Miami Dolphins Training Camp Preview 2025
As we sit just about one week from the official start of training camp for the Miami Dolphins, I figured it’s the perfect time to do a preview of the 2025 training camp for the Dolphins. This season could have a lot of triumph or a lot of repercussions and major setbacks come December and January. With that being said, I have, as per usual, three things that the Dolphins can look forward to this training camp.
So, without further ado, let us take a Deep End Dive into the 2025 edition of the Miami Dolphins training camp preview.
A Hard Reset
The Miami Dolphins finished the 2024 season in a less-than-ideal position for success, with eight wins and nine losses, which would not have qualified them for the postseason, even with a seventeen-game schedule.
Now, the Dolphins last season had to beat the New York Jets, and then they needed the Denver Broncos to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs with their backups in mind, which was never going to happen. Let us face it, the reason I think they finished with the record that they did last season was a mixture of self-inflicted wounds and injuries. The self-inflicted wounds part comes from the team not playing well when it matters most, and they had a lot of injuries throughout the season last year, starting with one Tua Tagovailoa, who was injured again, though not as severely as in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.
He still nonetheless had a concussion that night against the Buffalo Bills and had to miss four games, including the Monday Night Football game against the Tennessee Titans, the second one, not the first one, as he played in the first one in 2023, a game where mismanagement of the clock cost the Miami Dolphins dearly that night.
The rest of the team, including pass rushers Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, who both missed significant time in the past few years and last year, have to stay healthy. It is also a hard reset where everyone is back at zero, and anything could happen, as any season is very different. So that is my view on the hard reset for the Dolphins going into training camp, where everyone starts with the same record again.
A Chance To Establish A Culture
Bradley Chubb and many within the Miami Dolphins organization believe that the Dolphins are attempting to change their culture in 2025. To change that culture, in my opinion, two things need to happen. I will address this in this segment: they need to practice well, and second, they need to win more games. Practicing well is something they will hopefully be doing starting next Saturday, when training camp officially begins and fans can attend practices for the first time. If I see that they are working hard and putting in the effort in training camp, then I may believe they want something this season.
That is something that has eluded this fanbase for the last twenty-five years: a playoff win. Now to the winning more games side of it, and that is what it is, if you win more games, then you will build a winning culture that players want to gravitate towards.
When you look at a team like the Kansas City Chiefs over the years, who have always had great teams, the same with the Philadelphia Eagles, so the two Super Bowl teams from last year, what do those two teams have in common that the Dolphins do not, you ask, and that is a proper winning culture. If we are speaking of South Florida teams, the Florida Panthers have recently built a winning culture, but it took them four years to flip the switch, start winning games, and ultimately win the Stanley Cup. It basically takes a group effort, and you need contributors on both sides of the ball.
The Dolphins do have cornerstone guys on both offense and defense, but everything has to work in order for them to get to their first conference championship game since 1992 and their first Super Bowl since 1984. Whether they will be able to win their first Super Bowl since 1973, I do not know personally, but another drought I forgot to mention is their division win drought since 2008. But that is how I think the Dolphins, if they really want to change their culture, I would rather they show me rather than tell me.
What Is At Stake
The Miami Dolphins have a lot at stake in the 2025 season, and it starts with head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier. Both of whom I think could be on the hot seat this season. If the season goes up in flames and they do not win a single playoff game, then they will likely be gone, or it may be a situation where it is one or the other. At this point, I am unsure what they will do at the season’s end, as they could be in a situation where they are in the playoffs or out of it altogether. Something has to give for this team and these two individuals within the Miami Dolphins organization if they want to do well this season.
I am not saying this is a situation where it is Super Bowl or bust, like the elite teams of this league that I discussed in a previous article. I think it’s a playoff win or bust for this team, and if that doesn’t happen, then it may cost Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel their jobs at the end of the season. That is all I have to say about it, as it is simple: win a playoff game and keep your job, and if you cannot do that, then you are relieved of your duties.
Dolphins Camp Preview in Summary
So, how does this sum up the upcoming Miami Dolphins 2025 training camp? Essentially, it boils down to the three ways I came up with today, which are as follows. I started by mentioning how the 2025 Dolphins season represents a hard reset for the team, as everyone is back at zero, and also reviewed the self-inflicted wounds and the injury situation affecting the Dolphins. Then I mentioned how the Dolphins, if they want to change their culture they need to show me rather than tell me.
Lastly, I mentioned what is at stake for Mike McDaniel and Chris Grier, who, simply put, must prove it just as much as the players if they want to secure that coveted playoff win this upcoming season and save their jobs. This 2025 Miami Dolphins season is one of highs and low,s just like any season. But more so this season, because of what is at stake going into the season. Will they do those things, like staying healthy and playing their best? Stay tuned this season to find out.
