There have been a lot of things wrong with the Miami Dolphins special teams over the years, and this offseason, Mike McDaniel got rid of one of the problems. He may be getting rid of another.
When the season ended, Danny Crossman was finally relieved of his job as the Special Teams Coordinator. Crossman has been with Miami since Brian Flores and was retained by McDaniel for the first three seasons of his coaching career. This is despite the Dolphins typically ranking quite low in special teams play.
Aside from the obvious return issues, one of the problems has been the inconsistent punting from Jake Bailey. Now, he may find himself out of a job as the Dolphins have brought in real competition.
According to TitanSized.com's Justin Melo on Sunday, former Tennessee Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse is joining the Dolphins. He has even updated his X.com profile to show his new team.
Stonehouse has been an incredibly consistent punter since arriving in the league in 2022. He can flip the field, which was something Bailey struggled with at times.
Will Jason Sanders influence who wins the punter job for the Miami Dolphins?
Miami kicker Jason Sanders has been consistent the last two seasons, and part of that has been because Bailey holds on the attempts. It will be interesting to see if Sanders advocates for Bailey to remain should a real competition take place.
On the other hand, Bailey could be released in the coming days or hours. Bailey's contract termination would save the Dolphins almost $2 million in cap space with a minimal $555K dead cap hit.
It's still uncertain what Stackhouse's deal with Miami will be, but if it is less than Bailey's, it could be far more beneficial to release him and save the money. If it is more than Bailey's, it is likely he is gone sooner rather than later.
Dolphins fans shouldn't get this excited over a move at punter, but special teams have been anything but special during the last several years, and Bailey never came close to being the Pro Bowl punter he once was with the New England Patriots.