Dolphins special teams coordinator opens up on punting situation in Miami: ‘I’m all about competition’

The Miami Dolphins have a competition for their punter spot ahead of the 2025 season, as the team brought in former Tennessee Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse to compete with Jake Bailey.

Bailey was a Pro Bowler and All-Pro in the 2020 season while with the New England Patriots, and he’s spent the last two seasons with the Dolphins.

However, Dolphins special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman made it clear that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to making the final roster.

“My major thing is I’m all about competition,” Aukerman said. “Jake is an All-Pro punter. Ryan Stonehouse is an All-Pro punter. When an opportunity arose that Ryan was free, hey, let’s bring him down here. Nothing is guaranteed to anybody.”

Last season, Bailey appeared in all 17 games for the Dolphins. He averaged 47.1 yards per punt on 56 attempts. After attempting 53 punts in the 2023 season, Bailey saw a few more opportunities in the 2024 campaign with the Dolphins struggling at times on offense without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

As for Stonehouse, he spent the 2024 season with Tennessee and punted a whopping 73 times. He finished the season averaging 50.6 yards per punt, the lowest of his career. In his first two seasons in the NFL, Stonehouse led the league in yards per punt at 53.1 in each season.

As a rookie in the 2022 season, he also led the NFL in total punt yardage at 4,779.

For comparison, Bailey has never averaged over 50 yards per punt in a single season in his NFL career.

There’s a chance that Stonehouse could have an upper hand on Bailey in the punter competition since Aukerman previously coached him in Tennessee. However, if the special teams coordinator truly wants to see competition, Bailey should have a chance to beat out the newcomer and keep his spot in Miami.

The Dolphins finished the 2024 season with an 8-9 record, missing the playoffs for the first time under head coach Mike McDaniel.

Miami would love to bounce back in the 2025 season, especially since it has yet to break through with a playoff win in McDaniel’s tenure with the team. There’s no doubt that clean special teams play will be a factor in whether or not the Dolphins make a deep playoff run in the 2025 campaign.