The impressive eyebrow-raising data on Dolphins’ Strange. And news from McDaniel
Dolphins right guard Cole Strange said Thursday that offensive line coach Butch Barry “has been on my [butt] since I got here.” And Strange and the Dolphins couldn’t be happier.
Poached off Cleveland’s practice squad after James Daniels’ Week 1 pectoral injury, Strange has been a pleasant surprise for the Dolphins, permitting just one sack and 305 pass-blocking chances. Only three NFL guards who have played as many pass-blocking snaps as Strange this season have allowed fewer sacks.
What’s more, Strange has graded out as Miami’s second-best run blocker among the team’s starting offensive linemen this season, behind only center Aaron Brewer, per Pro Football Focus.
Strange is “doing a great job getting better every game,” coach McDaniel said. “He came in, in the clutch for us” after Daniels’ injury. McDaniel added that Strange’s adjustment to the Dolphins’ system has been “phenomenal.”
Drafted 29th overall by the Patriots out of Chattanooga in 2022, Strange said he believes he has reestablished himself as a good starting NFL guard. There is also a feeling of redemption after the Patriots released him in late August, after he made 29 starts in 30 appearances there before a December 2023 torn patella tendon sidetracked his career there.
“I feel there’s an element of that for sure, but that’s the poison that will get you,” he said Thursday. “Once you start feeling satisfied, you’re done. I’m much more grateful to be in the spot I am now before Week 1 and 2.”
The Browns signed him to their practice squad on Aug. 28 — two days after the Patriots released him — and the Dolphins poached him on Sept. 9. He became a starter in Week 4 and has started all nine games since.
Asked if he’s a better player now than he was in New England, Strange noted: “The system here is way different. It’s a system that naturally suits my capabilities [because of] my overall athleticism. Guys who are fast, guys who are quick [are well-suited to this system]. I’m more athletic and fast than I am big and strong. Some guards are 350. I’m 300.”
But he said it took time “to figure it out. To run like that off the ball is way different from what you do other places, at least where I came from. It was unnatural at first. You can ask Butch. He has been on my [butt] since I got here. But it’s been for the better. I feel like I’m getting it now.”
Strange will be a free agent after the season. If the Dolphins keep Daniels — who’s on a cap-friendly contract next season — Strange could return as Miami’s No. 3 guard, unless he secures a better offer elsewhere. If the Dolphins part ways with Daniels, Strange could return as a starter.
The Dolphins have indicated they are unsure if Daniels will play this season after he logged just three snaps in the opener before sustaining a pectoral injury.
McDaniel said Daniels’ injury recovery has been a “lot longer than we thought. Not [a case of] re-injury [but a case of him] slowly getting back to the way he needs to be.”
Injury update
▪ McDaniel said he’s hopeful that every player on the 53-man roster will be available for Sunday’s game at the Jets (1 p.m., CBS 4), though there is some question about safety Elijah Campbell. McDaniel said Campbell is the only Dolphins player on the active roster who would not practice on Friday.
Defensive tackle Benito Jones, who practiced fully on Wednesday while dealing with an ankle injury, was not at practice Thursday; the team attributed his absence to an ankle issue and personal reasons. “He’s improving; he always plays through any nick,” McDaniel said.
Brewer was limited Thursday, with the team listing ankle, neck and knee. “That was a bump-and-bruise situation, something we’re not concerned about,” McDaniel said.
▪ McDaniel said Jason Sanders “hasn’t had a setback. He’s capable of kicking footballs” but there’s “risk of further injury [with] exertion. You don’t want to do that too soon.” Sanders hasn’t played in a game since a preseason hip injury.
The Dolphins’ fill-in kicker, Riley Patterson, is sixth in field-goal percentage at 91.3 (21 for 23).
▪ Receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. has played more recently because he “executes on critical things off the ball and on the ball,” McDaniel said.
“He’s taken a step, a level up in his game, since we last had him, particularly in his ability off the ball. He started the [Saints] game blocking [Pro Bowler] Cam Jordan, which isn’t the easiest thing. Sometimes it’s giving guys little slivers of opportunity and seeing how they do and responding by giving them more when they’ve earned it. The second time around.. he appears wiser through his journey back and forth.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 12:00 PM.
