‘I don’t necessarily believe in moral victories’—One of the Miami Dolphins’ young, rising stars ready to get back to work after 15-10 loss to Minnesota
Few Miami Dolphins players are playing better than rookie LB Jacob Rodriguez. And he’s not finding much comfort in the Dolphins’ near miss on Sunday.
Quick! Name the five players on the 2026 Miami Dolphins who are playing their best football of the season through the first four weeks!
If you didn’t name rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, I regret to inform you that your list is wrong. Rodriguez has been excellent this season. And, in the process, Rodriguez was also at the center of a much-improved defensive effort for Miami over the course of the past two weeks. The Dolphins fell to 0-4 on Sunday with a 15-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings; a far cry from the defensive showing of the first to weeks of the season. But when asked, Rodriguez showed exactly why he’s the kind of player this new regime fell in love with.
Miami Dolphins rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez ready to get ‘right back to work’
“I don’t necessarily believe in moral victories. I think the physicality and the ‘want to’ is all there. That’s all you can ask for. We’ve just got to clean up the football. And to be in the mix in the fourth quarter, the last drive. Hell, we’re right there to win the game. We just got to learn how to win. You know, we got to learn how to finish. We got to learn how to win and as frustrating as it is, we got to get right back to work on Wednesday.”
— Miami Dolphins rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez
I can tell you this. If you’ve got questions about this rookie class, you’re more than welcome to. Just waive your worries as it relates to Jacob Rodriguez. What he’s doing as the green-dot defender in Miami is nothing short of sensational right now. And his perspective here? It’s hungry. Good! It should be.
Rodriguez showing why he’s the new regime’s hand-picked ‘flag-bearer’
Miami is getting close to the breakthrough they’re looking for. To rest on the laurels of playing well defensively in a tough environment would be a poor look. Rodriguez is not. He readily acknowledged after the game that there were plays to be made. The kind that could have flipped the game. Not on offense. Not on special teams. (Although, to be fair, they were there in both of those phases, too.)
But on defense. That’s accountability. Leadership. And exactly why Rodriguez is a player that the Dolphins tabbed as a ‘flag-bearer’ for the culture they’re pursuing in South Florida. As a fan, you’re probably not feeling the waves of moral victories that have littered the first four weeks of this season. Apparently neither is Rodriguez. He’s just hours removed from Miami’s fourth loss of the year and already thinking about getting back on the field on Wednesday.
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