With Rasul Douglas likely out, who will start for the Dolphins at cornerback?
The Miami Dolphins officially have a cornerback problem.
With Miami’s clear-cut top guy in Rasul Douglas dealing with an ankle and foot injury, the Dolphins will have to look elsewhere. Some of the options include Ethan Bonner, Jason Marshall Jr. and JuJu Brents. Odds are, however, whoever they choose might get their first career start on the outside.
“Ethan has gone out there and plan adequately for us, so I would expect to see that,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said of Bonner as a possible replacement for Douglas. “Some combination of potentially Jason Marshall Jr. on the outside.”
Neither Bonner nor Marshall have started at outside cornerback. Brents, however, made nine starts as during his two years with the Indianapolis Colts. The experience taught him a lot about the importance of details.
“Being intentional on the small things,” Brents said Thursday. “That’s a big thing — really just coming in every single day with the right attitude. For me, I got thrown into the fire pretty early as a rookie and being an early-round draft pick. Just making sure you’re ready when your number gets called.”
That was somewhat the case with Marshall. With the plethora of injuries at the nickel cornerback spot, the 2025 fifth-round pick was not only forced to start early, he had to learn a totally different position.
“The harder transition for Jason just based on his playing history was going from outside to inside,” passing game and secondary coach Brian Duker said. “He had so much more outside experience playing in college that this one’s probably going to be a little bit more natural.”
Marshall agreed, adding that the Dolphins actually drafted him to play on the outside before the plethora of injuries forced the switch.
“The transition will be good,” Marshall said, calling it “just another opportunity to get my feet wet back at corner.”
One area where nickel helped Marshall tremendously: communication. A naturally quiet guy, the complexities of the position forced him to be more outspoken on the field.
“Just being more of a vocal person,” Marshall said. “Having to speak more, especially at nickel, and just communicating with the guys.”
While Marshall has actually got a few starts at nickel, the person with the most experience at outside corner in this system happens to be Bonner. An undrafted rookie signed to the Dolphins in 2023, Bonner has made 13 appearances, six of which came in 2025, during his three-year career in Miami. Players from Jaylen Waddle to Tyreek Hill have raved about his abilities — particularly his speed — since his arrival. Still, the former Stanford standout had never received real reps on the outside — that is, until Bonner and fellow cornerback Jack Jones began a rotation that started against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“He has shown consistency,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said of Bonner. “He’s a guy that knows exactly what to do. He’s extremely cerebral.”
That last area, however, was where Weaver wants Bonner to show some improvement.
“Sometimes, he can overanalyze things where you want him to just cut loose and make some plays,” Weaver continued before further praising the three-year veteran. “The ability is all there. Sometimes, you just got to” go out and do it.
Regardless of who gets to start, the Dolphins might still elect to do a rotation. Miami will face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and without Douglas, who Pro Football Focus ranks as the eight-best cornerback in football, it might be worthwhile to try and confuse the NFL’s reigning MVP in Josh Allen. The Dolphins haven’t beaten the Bills since coach Mike McDaniel’s first year in 2022 so at this point, Miami needs to try anything.
