What’s best for now or Dolphins future? McDaniel must answer. News by position
With their playoff hopes extinguished, the Dolphins now find themselves in this awkward predicament: What’s best for the coach whose job is in peril might not be what’s best for the franchise.
During the final three weeks of the season (home to Cincinnati and Tampa Bay and at New England), Mike McDaniel will face a singular question on a handful of issues: Does he do what he believes gives him the best chance to win and keep his job?
Or does he do what might be in the best long-term interests of the franchise in terms of information gathering?
Three areas where that comes into play:
▪ Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and the young receivers: The veteran, added in free agency, played 18 offensive snaps on Monday (and 13 on special teams) and had no receptions or targets for a fourth consecutive game.
If he plays another dozen or so snaps, Miami likely would lose a compensatory fourth-round pick that they otherwise would probably receive.
The Dolphins value his blocking, but he has just 11 receptions all season.
Coaches trying to save jobs traditionally do what’s in their best interests and not pay any mind to securing a mid-round compensatory pick.
But a strong case could be made that the Dolphins would be better served by doing what’s needed to get the extra draft pick and using those snaps (and Cedrick Wilson Jr.’s) to spend the final three games evaluating what they have in Tahj Washington and practice squad receiver Theo Wease, who impressed during training camp.
▪ Quarterback: For the fifth time this season, Tua Tagovailoa entered a fourth quarter with a dismal sub-50 passer rating. Two meaningless touchdown drives boosted that rating, and his passing yardage from 65 (through three quarters) to 254.
McDaniel lamented the struggling passing game but said it would be “rash” to discuss a potential quarterback change.
McDaniel has said he will always play the quarterback who gives the team the best chance to win. That still might be Tagovailoa. But the Dolphins could gain valuable information by giving Ewers a couple of games, even if it might hurt McDaniel’s chances to keep his job.
▪ Looking at the young defensive backs: The Dolphins decided in mid-November to play primarily veterans in their defensive backfield, which made sense until the team was officially eliminated.
But the Dolphins must see what they have in cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. and safety Dante Trader Jr. to know if either can be projected for significant roles next season.
Against Pittsburgh, Marshall played just one defensive snap and Trader 15.
Trader has a poor 146.5 passer rating in his coverage area this season (10 for 12 for 172 yards), but coaches have said they see a potential NFL starter. The Dolphins need to use these next three games to try to determine that, even if McDaniel believes veterans give him a better chance to win.
The same applies with Marshall, who has permitted a poor 146.1 passer rating (12 for 16 for 161). Marshall needs to play most every defensive snap to give the Dolphins a sense of whether he can be considered a rotation player in 2026.
A case also could be made to see what the Dolphins have in practice squad edge player Derrick McLendon instead of continuing to invest snaps in veteran Matthew Judon.
So does McDaniel take the long view or the short-I-must-try-to-keep my job view? He’s hardly the first coach in this position, but it’s an uncomfortable place to be.
Notes by position
▪ Quarterback: Besides taking over sole possession of the league lead in interceptions with 15, Tagovailoa fell to 30th in ESPN’s QBR rating, ahead of only J.J. McCarthy, Geno Smith and Cam Ward. His 88.5 passer rating, boosted by two late touchdowns, remains 23rd in the league.
▪ Running back: A week after rushing for a career high 107 yards, Jaylen Wright received just one carry (for 2 yards) and four offensive snaps.
Achane played 40 of Miami’s 50 offensive snaps and touched the ball on 18 of them (12 runs, six receptions).
Ollie Gordon II played six snaps before departing with an ankle injury. He was stopped on a third-and-2 run and is now 10 for 15 on short-yardage situations on third and fourth downs this season (with his team needing 1 or 2 yards).
Fullback Alec Ingold played 19 snaps and again graded out well, per PFF.
▪ Receiver: Jaylen Waddle had another quiet game (two catches for 26 yards) and hasn’t topped 52 receiving yards in any of Miami’s past four games.
In addition to Waddle’s 42 snaps and Westbrook-Ikhine’s 18, Miami gave 28 offensive snaps to Malik Washington, 10 to Wilson and eight to Dee Eskridge.
▪ Tight end: Miami again split up tight end snaps among Darren Waller (27), Julian Hill (21) and Greg Dulcich (19). Waller caught two touchdowns, giving him four TD receptions in two Monday night games this season.
PFF rated Waller first, Hill fifth and Dulcich sixth among the 19 players who logged offensive snaps for Miami.
▪ Offensive line: Daniel Brunskill played only eight snaps (including just five running plays) as a sixth offensive lineman, the fewest since Miami created that package against Atlanta, when it began a stretch of five wins in six games.
PFF graded right tackle Austin Jackson as Miami’s best offensive lineman and fourth-best player overall and left guard Jonah Savaiinaea the worst offensive player overall on Monday night.
Per PFF, Jackson was Miami’s best run-blocking starting lineman and center Aaron Brewer the best pass-blocking lineman. Savaiinaea, who had been playing better recently, permitted five quarterback pressures and a sack.
▪ Defensive line: PFF ranked Zach Sieler second among all Dolphins defenders, Kenneth Grant 10th, Zeek Biggers 12th and Jordan Phillips 18th, ahead of only Judon.
The rookies played comparable snaps — Grant 38, Phillips 32 and Biggers 28. Sieler played 47 of 66 defensive snaps, while Benito Jones logged 19.
▪ Edge players: Bradley Chubb played 56, Chop Robinson 41, Judon 23, Cameron Goode seven and Quinton Bell none. PFF said Goode and Robinson were the best of the group (fifth and sixth overall among 19 defenders).
▪ Inside linebackers: Jordyn Brooks (13) and Tyrel Dodson (10) combined for 23 tackles, and PFF rated them first and fourth among Dolphins defenders (with Sieler and cornerback Jack Jones in between).
▪ Safeties: Ashtyn Davis — rated by PFF as Miami’s third-worst defender in the game — played 63 snaps and missed a couple of tackles, while Minkah Fitzpatrick logged 59 snaps before leaving with a calf injury. Ifeatu Melifonwu played 28 and Trader 15.
Fitzpatrick allowed all three targets in his coverage area to be caught for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Melifonwu allowed all four targets in his coverage area to be caught for a touchdown.
▪ Cornerbacks: Jones and Rasul Douglas played all 66 snaps, with Marshall logging none and Ethan Bonner and Isaiah Johnson not playing at all on defense.
Per PFF, Douglas permitted just one catch in three targets for 7 yards, while Jones yielded three completions (in three attempts) for just 11 yards.
Here’s my column on Tagovailoa and other issues.
Here’s what McDaniel said after the game.
This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 11:32 AM.
