Keeping track of the (many) Miami Dolphins exes in 2026—Week 1 was rough for just about everybody
Keeping track of the (many) Miami Dolphins exes of the 2026 NFL season.
The Miami Dolphins have a LOT of exes in new places this season. Enough to make your head spin.
Miami will see most of them again this year, too. Mike McDaniel, Jaylen Waddle, Bradley Chubb, and Minkah Fitzpatrick are all on the schedule. The team already saw Tua Tagovailoa in the preseason. The Dolphins, without all of these contributors, had a pretty rough showing in Week 1. But these exes didn’t exactly enjoy a great start to 2026, either.
Week 1 of the 2026 season was just as rough for former Miami Dolphins as it was for the current ones
Former head coach Mike McDaniel
- Currently the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers
- Lost 26-14 to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1
- Offense currently ranks 24th in points, 24th in yards offensively on the season
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa
- Currently under contract with the Atlanta Falcons
- Was named the starting quarterback for Week 1
- Injured right oblique during Thursday’s practice and missed Sunday’s start versus Pittsburgh Steelers
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill
- Continues to recover from season-ending knee injury in 2025
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle
- Traded to the Denver Broncos for a massive return in the 2026 NFL Draft
- Made Broncos debut on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs
- Posted one catch for two yards (one drop) on three targets in Week 1 (38 snaps)
EDGE defender Bradley Chubb
- Currently under contract with the Buffalo Bills
- Made Bills debut on Sunday against the Houston Texans
- Posted 4 assisted tackles and two quarterback hits on 63 defensive snaps
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick
- Traded to the New York Jets for a 7th-round draft choice
- Signed a major extension with the Jets this spring
- Played just 6 snaps due to a groin injury and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks, per reports
Life comes at you fast. For the peak of the last Miami Dolphins build, the light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t a breakthrough. It was a freight train. Now — let’s be fair. These former Dolphins have plenty of season ahead of them to flip the script. And I expect that Jaylen Waddle will in Denver. I suspect the Chargers offense has a lot brighter days ahead of it this season, too.
But for Week 1? Life was just as hard for almost every major former Miami Dolphin as it was for the franchise itself amid a reset. Kudos to Chubb, who is the big winner of the group. I suppose someone had to log a win.
Miami Dolphins News