A brand-new season of Dolphins football is around the corner and we're getting you ready for the start of training camp!
Over the next week we'll be looking at the entirety of the Dolphins 91-man roster and providing a cheat sheet for when the action begins at the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Linebackers
The Cast (in numerical order):
2 Bradley Chubb
3 K.J. Britt
11 Tyrel Dodson
15 Jaelan Phillips
20 Jordyn Brooks
40 Willie Gay Jr.
41 Channing Tindall
42 Grayson Murphy
44 Chop Robinson
50 Mohamed Kamara
51 Eugene Asante
53 Cameron Goode
56 Quinton Bell
57 Dequan Jackson
59 Derrick McLendon
To use a cliché, the Dolphins defense might go as far as the linebackers take them, and it's a loaded group. The last time Bradely Chubb and Jaelan Phillips were on the same field together was Black Friday 2023 when both players were dominating the New York Jets en route to a blowout victory. Phillips, unfortunately, suffered a season-ending injury that night. One month later, Bradely Chubb also suffered an injury that cost him the division championship game against Buffalo, the playoff game in Kansas City, and the entirety of the 2024 season. Just four games into 2024, Phillips suffered the same injury on Monday Night, ending another season prematurely.
The production is one thing, but the energy and leadership those players bring to the field – both as rushers and in the run game – is an intangible the Dolphins sorely missed in 2024.
"Having the most talented players be the hardest working players who you can feel their love for football every time they're on the grass, gigantically beneficial," McDaniel said of the return of Phillips and Chubb. "It's a tone setter in and of itself."
While Chubb and Phillips were down, the Dolphins were busy developing one of the most promising edge rushers in the game. Chop Robinson produced the highest pass rush win rate (21 percent) by a rookie since Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. After a slow start, Robinson broke out and finished with six sacks and enough good tape to make Outside Linebackers Coach Ryan Crow and Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver giddy at the possibilities.
Inside Linebackers Coach/Run Game Coordinator Joe Barry had a good group in 2024, but he might have a better one in 2025. There was a clear line of demarcation for Jordyn Brooks last year where he went from learning the defense to directing it. In his first season with Miami, Brooks produced 143 tackles, the third most in the last 20 years and the most since Hall of Famer Zach Thomas had 165 in 2006.
Brooks was joined by mid-season acquisition Tyrel Dodson, who wasted no time to establish himself as a play maker. Dodson was everywhere, collecting three interceptions and 36 tackles. He was the only linebacker in the 2024 season to have three interceptions and one of only six players with at least three picks from the time he joined the team in Week 11 to Week 18.
Joining Brooks and Dodson inside are two players with complementary skill sets. Willie Gay Jr. has the look of a modern-day inside backer with an electric first step, blitzing chops, and enough athletic ability to turn and run in coverage. K.J. Britt comes down from Tampa Bay to bring a hard-nosed, b-gap-to-b-gap tone setter with exceptional instincts and processing speed for the position.
Channing Tindall, Dequan Jackson, and Eugene Asante will look to carve out a role at training camp.
Back to the perimeter, Quinton Bell was one of the pleasant surprises of the 2024 season for Miami. He was a core special teamer, an early-down edge setter off the bench and flashed with the occasional pass rush. Mohamed Kamara and Grayson Murphy are making-the-leap candidates. Murphy had a terrific rookie camp before a preseason injury cost him his first season, but he has continued that tear into organized team activities 2025. Kamara was one of the most decorated pass rushers in Colorado State history but played sparingly as a rookie.
Cameron Goode and Derrick McClendon round out the depth of the room on the outside.
The Dolphins will be back on the field next week, and you can be in the stands at the Baptist Health Training Complex starting Saturday, July 26. Parking and admission are free, but tickets must be reserved. Learn more here.