Dolphins Way Ahead of Last Year Already

The Miami Dolphins have improved in a lot of areas since this time in 2019 and one of those is in terms of roster stability

Allen Eyestone-USA Today Sports

Yes, the Miami Dolphins have come a long way in just one year.

Their 31-13 victory against Jacksonville on Thursday night not only marked the first double-digit win since 2017, the 18-point margin was greater than their final four wins of 2019 combined.

Yep, after their initial 26-18 victory against the Jets last November, the Dolphins then beat the Colts (16-12), Eagles (37-31), Bengals (38-35) and Patriots (27-24) by a combined 16 points.

Through the first three games of 2020, the Dolphins have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 70-65. That's quite a turnaround from last year's first three games when they were outscored 133-16.

But here's another area where things are so much different in 2020 than in 2019, one that's not so obvious.

Roster stability.

Quick: Name the moves the Dolphins have made involving their 53-man roster since they reached that limit on Sept. 5.

Go ahead, think about it, we'll wait.

Tae Hayes.

That's it. He's the one move the Dolphins have made, and that move involved promoting him from the practice squad to play against Jacksonville on Thursday, a move that could only be made because of a new 2020 rule brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Outside of that, zip, zilch, nada.

The Dolphins have had the same 53 players on the active roster for all three of their games, with a 54th for the game at Jacksonville.

It's truly remarkable for any year actually.

Of course, there are some factors involved, starting with some good luck when it comes to injuries. Yes, Byron Jones missed the Jaguars game with a groin injury, Elandon Roberts the Buffalo game with a concussion, and new safety Clayton Fejedelem missed all three with a pectoral injury, but there haven't been season-enders since the season began.

The one major injury the Dolphins sustained came in training camp when Vince Biegel tore an Achilles tendon.

Beyond good luck with injuries, the steady 53-man roster speaks of greater roster stability for the Dolphins.

And that was to be expected to a certain degree in the second year of a rebuilding project.

At this time last year, the Dolphins still were trying to find the right pieces to move forward not only for 2019 but also to see if any of those players could be part of the finished product.

That's why so many players came and went throughout the season.

Just check out the list of 2019 transactions from the day after the cuts to 53 through the third game of the season, the 31-6 loss at Dallas:

Sept. 2 — Signed DT John Jenkins and LS Taybor Pepper and released DT Vincent Taylor and LS John Denney

Sept. 3 — Claimed LB James Crawford off waivers from Green Bay and released LB Nate Orchard

Sept. 6 — Signed T J'Marcus Webb and placed LB Andrew Van Ginkel on injured reserve

Sept. 12 — Signed DE Tank Carradine and placed DE Jonathan Ledbetter on injured reserve

Sept. 13 — Placed T Julien Davenport on injured reserve

Sept. 14 — Signed G/T Bryan Witzmann

Sept. 17 — Traded S Minkah Fitzpatrick to Pittsburgh

Sept. 18 — Signed S Doug Middleton

Sept. 19 — Claimed DE Taco Charlton off waivers from Dallas and waived G/T Bryan Witzmann

That's eight new players brought in, four players let go (including one who had been brought in), three players placed on injured reserve, and one player traded.

The constant roster juggling wasn't the biggest factor for the Dolphins' 0-7 start in 2019, but rather a symptom.

Among the reasons for higher expectations in 2020 is a better talent base, which ultimately results in fewer roster moves (injuries excluded obviously).

In that sense, the Dolphins certainly are trending the right way.