DISSECTING THE DOLPHINS

Breaking down every player on the 2020 roster

ALAIN POUPART

With the 2020 season now over, we examine the contributions of every player on the season-ending roster as well as their status with the team moving forward.

Players are listed alphabetically by position and include those who finished the season on injured reserve.

QUARTERBACKS

RYAN FITZPATRICK — There’s probably not a player on the roster who had more of an emotional roller coaster of a season than Fitzpatrick, whose mother passed away in August, who was benched despite playing well, who came off the bench to engineer the biggest win of the season and finally had to end the season on the COVID-19 list. Fitzpatrick has been really good for the Dolphins, but it’s tough to envision him coming back because there’s no way to see him starting ahead of Tua Tagovailoa and Fitzpatrick wants the chance to compete.

JAKE RUDOCK — Rudock was signed to the active roster for the finale, but then was made inactive behind practice squad elevation Reid Sinnett. That was kind of strange, though it tells you where Rudock stands moving forward.

TUA TAGOVAILOA — After arriving with a lot of promise but some question marks, we’re unfortunately at the same point with Tagovailoa after his uneven rookie season. Yes, there were factors that were working against him, but that doesn’t change the fact he didn’t prove without question that he’ll become a bona fide franchise quarterback.

RUNNING BACKS

SALVON AHMED — Claimed off waivers from the 49ers, Ahmed had some good moments, particularly his 112-yard performance against New England. He’s put himself in the mix for having a role in 2021.

MATT BREIDA — The acquisition of Breida certainly didn’t work out the way the Dolphins would have hoped because he played a relatively small role all season and it’s tough to envision him wanting to re-sign as an unrestricted free agent.

MYLES GASKIN — Gaskin took a major step forward in his second season and proved himself a steady running back. While he clearly should have a role on offense moving forward, he might not be the dynamic playmaker the team would want at this position.

PATRICK LAIRD — In his second year, Laird was relegated mostly to special teams with a few offensive snaps thrown in. Because of his versatility, he could stick around a while in a supporting role.

DeANDRE WASHINGTON — Washington never made much of an impact after arriving in a trade with Kansas City and it’s probably less than 50-50 he’ll be re-signed as an unrestricted free agent.

WIDE RECEIVERS

LYNN BOWDEN JR. —The acquisition of the Raiders 2020 third-round pick still looks really good after Bowden showed promise in an all-purpose role.

ISAIAH FORD — Ford is another player who had a roller-coaster type season, on and off the practice squad, off to New England and back, capped by a rough outing at Buffalo in the finale.

JAKEEM GRANT — Despite his public declarations of wanting to be known as a receiver first, Grant again did his best work as a returner (mostly punts because the kickoff rules made him almost irrelevant from that aspect). Grant’s speed still makes him an asset on offense, but he didn’t come through when given the chance at extended playing time.

MACK HOLLINS — Hollins, who will be an unrestricted free agent come March, is a valuable special teams player with inconsistent production at wide receiver.

ALLEN HURNS — The former University of Miami standout likely will find himself fighting for a roster spot in 2021 after opting out.

DeVANTE PARKER — This was a really disappointing season for Parker, who again dealt with injuries and simply wasn’t able to duplicate his 2019 breakout campaign.

MALCOLM PERRY — The rookie seventh-round pick from Navy played a back seat to fellow rookie Bowden and will need to take a step forward to earn a role in 2021.

PRESTON WILLIAMS — Things continued to go downhill for Williams, who came back from his November 2019 torn ACL but was mostly ineffective before sustaining what became a season-ending foot injury at Arizona.

ALBERT WILSON — After agreeing to a contract restructure (translation: pay cut), Wilson decided to opt out but he’s somebody whose ability to produce from the slot could make him a valuable asset next season.