Number 6 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Melvin Ingram was impactful for the Miami Dolphins while wearing number 6 but had a new number the next season

Miami Dolphins linebacker Melvin Ingram (6)runs the ball into the end zone after recovering a fumble from New England Patriots Mack Jones, during second quarter action of their NFL game Sept 11, 2022, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. / Bill Ingram / USA TODAY NETWORK

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 6.

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, and K Jason Sanders at 7.

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 6 for at least one regular season game:

P Jim Arnold (1994), K Joe Nedney (1996), P Brent Bartholomew (1999), QB Ray Lucas (2001-02), QB Pat White (2009), QB JP Losman (2011), QB Jay Cutler (2017), CB Trill Williams (2021), LB Melvin Ingram (2022)

The breakdown of 6 with the Dolphins

This is another one of those tough numbers because only one of the nine players to wear 6 in a regular season for the Dolphins did it for more than one season.

Here's the rundown:

• Jim Arnold closed out his 12-year NFL career by punting in 12 games for Miami in 1994, but he averaged a career-low 39.3 yards.

• Joe Nedney had a nice 15-year career in the NFL, but it began with him making a career-low 62.1 percent of his field goal attempts (18-of-29) in 1996. He ended his career at 80.3 percent.

• Brent Bartholomew was a sixth-round pick in 1999, but he punted in only two games for the Dolphins as a rookie because of injuries and was traded to the Bears the following April for two seventh-round picks. After one season (seven games) with Chicago, he was done in the NFL.

• Ray Lucas was the Dolphins backup quarterback for two years after signing as a free agent, and after attempting only three passes in 2001, he started six games for an injured Jay Fiedler in 2002. He went 2-4 in those starts with four touchdowns and six picks and a passer rating of 69.9.

• Pat White was drafted in the second round in 2009 with the vision he could be effective running the Wildcat, but his season ended when he took a vicious hit against Pittsburgh. He ended up with 21 carries for 81 yards and zero completions on five attempts and the Dolphins waived him the following September. Despite a few tries, he never played another game in the NFL.

• JP Losman joined the Dolphins seven years after he was a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills and completed 6 of 10 pass attempts in two games for Miami.

• Jay Cutler was brought out of the FOX broadcast booth by Adam Gase after Ryan Tannehill tore an ACL at practice in training camp and he went 6-8 in 14 starts in his only season with the Dolphins. Cutler completed 62 percent of his passes with 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and an 80.8 passer rating.

• Trill Williams appeared in one game as a rookie last year and was having a promising second training camp before he landed on IR with a knee injury.

• Guy Benjamin appeared in seven games as a backup for the Dolphins over two seasons before he was traded for New Orleans for fourth- and seventh-round choices.

• Melvin Ingram played all 17 games with three starts for the Dolphins in 2022 before he came back for a late-season stint last season with a different jersey number (9). While wearing 6, he had some good moments, including scoring the first touchdown of the 2022 on a fumble return against New England and set up a touchdown with a fumble recovery in the big Week 3 victory against the Buffalo Bills. He finished the season with six sacks.

The top three Dolphins players with number 6

1. LB Mel.vin Ingram

2. QB Jay Cutler

3. QB Ray Lucas

Dolphins 6's among the NFL's all-time best

There are eight Hall of Famers who wore mostly 7, and Ben Roethlisberger likely will make nine at some point. The most notable of the bunch would have to be John Elway. And the Dolphins don't have a top 20 candidate here.