Number 9 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now nine 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

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 9.

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. QB Earl Morrall; 14. WR Jarvis Landry; 13. QB Dan Marino; 12. QB Bob Griese; 11. WR-RB-TE Jim Jensen; 10. K Olindo Mare

Players who wore 9 for at least one regular season game:

QB Scott Secules (1989-92), QB Jay Fiedler (2000-04), QB John Beck (2007-08), K Nate Kaeding (2012), K Caleb Sturgis (2013-14), QB David Fales (2017), CB Noah Igbinoghene (2021)

The breakdown of 9 with the Dolphins

As we start with single-digit numbers, the options are very limited at 9 because only seven players have worn that number in a regular season game.

• Scott Secules was the backup to Dan Marino for three seasons, but he never got the chance to start a game and attempted only 70 passes in those three years. He did get to start four games for New England in 1993, but went 0-4 in those games.

• Jay Fiedler has the distinction of being the quarterback who immediately followed Marino as the Dolphins starter after he arrived as an unrestricted free agent from Jacksonville. Fiedler had a very solid 36-23 record as a starter in his five seasons with Miami, and he was the quarterback for the team's last playoff win, the 23-17 overtime thriller against the Colts in the 2000 season. It also should be noted that Fiedler was 35-17 until the disaster that was the 2004 season. While he may not have been an elite quarterback, he's the one who had the most success of the post-Marino quarterbacks. Fiedler also had an iconic moment with his game-winning touchdown run in the final seconds of an 18-15 victory against the Raiders on the NFL's first weekend back in action after the events of 9/11.

• John Beck was part of a forgettable run of second-round picks wasted on quarterbacks that began with trading the 2005 pick for A.J. Feeley, trading the 2006 pick for Daunte Culpepper, taking Beck in 2007, taking Chad Henne in 2008 and taking Pat White in 2009. Beck's Dolphins career consisted of five games in 2007 and four starts, all of which he lost. His only other NFL action came in 2011 with Washington.

• Nate Kaeding came to the Dolphins in 2012 after spending eight-plus seasons with the Chargers and was 1-for-3 on field goal attempts (all between 40-49 yards) in two games for Miami.

• Caleb Sturgis was one of those rare kickers who gets drafted, and the Dolphins took him in the fifth round in 2013 no less. But while he showed a strong leg, Sturgis made only 77.5 percent of his field goal attempts in his first two seasons (a poor percentage these days) and he lost a training camp competition to rookie free agent Andrew Franks in 2015. Sturgis did go on to have two good seasons with the Eagles but hasn't kicked in the NFL since 2018.

• David Fales was an Adam Gase favorite who followed him from Chicago to Miami and then rejoined him with the Jets. Fales' Dolphins career consisted of two games as a backup, though he played most of the 2017 season finale after Jay Cutler got the first snaps. Fales was 29-for-42 for 265 with one touchdown and one pick in a 22-16 loss against Bufalo.

• Noah Igbinoghene wore 9 last season after donning 23 as a rookie in 2020, but he didn't get many more chances to show what he could do.

The top three Dolphins players with number 9

1. QB Jay Fiedler

2. K Caleb Sturgis

3. QB Scott Secules

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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.