MIAMI GARDENS — In light of everything that’s happened to the Dolphins in the past week or so — getting blasted by Baltimore, 28-6, on Thursday, parting ways with general manager Chris Grier on Friday, trading edge rusher Jaelan Phillips to Philadelphia on Tuesday, and a report that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa could be benched this season — you wonder whether players will be motivated to defeat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
You also wonder whether Dolphins players will be motivated to win for the rest of the season.
In other words, considering the team’s 2-7 record, jettisoning their general manager and trading away one of their core players, have Dolphins players quit?
My thought is that Dolphins players definitely want to win, that they haven’t quit. But after talking with players in the locker room over the past few days I was uncertain on what’s motivating them. So I asked.
Is their interest in winning so that the team rises in the standings, or is their interest in winning so that they put good stuff on film to get another job?
Do they think that the organization wants to win, or do they think the organization wants the highest possible draft pick?
These are some of the big questions surrounding the Dolphins as they prepare to play the Bills and their other seven opponents.
Safety Ashtyn Davis had an enlightened point of view on the entire situation, and I’d like to think that his perspective is the one that permeates throughout the locker room.
“I still love the game regardless of whatever circumstance we’re in,” Davis said.
Davis said he’s not concerned with any of that other stuff.
“I’m going to try to win football games,” he said. “So that’s all noise. You could flip the script, and if we were 7-2 there would be a different kind of noise.”
He’s right. And frankly, I’m not sure the source of the players’ motivation matters at this point. What matters most is that players have a reason, whether it’s selfish or selfless, to do their best.
Still, when an executive is dismissed and a key player is traded, questions arise about whether the organization wants to win and whether players will quit on their coach.
Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver confronted the situation head-on.
“Certainly you address the elephant in the room,” he said.
Weaver basically told his players that this situation could go one of two ways — good or bad — and they must do their best to make sure it goes good.
“My message was very clear,” Weaver began. “It’s like, ‘This is the NFL, right? There’s a reason my name tag (on the nameplate above his locker) slides out, right? It’s not there permanently. So nobody cares, just work hard.’ ”
Offensive coordinator Frank Smith also addressed the topic with his players.
“I think most guys understand,” Smith said about the trade deadline and other swirling issues, “and I think in the course of a week you always want to have communication with your players not just only about club business, but just life, making sure that everyone’s in the right mental place each week and just connecting because everyone has lives outside of the building that I think kind of falls into general conversation.”
Edge rusher Bradley Chubb, who was traded to the Dolphins from Denver at the trade deadline in 2022, discussed his future with interim general manager Champ Kelly on Tuesday while trade rumors were swirling.
“Me and Champ talked,” Chubb said. “(We’ll) keep our conversation our conversation, but he was upfront and forward with everything throughout the whole process, so I appreciate it.”
On the other hand, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, whose name was mentioned in trade rumors, albeit from the standpoint that the Dolphins wanted a high price to move on from him, said he wasn’t worried about trade speculation.
My research tells me that Dolphins players haven’t quit. I’m not sure their devotion to the organization is the same as it was, say, 10 or 15 weeks ago. But these guys are professionals. This is what they do. It’s their job, and they take it seriously. They love playing for each other, and they love playing football.
“I think that if you need motivation beyond that, then I don’t know if you should be in this league,” Davis said.
“The circumstance is what it is, but at the end of the day, when you’re in between the lines you’ve got to strap up and do your job. I think discipline is more important than motivation.”
