Players, coaches respond to former Dolphins safety who called 2023 team ‘soft’
The 2023 Miami Dolphins put up historic offensive numbers.
Various players set franchise records for rushing touchdowns, receptions and receiving yards en route to leading the league in total yards.
But former Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott doesn’t have the best memories of that 2023 squad, calling the team “soft” during an episode of the “Punch Line Podcast with Marlon Humphrey.”
“I haven’t been able to play against Baltimore the way I wanted to because last year I played up for a team that was soft as [expletive],” said Elliott, who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He later added that “there were some guys who were tough, but like for the majority of the team, there was not mentally tough individuals. So, to be on a team with the full team of mentally tough guys going against another mentally tough team and AFC North ball, it’s going to be fun.”’
Coach Mike McDaniel didn’t seem to care about Elliott’s comments.
“Our team played a tough-fought game the past three weeks and ended up finding a way to win this past week,” McDaniel said Wednesday. “That’s not the easiest thing to do.”
“I’m just worried about this year’s team. He said it on a podcast? Cool podcast.”
Players, however, had a somewhat different response to Elliott, especially cornerback Kader Kohou.
“He’s not here for a reason,” Kohou said. “I don’t know why he would go on a podcast and say anything crazy like that. If that’s how he feels, he could have went on the podcast and said what he wanted to say without trying to throw shots. I feel like when he leaves the Steelers and goes to another team, he’ll probably do the same thing. I got no respect for it. I didn’t think DeShon was the toughest guy.”
“If you want to call somebody out, go ahead and do that and drop names,” safety Jevón Holland added. “Whatever makes your boat float. Whatever allows you to have a good night of sleep. It is what it is. He’s not naming nobody, not calling nobody out, all of the rest of the comments are just empty. He’s just talking at that point”
Offensive tackle Kendall Lamm certainly didn’t agree with Elliott’s comments while guard Liam Eichenberg questioned the ex-Dolphin’s character.
“None of the s*** he said really falls on my shoulders,” Lamm said. “I don’t necessarily think we’re a soft team. From my perspective, you can always get a little mentally tougher. Even the mentally toughest teams in our league can be mentally tougher. But a soft team? No. I would disagree.”
“It kinds of speaks to the character of somebody to talk about another team after they left,” Eichenberg added. “I wish him the best. I think it’s a mentally strong team. When you face adversity, peoples’ true colors come out.”
On Sunday, the Steelers will face the Ravens, the team that Elliott spent the first two years of his career after being drafted in 2020. He played the 2022 season for the Detroit Lions before the safety joined the Dolphins in 2023.
“Miami, it’s a distraction,” Elliott said. “I would say that we already didn’t hang out much as a team, because there’s so much to do in Miami. So guys are dispersed so much, and everyone thought they were somebody because of the mind-set of, ‘Oh, I’m In Miami, I can be somebody different,’ you know? And then we go into that city, and I felt like we were a really good team.”
Elliott then said that “the heart and soul for that team disappeared” once the “injury bug hit us.”
“You could just tell like the Miami culture is the reason why Miami will never be good,” Elliott continued. “Like Miami will never be a good football team. I don’t care. They will never be good because of the Miami culture. I think they have great players. The culture is not going to be there. I don’t care what anyone says. It’s true.”
Elliott’s statements were particularly noteworthy considering the Dolphins’ reputation across the NFL. During training camp, Calais Campbell even addressed the perception that it’s “easier” in Miami.
“I heard a lot of stories and different things and one of the things people said was like, ‘it’s a little easier there,’” Campbell said Aug. 19. “And I’m like ‘I don’t know.’ From what I saw when I came to visit, I got to watch an OTA practice and then talking to [Anthony Weaver] and kind of getting the schedule and stuff, I was like I don’t know if I really believe that and now being here, it’s a lot of game reps.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 2:48 PM.
