manager] Jason Licht and the guys [who] work underneath him. They like drafting their guys and trying to keep them around. I know he just left, but Mike Evans was there for a long time. [Recently retired] Lavonte David was there for a long time. Vita Vea [too]. It creates a culture that once you’ve met the level of expectations they have, then you know you have a chance to stick."
"That was the big difference that I noticed [compared to] my 2019 season [where] it was just ‘sign a guy, cut him, trade a guy, trade for another guy’ — it was just constant rotation.”
Nestled in that answer is the concept most difficult for fans to grasp. In an era where video games and gambling have made players seem less real than ever, underneath that coat of armor is an actual person trying to support his family and ultimately accomplish his dreams. The tanking narratives that are blasted out — even on the very networks that air the games — become impossible to ignore.
“I think everybody kind of knew [about the tanking talk]. The whole ‘Tank for Tua’ thing was such a prominent narrative, not just in the Dolphins community but like a national story. I don’t think it changes anything that we did. The coaches were just so focused on meeting the expectations and demands of what it takes to prepare on a week-to-week basis."
"We were expected to be prepared on Wednesday mornings. A lot of teams, when you show up Wednesday morning, you start to get into that future opponent. You don’t really have time to think about ‘Are we trying to lose games?’ Because it didn’t feel like it. [The coaches] were trying to win and they wanted to see how everybody responded.”
What's interesting is that, in all walks of life, it seems practice makes perfect. While anyone who picks up a paintbrush won't exactly turn into Picasso, there will be improvements over time. Despite an environment that was most certainly not conducive to winning, the ragtag Dolphins were gelling. They were improving. Before anyone knew it, they were winning too.
After starting a miserable 0–7, Miami played spoiler and upset multiple opponents en route to a 5–4 finish on the year. What clicked?
“October 29, [2019], we traded for Aqib Talib, but he was on [injured reserve] with the Rams. So basically, the Dolphins [took on the money obligation from Talib’s deal] and got a draft pick. The week that happened, the Monday Night Football game, which was our first win, I remember [Ryan Fitzpatrick] in the locker room yelling out: ’The Aqib Talib effect!’
"The funniest part was that we traded for Aqib Talib but no one ever saw him. I don’t think he ever even flew out. Then, the next week, we beat Indianapolis at their home. We get in the locker room, and all the guys are yelling: ’The Aqib Talib effect!’”
“But, no, not that [Talib] had [anything to do] with us going from 0–7 to 5–4 — I think it was just guys kept working. There was like a core of players that had been there since training camp that had become more confident with the playbook. It starts to become like a second language, and you [end up] thinking less. And having a vet like Ryan Fitzpatrick [who] just has command of the offense helped.”
To sum it all up, we asked Patrick for one story that truly encapsulated what being a member of the 2019 Miami Dolphins was like. It could've been funny, off-the-field, anything he could think of. He kept his streak of absolute bangers going and delivered one that is sure to give fans a chuckle.
“We played the Eagles at home, December 1 [2019], [the Eagles] fly home. They release a guy named Mack Hollins, who we then signed the next day. So he flies to Miami, plays, flies back to Philly, gets released, then gets claimed and flies back to Miami."
"The next week we went and played the Jets. We had a couple receivers go down in the game and Mack, who didn’t know the playbook, had to come in. [Ryan Fitzpatrick] would call a play in the huddle, then turn to Mack and tell him where to go and what to do. When Mack comes in, he’s this tall guy, kind of like smiley, and he’s like,‘What’s up, guys?’ And I remember [Dolphins offensive tackle] Jesse Davis turns, looks at him, and goes: ‘Who the hell are you?!’ So that’s a funny story that captures [what it was like.]”
Perhaps Chris Grier and Brian Flores took things a smidge too far with how they orchestrated the 2019 season. Or maybe they simply identified too many DAWGs that weren't about to roll over for anyone — Patrick Laird included. In any case, as the 2026 season unfolds, fans should try to enjoy the games for what they are. It's not about losing on purpose or rooting for your favorite team to lose.
For the warriors who'll take the field this year, the word "tanking" doesn't exist. They're going to put forth maximum effort and try to achieve their dreams, shocking the world in the process if need be. The least we can do as fans is meet them halfway.
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