Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle recently commented on the narrative that the team isn’t “tough.”
“I asked him if this Dolphins team is constructed as a speed team and not a tough team,” the Palm Beach Post’s Hal Habib wrote. “I said the obvious — that it’s something you hear often enough and certainly heard it after the Dolphins failed in their Thanksgiving trip to Lambeau Field.”
Waddle revealed that he hasn’t heard that description of Miami’s team.
“I’d never heard that before,” Waddle said.
The Dolphins struggled on Thanksgiving in their loss to the Green Bay Packers, and one Dolphins insider recently called the team “soft” during the Mike McDaniel era.
“When your team can’t anchor down and muscle its way forward for 1 yard, 3 feet, to score a touchdown that could have made Thursday’s beatdown more of a game there’s evidence that your team is soft,” the Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly wrote.
“And when this continues to be a running theme for three seasons, it’s a foundational issue that touches everything, from strength and conditioning, roster construction, to coaching mindset.”
The Dolphins are currently 5-7 in the 2024 season, and they’re in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since McDaniel was named the team’s head coach.
Injuries have certainly played a factor in Miami’s underwhelming performances, as starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed four games earlier in the 2024 season due to a concussion. Miami won just one of the four games that he missed, putting it in a precarious position in the standings in the AFC.
With Tagovailoa missing time, Waddle’s numbers have also taken a hit for Miami.
This season, the former first-round pick has just 45 receptions for 601 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging 50.1 receiving yards per game, by far the lowest average of his career.
As a rookie, Waddle averaged 63.4 receiving yards per game, and he averaged over 72 receiving yards per game in each of the last two completed seasons.
Unless Waddle turns things around over the final few weeks, he won’t clear 1,000 receiving yards in the 2024 season. If that happens, it would be the first time in his NFL career that he failed to clear that mark.
Waddle and the Dolphins will look to get back on track – and remain in the hunt for a playoff spot – when they take on the New York Jets in Week 14. That game will be played in Miami, and the Dolphins are 3-3 at home in the 2024 season.
