Dolphins’ McDaniel answers on Wilkins, defensive line. And Hill addresses team
The Dolphins’ defensive line had considerable success when Christian Wilkins played alongside Zach Sieler.
With their defensive line now struggling, have the Dolphins reached out to Wilkins, who was released by the Raiders in July, to see if he’s healthy and would be interested in possibly returning to the team?
Coach Mike McDaniel didn’t answer that question directly on Friday. He didn’t rule out potential interest in Wilkins but suggested the Dolphins are happy with the players they have at the position.
“Doors are always open,” McDaniel said. “Very happy with the progression of what we need from our young guys. I’m focused on the Panthers and our own guys specifically. Chris [Grier] is always at work. There is never anything that’s closed.”
Asked if he and Grier are close to the point of needing to find outside defensive line help, amid first-round pick Kenneth Grant and their young players having growing pains, McDaniel didn’t answer with a yes or no. But it sounds like they’re invested in the young players as long as there’s growth, which he says he’s seeing.
“It’s making sure there’s consistent growth from those players,” McDaniel said. “I see growth. I need to see the consistent development, which I saw in the game.”
McDaniel made the point that the Dolphins’ defensive line and run defense stiffened somewhat after struggling badly on the first drive.
“Within the game, my confidence is the fact there were 75 yards of rushing on the first drive,” McDaniel said. “Outside of the scramble by Justin Fields, there was 75 yards rushing given up the rest of the game. You see guys progressing.”
He compared it to learning how to tie a shoelace in terms of young players needing to experience the nuances of defensive line play, and seeing and responding to new things, before they become polished at it.
“There’s some point where the reps occur, where it just clicks,” McDaniel said. “That’s what a player needs to do when you’re playing 1 of 11, so the expectation is not avoiding that but making sure there’s consistent growth from those players. Everybody always wants it sooner, but there’s a pattern to all of it, and it’s pretty consistent with the development of young players....
“I spoke to the players about October is the month to set up to be distracted.... October hits and teams either get better or worse. We have to have an October that has better football in three phases if we stand a chance to do what we want to do.”
Wilkins, drafted by the Dolphins with the 13th pick in 2019, produced 20.5 sacks and 43 tackles for loss in 81 games (77 starts) over five seasons for the Dolphins.
In March 2024, the Raiders signed Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million deal, with $84.75 million guaranteed..
Wilkins had 17 tackles and two sacks before sustaining a season-ending foot injury in Week 5, requiring surgery to repair a Jones fracture.
This past July, Wilkins was placed on the reserve/PUP list ahead of training camp. Six days later, the Raiders released Wilkins and initiated efforts to void $35.2 million of guaranteed salary on his contract due to how he approached the rehab process. In response, Wilkins filed a grievance with the NFLPA.
Wilkins received $49.7 million of his original contract, playing in just five games for the Raiders.
Sieler had two tackles for loss against the Jets after getting off to a slow start this season. The Dolphins believe that playing with rookies has impacted him negatively.
“When he was trying to help so many other people, we weren’t giving him the opportunity to [make plays],” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “I think now with some of the maturation of the younger guys around him, maybe playing not both rookies with him and trying to take some of that off him at times, that’s going to allow him to be him and take some of the stress that we had on him early in the season.”
This and that
▪ Tight end Darren Waller will see a modest increase in snaps as he works himself back from a hip injury. The Dolphins limited him to 16 offensive snaps against the Jets, and he made the most of them, with three catches and two receptions.
▪ With Tyreek Hill out, does McDaniel need to be more creative in his play-calling and go into his bag of tricks more?
“No,” he said. “We have a lot of players we’re very confident in. That makes up the difference.”
▪ Cornerback Storm Duck will miss Sunday’s game at Carolina (1 p.m., WSVN 7) because of an ankle injury sustained in the opener. McDaniel said he’s “progressing” and “week to week.”
Tyreek Hill visits
Hill, who had major knee surgery early Tuesday morning and is out for the season, visited Dolphins headquarters on Friday and spoke to the team.
Per McDaniel, he “made sure guys continue to stay motivated and play complementary football. It was awesome. A real moment. It was right during the team meeting. He made an entrance I hadn’t given the team a heads up to.
“I’m pretty sure the energy of the team meeting was pretty good. It definitely gave it an uptick. He was eager to let teammates know that he missed them. It was a good moment for guys that spend their waking lives together and really cool to see.”
Agent Drew Rosenhaus has said Hill would like to return to the team next season. That likely would require a heavily restructured contract.
▪ The Panthers are set to be without running back Chuba Hubbard on Sunday because of a calf injury. That should help the Dolphins’ run defense, which has yielded the third-most yards (among teams that have played four games) and the fourth-highest yards per carry average (5.1).
Hubbard has 53 carries for 217 yards this season. Rico Dowdle, Carolina’s No. 2 running back, has 28 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown. Trevor Etienne and DeeJay Dallas are Carolina’s other running backs.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 11:57 AM.
