Buffalo Rumblings
There’s no love lost between Buffalo and Miami, regardless of roster changes.
It’s a poorly kept secret that since Josh Allen’s arrival in Western New York, the Buffalo Bills have dominated the Miami Dolphins. Regardless of rain, snow, sun, or heat, and in spite of any combination of defenders Miami has thrown in the way of Allen, he’s been able to make the Dolphins pay like few other NFL teams.
The Dolphins have given plenty of effort toward improving their defensive backfield, in recent seasons bringing in the likes of trash-talking cornerback Jalen Ramsey and former Bills safety Jordan Poyer. But every matchup, Allen appears to pull out the best from his helmet of tricks — and that’s allowed him to lay claim to a 13-2 record against.
Heading into the 2025 NFL season, it’s likely that Allen and the Bills are set to find a near-completely overhauled group of Dolphins defensive backs. Miami doesn’t yet know who will start at either outside cornerback position.
Sidebar: It’s important to point out that there’s a bit of kinship in this realm between Buffalo and Miami. Bills Mafia collectively understands that Buffalo needs to figure out who other than cornerback Christian Benford starts outside this fall.
Clearly, things in South Beach aren’t as sunny as it appears in Western New York, where there are promising options in rookies Maxwell Hairston and Dorian Strong, a returning and healthy-if-older Tre’Davious White, and other veterans keenly familiar with the scheme. Things seem more dire for the Dolphins.
In an article by The Athletic, Jim Ayello states that Jalen Ramsey “will be traded — it seems more like a ‘when’ than an ‘if’ at this point.” That implies head coach Mike McDaniel is prepared to enter the regular season with out a top cornerback — though one who has struggled often against Allen.
Reportedly, McDaniel has even said “help me out” to his cornerback room — looking to competently build a depth chart to challenge the likes of Allen and the rest of the NFL. Instead of going into training camp with a set roster of cornerbacks, it appears likely there will be an open competition for both outside corner roles.
Among those vying for a chance to start at cornerback are Artie Burns, Storm Duck, Jason Marshall Jr., Kendall Sheffield, Cam Smith, and Isaiah Johnson — the latter of whom “was among the standouts during offseason activities,” per Ayello.
While slot cornerback Kader Kohou is expected to reprise his role, the Dolphins have a pair of major questions to answer during training camp. McDaniel’s future with the Dolphins, as well the team’s upcoming season, could hinge on how things play out on the defensive boundary.
