The Dolphins have been under scrutiny for a while now. A “Little League Team” is what former NFL CB Asante Samuel Sr. called the Miami team on Say What Needs to Be Said in July. He blasted Mike McDaniel as a “pushover”, Chris Grier as having “no backbone”, and even ripped into the Jalen Ramsey trade, saying feelings fueled it, not football. His rant doesn’t just sting, it lands like a gut punch. And now, as the Dolphins head into week 2 following their loss to the Colts, another analyst has come out with a similar assessment.

On the September 10 episode of Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams, NFL legend Rob Gronkowski echoed the same sentiment. While talking about their loss against the Colts, he dived deep into the psyche and said, “Miami Dolphins, they’re terrible. And it’s been coming out of that camp for a long time, about a year in the making. I have not heard a good thing come out from Miami, about the Miami Dolphins, in about over a year, just reports about how unhappy players out are, how Mike, coach McDaniel, is losing the locker room, all that, all that type of stuff.” It showed up hard in the game.

The Colts had 418 net yards, almost double the Phins’ 211 net yards. And the AFC South team played better in both the rushing and passing departments. Also, this isn’t a new development. Back in January, after the 2024 season ended, Mike McDaniel admitted that he struggled to discipline the team, and even fining players didn’t help his cause.

Rachel Bush, wife of safety Jordan Poyer, also called the Phins out and requested the players to be more mature. But nothing has worked the way fans want it to. The offseason moves have added more turmoil to an already complicated situation. The 7-time Pro Bowler Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Steelers, which surprised almost everyone.

Now, the coach has to deal with these discipline issues with utmost authority. Otherwise, the risk of losing the playoff spot like last year looms large.

Will Mike McDaniel trade Tyreek Hill?

It was the last game of the 2024 regular season. The Phins needed a win besides requiring the Broncos to lose to secure a playoff berth, but got neither. Yet, the most dramatic moment came when veteran WR Tyreek Hill refused to play, even yelling, “I am out.” Mike McDaniel pacified the situation, claiming there wasn’t “necessarily anything to fix,” while clarifying that the WR accepted accountability. During the offseason, the receiver even tried to bond well with QB Tua Tagovailoa, who had stressed earlier that Hill needed to win the trust of the locker room.

Fast forward to September, the season has begun. But the rumor mill is churning hard to claim that Hill might not play the entire season in Miami. According to FinsXtra via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, “Miami Dolphins received calls from teams interested in trading for Tyreek Hill, but did not show interest in trading him.” But here’s the reality: Hill is 31, carries a massive $27.69 million cap hit in 2025, and the Dolphins face tough financial math. Today they’re saying no. Tomorrow? If cap pressure tightens and Mike McDaniel loses patience, the unthinkable suddenly feels possible.

Even Gronkowski claimed that Hill wanted out as he added, “You’ve been hearing about how Tyreek Hill wants to get traded out, how he’s not happy there since last year.” All in all, the situation is bleak. And Mike McDaniel and Co. better pull up their socks before they mess up another season.