Jordan Poyer recently said that Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel responded to his text message — which he sent after agreeing to terms on a contract with the team — practically instantly.
Poyer sent the text at around 6 a.m.
“As soon as I hit send — I don’t even think he had a chance to read my text,” Poyer said. “I sent him a long text and I don’t think he had a chance to read it. My phone started buzzing and it was him. I picked up the phone and we talked for a good 30 minutes. His energy is unmatched.
“You see it on the field when you cross [paths]. It’s just him, man. He’s a great dude and a great coach. I have a lot of respect for him.”
The 32-year-old has played for three teams — the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles — since getting drafted with the No. 218 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.
He spent the last seven seasons of his NFL career with the Bills after suiting up for the Eagles and Browns during his first four seasons in the pros.
Poyer put up great defensive numbers in the 2023 regular season as a member of the Bills franchise. He played in all but one of the team’s 17 regular-season games and racked up 100 combined tackles, 66 solo tackles, 34 assists on tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.
His contributions on the defensive side of the ball played a part in the Bills being one of the better defensive teams in the league. They allowed the fourth-fewest points per game of any team in the NFL with 18.3, behind only the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.
The Bills also clinched the AFC East division — a division the Dolphins are also in — with an 11-6 record. Miami finished with the exact same record as Buffalo, but the Bills won both matchups between the two squads in the regular season.
Poyer and the Bills won their first playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers by a final score of 31-17 on Jan. 15. But they then fell to the Chiefs — who won the Super Bowl — by just three points on Jan. 21, which marked the end of their season.
If Poyer is able to come close to replicating his stats from the 2023 regular season in his first season with the Dolphins in the 2024 regular season, Miami fans should be thrilled with the acquisition. After all, he starred on the defensive end in his last season with Buffalo, which indicates that he still has plenty of productive football left in the tank despite being older than 30.
