The early sledding has been tough for the Miami Dolphins. On both sides of the football, Miami has too often looked too young and rough around the edges. It serves as a frustrating piece of an ugly puzzle through four games. But it also serves as a sobering reminder that “going young” in the NFL always sounds great, but the application can be hard.

The Dolphins were the second-oldest roster in 2024. Names like Jalen Ramsey (trade), Terron Armstead (retirement), Calais Campbell (free agency), and Jordan Poyer (no comment) all left this offseason. They were high-volume players in the later chapters of their careers.

Now, Miami’s average age of the roster is a half a year younger, and it would be even younger still if not for some injuries. Of the team’s collection of players 30 years old or older on the active roster this week (10), six of them signed at the start of training camp or later. One additional player, Darren Waller, was acquired in July via trade after un-retiring. Another is a long snapper. Just two of the 10, Matthew Judon and Zach Sieler, are making more than $2 million this season.

This is a young team at its core. And the Dolphins have played like it. The silver lining, if you’re into that sort of thing, is there have been several programs in recent NFL history who have endured similar transitions and similar early struggles — only to go on and finish with winning seasons.

That’s a script the Dolphins will now hope to replicate. And for head coach Mike McDaniel, advice for how to go about it may only be a phone call (or two) away.

3 recent NFL youth movements that survived slow starts that should inspire the Dolphins

The 2021 Philadelphia Eagles

The 2021 Philadelphia Eagles aren’t a one-for-one example with Miami because they were making changes at quarterback and head coach — that’s obviously not a world that Miami is living in this season. But they transitioned away from QB Carson Wentz and put their eggs fully into the basket of a young Jalen Hurts, entering 2021 with the second-youngest roster in football.

The early results were not great. Philly started 1-3 and 2-5. But the schedule offered some mercy midway through and a defense that had allowed 41, 42, 28, and 33 points in four losses before Halloween suddenly allowed 6, 13, 13, 18, 17, 10, and 16 points in seven of its last 10 games.

Philadelphia went from 2-5 to 9-8 and a playoff berth that season.

The 2023 Green Bay Packers

Green Bay, like Philadelphia, made a quarterback change for its big youth movement. Miami this year obviously did not. It moved on from WR Davante Adams a year prior and then transitioned away for Aaron Rodgers after an 8-9 campaign in 2022 — setting the stage for them to go from being middle of the pack in average roster age the year before to the youngest roster in football in 2023.

With all that youth, the Packers started 2-5 and 3-6 under the direction of an established coach in Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love. It marked a frustrating stretch for LaFleur, who went 39-10 in the regular season, plus two playoff wins, in his first three seasons. But an 8-9 finish in Rodgers’ last year and a 3-6 start had the Packers enduring an 11-15 stretch.

Love would go on to catch fire, and the Packers finished 6-2 to earn a winning season and a playoff berth, which they paid off by defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card round before narrowly losing to the eventual NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.

The 2023 Los Angeles Rams

The Rams’ transition, from a football operations standpoint, is a youth movement that’s most similar to Miami’s. General manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay stayed in place. So, too, did quarterback Matthew Stafford. But the Rams saw a massive exodus of talent in the year and a half after their Super Bowl win over the Bengals.

Players who were on that Super Bowl roster and off the roster by the start of the 2023 season?

• WR Odell Beckham Jr.
• WR Robert Woods
• OT Andrew Whitworth
• OG David Edwards
• OG Austin Corbett
• DL A’Shawn Robinson
• DL Aaron Donald
• DL Greg Gaines
• CB Jalen Ramsey
• EDGE Von Miller
• EDGE Leonard Floyd
• SAF Taylor Rapp

After a 5-12 injury-riddled disaster in 2022, the Rams fully leaned into the youth. And despite McVay and Stafford, the early results were not great. A 3-6 start, to be exact.

But the Rams got hot after their mid-season bye and ultimately won 10 games, finishing 7-1 and earning a playoff berth. They lost to the Detroit Lions by just one point in the Wild Card Round.

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