‘We’re not trying to be the soft and pretty Miami Dolphins’ — One young talent says what every fan wants to hear
One of the Miami Dolphins’ young talents says the mentality in the building matches the hopes of the fanbase.
We’ve been hearing plenty about the Miami Dolphins‘ “culture” for more than a year now. The focus last summer was whether or not the franchise could flip the script under former head coach Mike McDaniel.
And while Miami did find some extra offensive grit with their running game approach, it ultimately proved to be too little, too late. Now, we’re hearing even more about the culture in South Florida — with a new regime laying the foundation for their own standard in 2026. How it ultimately catches on is, obviously, to be determined. But at least one Dolphins defender is willing to say what we’re all hoping.
“We’re not trying to be the soft and pretty Miami Dolphins anymore”
“You could just tell from the character that (team leadership) brought in and…that they want to change the culture, the outlook. (Coach) Hafley will say it too, ‘we’re not trying to be the soft and pretty Miami Dolphins anymore.’ We’re trying to change turn that page and change the culture.”
— Miami Dolphins safety Dante Trader Jr. on ‘Drive Time with Travis Wingfield’
This is where your hopes for a surprise season in 2026 lie. The Dolphins certainly don’t have the same established talent by name on their roster this offseason as compared to the past several seasons. But if the team locks into a grittier, more resilient approach to their games, they can absolutely put themselves in position to compete in a lot of games.
The 2022-2025 Miami Dolphins often won pretty. Pristine timing, explosive plays, plenty of points. The 12-round fight games were the ones that, too often, got away in the end. Or, at times, in the early chapters of the game, too. Ugly wins count all the same as pretty ones. I’d assume every Miami Dolphins fan would sacrifice some style points for more wins overall. Hopefully that trade-off starts in 2026.
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