The Miami Dolphins rolled out their top free agent signings Wednesday, making them available to reporters for the first time. The biggest Dolphins news to emerge? The Dolphins are a confident bunch and not afraid to talk Super Bowl.
And after a solid free agency building on a solid nucleus, their confidence isn’t misplaced.
Miami Dolphins News: Super Bowl Dreams
The Dolphins were among the winners of 2023 NFL free agency. And yet, they still have just the 10th-shortest Super Bowl championship odds (30-to-1) and are +375 to win the AFC East.
That seems a bit dismissive of what Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel have built. Miami’s new players certainly are aiming high.
Tight end Eric Saubert is now part of a seventh organization — meaning he’s been in more than 20% of the NFL’s locker rooms before his 29th birthday. But never before has he been part of a roster as loaded as the one he agreed to join on a one-year, $1.7 million contract.
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When asked if the Dolphins’ galaxy of stars — which includes Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey, Bradley Chubb, Jaylen Waddle, and Tua Tagovailoa — allows Saubert to think Super Bowl, he replied:
“Yeah. Absolutely. That’s got to be the goal all the time. If you’re not committed to winning the Super Bowl, you’ve got the wrong mindset. I think it gives you more confidence when you’ve got such great players around you. It allows you to play better. Whenever you’ve got a great receiver on the field, a great quarterback on the field, everyone just plays better.
“We’ve got an awesome roster getting set here, and I’m excited to see how far we can go.. The Super Bowl is the goal. If it’s not, you’re in the wrong headspace.”
Added DeShon Elliott, the safety who joined the Dolphins on a near-identical contract to that of Saubert: “How great can it get? You have the opportunity to win the division, the opportunity to win a lot of games, go to the Super Bowl, possibly.”
Miami Dolphins’ Vic Fangio Effect
A big part of the optimism in South Florida? The arrival of new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who has already put his stamp on the Dolphins’ roster. Beyond the Ramsey trade, Miami has given Fangio a familiar pass rusher (Malik Reed) and excellent depth at safety (Elliott).
Elliott said returning Dolphins safeties Brandon Jones (his college teammate and close friend) and Jevon Holland gave him a hint of what to expect with Fangio onboard.
“This is a safety-driven defense,” Elliott said he was told. “Safeties on defense can make a lot of plays.”
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Does that possibly mean playing all three at the same time?
“Vic Fangio is a very intelligent football coach, a very intelligent DC, so I’m sure he has his plans on what he wants to do with us,” Elliott said. “I knew I was gonna compete. It’s the NFL. We’re all going to compete. Nothing is given to you, nothing’s gonna be handed to you. So I came here to compete. I know what I bring to the table, and I know how hard I’ll work. So the results will show.”
Added Reed, who played for Fangio in Denver from 2019 through 2021:
“I feel like he’s really about the business and the business of winning. I feel like having success as a defense and really doing a great job on that side of the ball. I feel like with him, you’re getting a guy that works extremely hard. You see that throughout our three years together.
“The progress that I feel like we made in year one that I was there in Denver until my last year. I think we were the No. 8 scoring defense then. You just see progression each year, and I feel like that is a testament to the type of coach he is and the type of coordinator he is as well. I feel like you’re getting a great guy in him.”
DeShon Elliott Is the Ultimate Hype Man
A couple of final thoughts from Elliott, who flashed great trashing-talking potential in his Dolphins media debut.
On facing Tua, Tyreek, and Jaylen every day in practice:
“Practice is gonna be fun, but I think when I was watching the game, a lot of the things they do on tape moves fast, quick, fast. Decisions are already planned out and know where the ball’s going to know who’s gonna get the ball, and if all else fails, f— it. Tyreek Hill’s down there somewhere.”
On the Dolphins’ trading for Ramsey (and if it played a role in his decision):
“Oh, yeah. C’mon, now. That’s arguably the No. 1 corner in the NFL. I don’t want to hear anybody talking about, ‘Oh, he had a down year.’ Check the numbers. Check the tape. It was not a down year. Still an All-Pro. So regardless, I feel like, ‘Why would I not go there?’
“Playing with great players makes you great, elevates your game. It’s gonna help bring something out of me and the rest of our teammates. So why would I want to go somewhere where you can have opportunity to be great? I mean, money will come. Nobody cares about the money. Yeah, we care about the money, but winning and trying to get the best out of yourself, that should be where your head is at. I think being here’s where I can do that.”
