Chris Perkins: This offseason is sink or swim for Dolphins

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FOXBORO, Mass. — The Miami Dolphins are bordering on being an absolute mess, and they’re bordering on being a playoff team. Considering this organization’s recent history, you’re inclined to think they’ll land on the former.

The difference in those two outcomes will be found in how the Dolphins, who were blasted by the New England Patriots, 38-10, in Sunday’s season finale at Gillette Stadium, handle their uncertainty this offseason. And there’s major uncertainty.

There’s uncertainty ranging from who will be the general manager in the 2026 season to who will be the quarterback. The uncertainty, to a small extent, includes who will be head coach. There’s not yet an assurance Mike McDaniel is back for a fifth season.

Chatter from the locker room is that the organization will figure this out in a positive fashion. In reality, a 7-10 record means you’re not far from being a playoff team.

That’s why players think the Dolphins’ future is fairly bright despite their record this season and their back-to-back losing seasons (the were 8-9 last season).

“They’ve got something special brewing in this building,” safety Ashtyn Davis said, “and I was lucky to be a part of this here.”

The Dolphins could return some respectable, proven talent among running back De’Von Achane, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, center Aaron Brewer, left tackle Patrick Paul, right tackle Austin Jackson, defensive tackle Zach Sieler, linebacker Jordyn Brooks and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Players also think this team was better than its losing record indicates.

“It’s a much better team than we put on tape,” offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill said.

In truth, however, the Dolphins’ future is very cloudy and very frustrating.

If you’re Dolphins owner Steve Ross (we’re told he didn’t address the team in the locker room after the game) and you really believe that the Dolphins are better than their 7-10 record indicates, that stands as the logic to making sweeping changes.

After all, McDaniel is an unimpressive 35-33 (.515) in the regular season and 35-35 (.500) including his 0-2 playoff record. That’s mediocrity. It’s the status quo. It’s exactly what Ross said wouldn’t be tolerated after last season.

Further, if you really believe the Dolphins are better than their record indicates, you have to wonder what went so wrong and how you prevent something similar from happening in next season.

As much as the players are proud of finishing 5-3 after starting 2-7, you could sense the frustration of a wasted season.

“We’ve got to find a way to stop the run in games like this,” Davis said, likely well aware that the Patriots rushed for 243 yards on 34 bruising carries.

So, yeah, they’re close to being an absolute mess.

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Brewer said “urgency” needs to become a guiding light.

“The way we’re playing mid-season, we need to start that way and finish the same way,” he said.

Bradley Chubb said the third-quarter woes — Miami was outscored, 127-30, in the third quarter this season — must be fixed.

“It’s kinda what’s been plaguing us all year, that third quarter,” he said.

Miami has also got to find a way to compete with the top teams in the league. The Dolphins finished the season 1-6 against playoff teams, and they’re now 5-26 (.161) against playoff teams in the McDaniel era.

Players will tell you this team is on the right track.

“I think we’ve got a lot of talent,” second-year wide receiver Malik Washington said.

Chubb, whose locker at Gillette Stadium was close to rookie defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, will even give you reasons that the future is bright.

“I think it looks good, man,” Chubb said of the Dolphins’ immediate future. “You got dudes like this, like that dude right here, KG (Grant).

“You’ve got people like him, Zeek (rookie defensive tackle Zeek Biggers), J-Marsh (rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr.), Trader (rookie safety Dante Trader Jr.), all these guys who played a lot of football, they’re young, and they’re going to learn from the positives and negatives of the season and be even better next year.”

It’s true that the Dolphins played lots of young talent this season, especially in the second half of the season when players such as rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers surfaced.

“When you start 1-6 and your season’s left for dead and then you breathe life back into it, for all the young guys that we’re going to be relying upon moving forward, the guys that are on their rookie contracts, it was an incredible learning experience,” McDaniel said.

“That’s probably the silver lining, the only takeaway that I can take away. Moving forward, you have the opportunity to be surrounded by guys that don’t blink in adversity. That’s a huge part of this game.”

The bigger part of the game is winning.

And if the Dolphins don’t handle their uncertainty in this offseason, they won’t be doing much winning in 2026 despite the optimism emanating from the locker room.

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