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The Miami Dolphins enter 2025 with practically no room for error. Mike McDaniel’s offense remains one of the NFL’s most dynamic. Tua Tagovailoa has his full complement of weapons. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle can break a game open on any play. The offensive line, once a liability, is quietly solidified. However, despite the fireworks on that side of the ball, the fate of Miami’s season may rest on the unit that’s suddenly become a fatal flaw: the secondary.
Once the bedrock of a feared defense, Miami’s back end is now patched together with hopes and bargain-bin replacements. Unless it’s addressed in training camp, it may be the one thing that keeps the Dolphins from playing football deep into January.
Even though Jalen Ramsey didn’t officially leave the Dolphins until late June, the big question entering training camp is the same one that loomed back in April: Who replaces one of the league’s premier corners?
Nothing the Dolphins did this offseason suggested they were planning for life without Ramsey. The team signed Artie Burns, who hasn’t held a full-time starting role since 2019. They also drafted Florida’s Jason Marshall Jr in the fifth-round. He has tools but little expectation to contribute right away. General manager Chris Grier did offer a public challenge to third-year cornerback Cam Smith, whose development has lagged. The Dolphins would love for him to seize a starting job. That said, the team’s moves paint a picture of wishful thinking more than preparation.
That picture got darker this week. On Wednesday, Burns went down with a non-contact injury during warm-ups. By Thursday, the worst was confirmed: a torn ACL. Burns was never expected to be a savior, but the Dolphins were counting on him for depth and situational snaps. His absence leaves a vacuum that was already too empty. Miami quickly signed Cornell Armstrong, a journeyman with a resume more suited to practice squads than primetime. If this is the solution, then the problem is bigger than anyone in the building is willing to admit.
Here we’ll try to look at the fatal flaw that the Miami Dolphins must address in their 2025 NFL training camp.
Miami’s secondary is its biggest weakness. That’s not hyperbole. It’s fact. One year ago, their defensive backfield was stacked with name-brand talent and proven production. Today? It’s arguably the thinnest group in the entire AFC.
Aside from Ramsey and now Burns, gone are both starting safeties, Jordan Poyer and Jevon Holland. Gone too is the other top corner, Kendall Fuller. In their place are placeholders. Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu were low-cost depth signings who combined for just 468 snaps in 2024. Neither was viewed as a long-term answer. And aside from Marshall Jr, the Dolphins also added Dante Trader Jr in the fifth round. He profiles as a special teams prospect more than a Day 1 contributor.
That leaves Kader Kohou, a solid slot corner with grit and instincts....
