The Miami Dolphins appear headed for a franchise reset — but these six players should be viewed as the long-term cornerstones of the rebuild
The Miami Dolphins appear to be a franchise on the verge of a reset after the season. Miami sits at 1-4 and has already partially accepted their fate as a team needing more youth this past offseason. Miami avoided spending big on the open market, instead opting for young players with talent but missing the resume to back it up. They also focused their primary assets in the NFL Draft pipeline into the trenches.
Gone are older players like Calais Campbell, Terron Armstead, Jalen Ramsey, and others. But with a slow start to this season, the question now asked is who should be leading the Dolphins into the next chapter. And the important follow up to that question is which players on Miami's roster should be best viewed as long-term cornerstones?
Here are six Miami Dolphins who should be considered long-term cornerstones of the roster.
Who are the Miami Dolphins' six best roster cornerstones for the future?
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle
Waddle is going to get a chance to remind the world who he is outside of Tyreek Hill's shadow over the course of the next 12 games. He was off to a good start in Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers, posting six receptions for 110 yards and a score (18 yards per catch) on nine targets. Waddle signed a contract extension ahead of the 2024 season and endured a frustrating season amid Miami's passing game struggles without Tyreek Hill. He's under lock and key contractually and has the physical ability to be a primary target.
Let's see how much he prospers without Hill in the picture the rest of the way.
Jaylen Waddle's 2025 season so far
- 3 receiving touchdowns — one more than he had in 15 games last season
- Averaging 59 yards per game through five games, on pace for 1,003 yards
- Catching 72% of his targets thus far
- Posted 110 receiving yards in first game without Tyreek Hill
Running back De'Von Achane
There's no question that Achane is one of the team's most talented players. His usage in the passing game makes him a dangerous piece of the offensive puzzle for the Dolphins every week and he's getting better with his zone run discipline to maximize his yardage opportunities. He may never be a bell-cow back but he has the ability to become an Alvin Kamara-style weapon every year.
Achane is still on his rookie contract and is extension eligible after the season — Miami will need to do some soul searching with whoever is running football operation around the decision to keep him or not. But keeping your in-house hits who have explosive play ability is usually good business.
Linebacker Jordyn Brooks
Brooks has endured a tough start to the season as he's playing behind a shaky interior defensive line through the first month of the season. It's been tough sledding to anticipate gaps with confidence as defensive tackles are getting washed out of gaps and being overwhelmed at the point of attack. Brooks is a well-respected leader who is in the prime of his career and under contract through the end of the 2026 season — which would set the stage for him to get a year of overlap with the start of Miami's next build before the team must make any decisions on his contract status.
But as a player who is tough, plays with a hot motor, can make plays in the pass game, and has embraced a leadership role? These aren't the kinds of players who are a part of the problem with what ails Miami.
Offensive tackle Patrick Paul
No player has experienced a bigger jump from 2024 to 2025 than Paul. He's been a tremendous asset for Miami and boasts wonderful impact in pass protection. He's a surreal athlete for his size and with elite traits he figures to have scheme translatability if Miami's next chapter offers a different ideology for the offense.
Paul will be 24 years old in November — he's got a long career ahead of him and things are looking up in a big, big way.
Center Aaron Brewer
Brewer is the most shaky choice of this group in part because he's a scheme-specific player and a bit of an outlier with his size. But wow, has he been a home run fit for Miami thus far since signing a three-year contract with the team in 2024. Brewer is electric on the second level, a sufficient pass blocker and has thrived since settling into center.
The Dolphins need to stabilize their entire offensive line and this has become a proven player. A new regime would need a very inspired selection to replace Brewer to justify not keeping him as a long-term building block and leaning into his quickness, intelligence, and ability to be a weapon in the run game.
EDGE defender Chop Robinson
Robinson's slow start this season is frustrating. But it should not make anyone forget how electric he was as a pass rusher in 2024 as a rookie — posting more than 50 pressures and illustrating rare bend and burst to the quarterback. Chop has been caught behind returning veterans Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb this season as the line has struggled to win at the point of attack and been caught in too many short-yardage situations.
But he's a first-round pick with rare talent and will surely see his disruption ability shine with a more complementary defense assembled. He's the only one of Miami's trio of pass rushers who checks both boxes of being in the prime of his career and being under contract after the season. But he needs to start playing to his potential in 2025.
The elephant (pun intended?) in the room
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa
It's probably fair to assume that Tagovailoa is going to be on the Dolphins' roster next season no matter what happens. If this team reels off a bunch of wins and everyone saves their jobs? Great. It's full steam ahead. If that doesn't happen and there's changes at head coach or general manager, Tagovailoa's contract extension makes it difficult to envision Miami bidding him farewell after this season. His background with concussions makes him a high-risk trade candidate, especially with more than $50 million in fully-guaranteed compensation owed his way in 2026.
That does not, however, guarantee him anything in the eyes of a new football operation. The hiring process for Miami of a new general manager and/or head coach would almost certainly come with the assurance that, when the opportunity presents itself, the new operation is free to pursue
It sets the stage, with changes this offseason, for Tagovailoa to likely be a bridge player in Miami in 2026 — one under contract and given the chance to start at quarterback but with the understanding that he's unlikely to be a piece of the puzzle of a new football operation's long-term vision at quarterback because he wasn't their choice and they didn't commit to his lofty contract.
Former GM Pitches Absurd Maxx Crosby Trade to Tom Brady’s Old Team
Though Maxx Crosby has never requested a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders, speculation has swirled for the last few seasons as the team continues to struggle to win games. Once the Raiders gave Crosby a historic contract in the offseason, it seemed like trade speculation would die, but that hasn’t been the case.
With Las Vegas starting 1-4 and heading in the wrong direction, there’s been renewed trade talk surrounding Crosby’s name. If the Raiders made him available, there would be no shortage of teams interested.
He’s one of the best defensive players in the NFL and could help pretty much every team in the league. He’s the face of the Raiders, so they won’t give him up without getting a haul in return. That said, former NFL general manager and ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum believes that Crosby could be had without a team having to give up a first-round pick.
“This one’s a no-brainer: Maxx Crosby for a second and a fourth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Tannenbaum said on ESPN’s “Get Up.”
When pressed about the asking price being too low, Tannenbaum cited durability concerns as to why the Raiders shouldn’t expect a first-round pick in return.
Raiders Would Never Accept Tannenbaum’s Trade Pitch
Just to get this out of the way, Tannenbaum’s trade pitch makes zero sense whatsoever. In what world do the Raiders give up an All-Pro 28-year-old pass rusher without getting at least one first-round pick in the deal?
Some would argue that Crosby is a better player than Parsons, but even if he isn’t, that doesn’t mean he’s worth a fraction of the price. The only reason the Raiders would even consider trading their best player would be to stock up on assets to build toward the future.
A second and fourth round pick does not move the needle at all. The Buccaneers make some sense as a possible trade partner, as minority owner Tom Brady used to play there and general manager John Spytek worked there for years, but they aren’t going to give them a discount for one of the premier defenders in the NFL.
Will Crosby Want a Trade?
Crosby has openly talked about how he wants to spend his whole career with the Raiders. He’s been through a lot of ups and downs with the team, and wants to be part of the franchise when they start winning again.
However, he’s also very competitive and wants to win. The Raiders haven’t won a playoff game since the 2002 season, when Crosby was five or six years old. Even Super Bowl-winning head coach Pete Carroll can’t seem to figure out how to turn the franchise around.
Crosby only has so many years left of being in his athletic prime. If the Raiders lose to a bad Tennessee Titans team in Week 6 at home, it’s easy to see the defensive end getting more frustrated. Las Vegas likely doesn’t make a trade unless Crosby asks for one, but those thoughts are probably starting to creep into his head.
