FLSportsDesk · The Dolphins Journal

What the desk said. Dated.

Every call on the record. The words do not change after publication.

Wednesday, September 23, 2026First edition · The read holds. Confidence 87/100.

What changed

Miami slid from 0-1 to 0-2 with the 35-13 loss at Levi's Stadium, adding a second verified result to the file. Active space sits at $8,079,655 with nine on injured reserve or out, and kicker tryouts plus injury updates entered as single-source notes. Confidence holds because the second loss confirmed basement pricing instead of challenging it.

Why it matters

0-2 and outscored 26-62 after 13-27 at Las Vegas and 13-35 at San Francisco, the Miami Dolphins are a bottom-tier rebuild with no cover story. Head coach Jeff Hafley is sorting youth around quarterback Malik Willis and running back De'Von Achane, with a ceiling near four wins, the top pick in play and September already setting the terms.

What to watch

Watch the Sep 27 home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium. Willis completion rate and yards per attempt, Achane workload and yards per carry, plus any official lineup change, show whether the youth sort stays honest or slides toward draft order and could move the verdict.

What would change our mind

Efficient passing from Willis across multiple regular season games, paired with clear improvement from at least two last place units, would force a higher grade. One road upset alone would not.

The counterevidence

Protection and coverage collapse sets the hard ceiling and ties directly to the rebuild verdict. Miami allowed nine sacks while making zero, allowed 78.8 percent completions and allowed touchdowns on
Late down offense stalls without separation. Miami converted 9 of 25 on third down with a 20 percent red zone touchdown rate, leaving Willis with no proven outlet when the field shrinks.
Nine players sit on injured reserve or out with no verified timetables, and lineup change talk is single-source reporting from Dolphin Nation. Any replacement rotation is unresolved and points to more

Evidence on record: 51 linked sources. Content id dolphins-journal-20260923-e1.

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