The Miami Dolphins are rebuilding. There, it has been said. You know it, we all know it. The Dolphins know it, but won't say it. Jon-Eric Sullivan needs to give Jeff Hafley a new roster, or he has no chance to succeed.
Getting there, or at least getting through it all, is going to be the problem. How much it will cost and how long it will take are questions on fans' minds.
One thing is certain: the team we saw last year will not be the team we see next year. In fact, if Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald is correct, some of the faces on the team and under contract will not be back either.
Miami Dolphins desire to gain draft picks will likely end in players being traded
Jackson is the guy to go to for Dolphins rumors. Unlike some, he doesn't throw stuff up to see what sticks; he only opens his mouth when he gets information from his reliable sources. If Jackson says the Dolphins are going East, they are for sure going East.
In his latest article, Jackson outlines a future that Dolphins fans knew was coming, but no one was saying. This team is going to rebuild.
"How do we want to build it? Do we want instant success, which might cause failure down the road? Or do we want sustained success, which requires a lot of hard work, building it the right way where Sully and I can dive into this thing with no shortcuts?”"Jeff Hafley on rebuilding
Sullivan views draft picks as "Gold," said Jackson via one of his sources. He is likely to trade down in the draft to accumulate more, and that, "There could be potential to add more picks with trades of a few veterans who aren’t in the long-term plans."
This is important to look into. Minkah Fitzpatrick has trade value. It may not be a lot, but even a mid-round pick will help Sullivan obtain more young players. Austin Jackson, Bradley Chubb, and of course, Tua Tagovailoa are all possibilities. Fans don't mind the team being broken apart; it needs to be. They are no longer attached to players as they have been in the past.
What needs to be decided is who the Dolphins believe will bring them draft compensation, but also, who are the players that they do not see as part of their future? There could be quite a few of them, regardless of whether they can bring anything more than a conditional pick in 2027.
Jackson is telling it like it is, and the future for Dolphins fans will be predicated on how quickly Miami begins the rebuild. Like Hafley said, do you do it at once, in pieces, and how do you compete at the same time? Jimmy Johnson is a HOF coach, but in 1989, his Dallas Cowboys finished 1-15 and then 7-9. It wasn't a great start, but it was a fantastic finish. Only time will tell if they can do the same.