The Miami Dolphins saw the inevitable staring them in the face and finally bit the bullet. Despite giving Tua Tagovailoa a blockbuster extension a while back, the team wasn’t going anywhere as far as postseason success was concerned.
Consequently, they went for a complete teardown this offseason, starting anew with Jeff Hafley as the new head coach and Malik Willis as the new quarterback. As a result, expectations are at the bare minimum for the franchise, something the roster recognizes.
How the Miami Dolphins Are Adjusting to a New Outlook
After a disastrous 2025 season, it was clear that change was necessary for the Dolphins. But they decided to go a step further and overturn almost all of their main pieces. Cutting Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill, they also traded Jaylen Waddle and fired head coach Mike McDaniel.
Now, heading into a new year with most of their star talent from years past off the roster, they aren’t seen as a team capable of making noise in a loaded AFC. And some of the talent on the roster is starting to understand it, too.
David Ojabo, a four-year veteran with the Baltimore Ravens, is a new piece for Miami that they acquired this offseason. For the solid linebacker, it will be a dramatic change of scenery as he moves on from a perennial playoff threat.
“Let’s be real too, the Dolphins… chitter chatter won’t do us any good,” Ojabo told reporters at a press conference. “We have to go out there and prove to the rest of the league what we’re about.
“I don’t think anybody has us winning the Super Bowl. But it doesn’t matter what they say because at the end of the day, if we go out and do it and just keep winning games, talk is cheap.”
While Ojabo has primarily been a depth piece, the Dolphins’ defense needs the support. In 2025, Miami finished as the 27th-ranked defense in the NFL in PFSN’s Defensive Impact metric with a grade of 73.1.
However, for a young team trying to build a sustainable culture, the recipe is relatively simple for Ojabo: block out the noise and try to exceed all expectations.
BE AN NFL GM: PFSN’s Ultimate GM Simulator
Willis, in his starts for the Green Bay Packers, showed exceptional promise, and he is paired with a familiar face in Hafley on the sidelines. While it is hard to see them as a potential playoff team out of the AFC East, stranger things have happened in the NFL.
Even though expectations are at a minimum, veterans like Ojabo know the media perception and could use it as potential fuel to rally their teammates. It remains to be seen if it will be enough to overcome the talent deficit. But this isn’t a roster that wants to be counted out just yet.
