Number 5 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now five days away from the start of the NFL regular season, so we honor the best players who have worn that number for the Miami Dolphins

Derick E. Hingle-USA Today Sports

The countdown to the start of the 2022 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.

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.

The top players at each number so far have been:

99. DE/LB Jason Taylor; 98. DL Jared Odrick; 97. DT Jordan Phillips; 96. DT Paul Soliai; 95. DT Tim Bowens; 94. DT Randy Starks; 93. DE Trace Armstrong; 92. LS John Denney; 91. DE/LB Cameron Wake; 90. DE/LB Marco Coleman

89. WR Nat Moore; 88. TE Keith Jackson; 87. TE Andre Tillman; 86. WR Oronde Gadsden; 85. LB Nick Buoniconti; 84. DE Bill Stanfill; 83. WR Mark Clayton; 82. WR Brian Hartline; 81. WR O.J. McDuffie; 80. WR Irving Fryar

79. T Jon Giesler; 78. T Richmond Webb; 77. DE/LB A.J. Duhe; 76. T Branden Albert; 75. DT Manny Fernandez; 74. T Mark Dennis; 73. DT Bob Baumhower; 72. DT Bob Heinz; 71. T Todd Wade; 70. DE Kendall Langford

69. G Keith Sims; 68. T Eric Laakso; 67. G/T Bob Kuechenberg; 66. G Larry Little; 65. OL Jeff Dellenbach; 64. G Ed Newman; 63. G/T Mark Dixon; 62. C Jim Langer; 61. C Tim Ruddy; 60. G Bert Weidner

59. LB Doug Swift; 58. DE-LB Kim Bokamper; 57. C Dwight Stephenson; 56. LB John Offerdahl; 55. Earnie Rhone; 54. Zach Thomas; 53. LB Bob Matheson; 52. LB Channing Crowder; 51. LB Bryan Cox; 50. LB Larry Gordon

49. CB William Judson; 48. CB Gerald Small; 47. S Glenn Blackwood; 46. S Don Bessillieu; 45. CB Curtis Johnson; 44. CB Paul Lankford; 43. S Bud Brown; 42. WR Paul Warfield; 41. FB Keith Byars; 40. S Dick Anderson

39. FB Larry Csonka; 38. DB Calvin Jackson; 37. CB J.B. Brown; 36. FB Don Nottingham; 35. DB Walt Aikens; 34. RB Ricky Williams; 33. RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar; 32. RB Kenyan Drake; 31. S Brock Marion; 30. RB Bernie Parmalee

29. CB Sam Madison; 28. CB Don McNeal; 27. CB Terrell Buckley; 26. S Jarvis Williams; 25. CB Xavien Howard; 24. RB Delvin Williams; 23. Patrick Surtain; 22. RB Tony Nathan; 21. RB Jim Kiick; 20. S Reshad Jones

19. WR-KR Ted Ginn Jr.; 18. WR Rishard Matthews; 17. QB Ryan Tannehill; 16. QB David Woodley; 15. WR Davone Bess; 14. WR Jarvis Landry; 13. QB Dan Marino; 12. QB Bob Griese; 11. WR-RB-TE Jim Jensen; 10. K Olindo Mare

9. QB Jay Fiedler; 8. QB Matt Moore; 7. K Jason Sanders; 6. QB Jay Cutler

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)

The breakdown of 5 with the Dolphins

Nine players have worn number 5 for the Dolphins, and half of them did it for more than one season. Here's the rundown of the eight:

• 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.

The top three Dolphins players with number 5

1. K Dan Carpenter

2. K Uwe von Schamann

3. P Donnie Jones

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @PoupartNFL.