Miami Dolphins fans find it hard to believe that it was only two seasons ago that they were watching the potential second coming of the "Greatest Show on Turf." A season full of promise came crashing down over the last several weeks of the season.
The stories that continue to get told about that season are starting to feel more and more like an episode of an old MTV show, "When the music died." For the Dolphins, it should serve as a reminder of how not to construct a football team.
The 2023 season was almost special, but now it's completely gone. Well, almost gone. Only three players are currently on the roster who played during that season. Talk about a mismanaged roster.
Only 3 players remain from the 2023 Miami Dolphins Roster:
— Big E (@ian693) March 17, 2026
Austin Jackson
De’Von Achane
Zach Sieler pic.twitter.com/hRpFuFoXz9
It has taken just two months for Jon-Eric Sullivan to slam the door on the 2023 Miami Dolphins roster
The end of that season was a crushing blow. Injuries on the defensive side of the ball left Chris Grier with only street free agent options late in the season, but the dismantling began the offseason after the Chiefs bounced Miami from the postseason.
Grier let Jerome Baker and Andrew Van Ginkel leave in free agency. Van Ginkel became an immediate star for the Vikings. Sullivan continued to dismantle it when he released Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb, Tua Tagovialoa, and several others to clear bad contracts.
The trading of Jaylen Waddle on Tuesday ended the last remaining offensive weapon from that team. A team that put 70 points on Waddle's new team. The Broncos came within one game of the Super Bowl, the Dolphins fired their GM mid-season, and their head coach a week after it ended.
Terron Armstead and Waddle recently spoke about how special that team could have been, but history will show nothing more than a playoff birth and a quick exit. Now the roster doesn't even have the players on it that can tell the stories.
2023 is in the rearview mirror, where it needs to be left. Stephen Ross and Grier went all in to succeed, and it ultimately failed. Now two years later, there isn't anything holding it all together. The Dolphins are once again rebuilding, rebranding, and hoping for a better future.