Number 5 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Where does Jalen Ramsey rank after only one season in Miami?

Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) celebrates after his interception against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The countdown to the start of the 2024 regular season has begun now that we're under 100 days away, so we'll honor every day the best players to wear the corresponding number for the Dolphins.

Today, we're at number 5.

The top players at each number so far have been DE Jason Taylor at 99, DT Jared Odrick at 98, DE Phillip Merling at 97, DT Paul Soliai at 96, DT Tim Bowens at 95, DT Randy Starks at 94,  DE Trace Armstrong at 93, LS John Denney at 92, DE Cameron Wake at 91, DE/OLB Marco Coleman at 90,  WR Nat Moore at 89, TE Keith Jackson at 88, TE Andre Tillman at 87, WR Oronde Gadsden at 86, LB Nick Buoniconti at 85, DE Bill Stanfill at 84, WR Mark Clayton at 83, WR Brian Hartline at 82, WR O.J. McDuffie at 81, WR Irving Fryar at 80, T Jon Giesler at 79, T Richmond Webb at 78, LB A.J. Duhe at 77, T Branden Albert at 76, DT Manny Fernandez at 75, T Mark Dennis at 74, NT Bob Baumhower at 73, T Terron Armstead at 72, T Todd Wade at 71, DE Kendall Langford at 70, G Keith Sims at 69, G Robert Hunt at 68, G Bob Kuechenberg at 67, G Larry Little at 66, OL Jeff Dellenbach at 65, G Ed Newman at 64, G Mark Dixon at 63, C Jim Langer at 62, C Tim Ruddy at 61, G Bert Weidner at 60, LB Doug Swift at 59, LB Kim Bokamper at 58, C Dwight Stephenson at 57, LB John Offerdahl at 56, LB Earnest Rhone at 55, LB Zach Thomas at 54, LB Bob Matheson at 53, LB Channing Crowder at 52, LB Bryan Cox at 51, LB Larry Gordon at 50, CB William Judson at 49, CB Gerald Small at 48, S Glenn Blackwood at 47, S Don Bessilieu at 46, CB Curtis Johnson at 45, CB Paul Lankford at 44, LB Andrew Van Ginkel at 43, WR Paul Warfield at 42, FB. Keith Byars at 41, S Dick Anderson at 40, FB Larry Csonka at 39, CB Calvin Jackson at 38, CB J.B. Brown at 37, FB Don Nottingham at 36, DB Walt Aikens at 35, RB Ricky Williams at 34, RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar at 33, RB Kenyan Drake at 32, and S Brock Marion at 31, RB Ron Davenport at 30, CB Sam Madison at 29, CB Don McNeal at 28, CB Terrell Buckley at 27, S Jarvis Williams at 26, CB Xavien Howard at 25, RB Delvin Williams at 24, CB Patrick Surtain at 23, RB Tony Nathan at 22, RB Jim Kiick at 21, S Reshad Jones at 20, WR/KR Ted Ginn Jr., WR Rishard Matthews at 18, WR Jaylen Waddle at 17, QB David Woodley at 16, WR Davone Bess at 15, and WR Jarvis Landry at 14, QB Dan Marino at 13, QB Bob Griese at 12, QB/RB/TE Jim Jensen at 11, WR Tyreek Hill at 10, QB Jay Fiedler at 9, S Jevon Holland at 8, K Jason Sanders at 7 and LB Melvin Ingram at 6.

As a reminder about the ground rules, the top three will be determined only by what the players did while wearing that uniform for the Dolphins.

Players who wore 5 for at least one regular season game:

K Booth Lusteg (1967), QB John Stofa (1969-70), K Uwe von Schamann (1979-84), P Jeff Hayes (1987), P Kyle Richardson (1997), K Matt Bryant (2004), P Donnie Jones (2005-06), K Dan Carpenter (2008-12), P Michael Palardy (2021), QB Teddy Bridgewater (2022), CB Jalen Ramsey (2023)

The breakdown of 5 with the Dolphins

Eleven players have worn number 5 for the Dolphins, but only four of them did it for more than one season. Booth Lusteg kicked in eight games in 1967 and made 7 of 12 field goal attempts, with a long of 48 yards. John Stofa, who holds the distinction of being the only player the Dolphins have acquired in a trade TWICE, wore 5 in his second two-year stint in Miami. In that second stint, he appeared in nine games as a backup and completed 30 of 76 passes for 386 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Uwe von Schamann was the Dolphins kicker for six full seasons after being a seventh-round pick in 1979. He converted 67.8 percent of his field goal attempts in those 89 games, making 101 of 149 attempts. He was only 4-for-15 from 50 yards or beyond. Jeff Hayes punted for the Dolphins in the first game before the strike replacement games of 1987 and in the first game after. The former Washington and Cincinnati punter averaged 39.1 yards in those two games for Miami. Kyle Richardson was the Dolphins punter for the first three games of the 1997 season after making the team as a rookie free agent, but he was waived after three games after averaging 43.6 yards. Richardson went on appear in 112 NFL games over eight seasons. Matt Bryant played three games for the Dolphins in 2004 as an injury replacement and made all seven of his field goal attempts during that time. He has followed his stint in Miami with four seasons with Tampa Bay and 11 with the Atlanta Falcons before he was released last October at the age of 44. Donnie Jones joined the Dolphins in 2005, one year after he had been a seventh-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks, and he put up averages of 43.5 and 42.8 yards in his two seasons as Dolphins punter. Dan Carpenter joined the Dolphins as a rookie free agent in 2008 and ended up making 81.9 percent of his field goal attempts in five seasons in Miami. He made the Pro Bowl in 2009 when he made 25 of 28 attempts, including hitting a game-winning field goal in a 22-21 victory against the New England Patriots. He set a franchise record for longest field goal with a 60-yard kick in 2010. Michael Palardy averaged 44.7 yards per punt after arriving as a free agent in 2021, though he did earn AFC Special Teams Player of the Week one time. Teddy Bridgewater served as the backup to Tua Tagovailoa in 2022 and appeared in five games, but he never once was able to start and fnish a game. One of his starts actually ended after only one play. Jalen Ramsey was selected to the Pro Bowl despite missing the first seven games of the season because of a training camp knee injury.

The top three Dolphins players with number 5

1. K Dan Carpenter

2. CB Jalen Ramsey

3. K Uwe von Schamann

Dolphins 5's among the NFL's all-time best

Morten Andersen, Paul Hornung and George McAfee are the three Hall of Famers who wore mostly 5 in the NFL. Ramsey could be on track to become a Hall of Famer, but he wore 20 for most of his career. Bridgewater actually ranks in the top 10 on Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value chart for post-1960s player, but that's because of his work in Minnesota, New Orleans, Carolina and Denver before he joined the Dolphins.