The Dolphins signed former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson to a one-year deal last month to be Tua Tagovailoa’s backup in 2025.
At the annual league meeting in Palm Beach this week, head coach Mike McDaniel called Wilson “a direct, calculated target.”
“To be quite frank, it’s an inexact science, but we thought he was the best option for us,” McDaniel said, via transcript from the team. “We thought that was a way that the Miami Dolphins could get better and are excited to see how he seizes that opportunity.”
Wilson, 25, spent last season with the Broncos after appearing in 34 games with 33 starts over his first three seasons with the Jets. Wilson hasn’t seen much success in the league yet, but McDaniel noted he’s seen the potential with Wilson since studying him when the quarterback was entering the league.
“I watched every snap of his collegiate play, and he was a phenomenal talent that in my opinion didn’t have reps in an NFL pocket yet,” McDaniel said. “Like at BYU he was launching it from about 10 and 11 yards deep and you’re not in the phone booth, and so my estimation, there was going to be some nuanced growth to his game that I think it is close to impossible to excel that early in that new form of football that he was playing.”
McDaniel also praised Wilson’s resolve after beginning his career the way he did in such a high-profile place like New York.
“What I see in Zach is the experience of being the second pick in the draft, being the starter Week 1, and then not fulfilling the rookie contract — that is behind him,” McDaniel said. “So to me, that’s an exciting prospect because you can’t put a measurement on that human ability that is huge at the quarterback position.
“Not comparing the players at all — on the record, not comparing the players — Tua [Tagovailoa] found that this environment helped him through that process. As coaches, we want to offer literally everything to his game and I’m excited about where he’s at based upon him.”
Wilson did not appear in a game for the Broncos in 2024. He’s completed 57 percent of his career passes for 6,293 yards with 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers has lined up another pre-draft visit.
John Hendrix of Athlon Sports reports that Ewers will visit the Saints. Last week brought word of visits with the Colts, Raiders, and Cowboys. Ewers’s visit with the Saints is expected to take place in mid-April.
Saints head coach Kellen Moore called himself “a quarterback guy” when speaking to reporters about adding one in the draft at the league meetings this week. Derek Carr is set to return as the starter in New Orleans while Spencer Rattler is back in a reserve role.
Ewers was 293-of-445 for 3,472 yards with 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions during his final season at Texas.
Edge rusher Calais Campbell is one of the few free agents remaining among PFT’s top-100 free agents. He is 84th on the list.
It is not for a lack of interest.
Campbell, who turns 39 on Sept. 1, has offers from the Dolphins and Ravens, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports, but retirement is not off the table.
“Calais, specifically, is in a unique situation where he’s assessing multiple options as a player in the 45th year of his career,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said, via Jackson.
Campbell has played 17 seasons, and he started all 17 games for the Dolphins last season. He totaled 52 tackles, five sacks and 12 quarterback hits in 2024, and he now has 110.5 sacks in his career.
“There’s a lot in play in that, in regard to, your play is high, you’re excited to play another year,” McDaniel said. “He’s assessing those options, and he was a very important player to the team last year. I see him having the opportunity to be a very important player on the team this year.”
Tyreek Hill replied “lol another false narrative” Monday after a tweet indicated the wide receiver would be “OK if the Dolphins traded him to a playoff contender.”
Alas, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Hill isn’t going anywhere.
“I can certainly say with certainty that at this certain moment [Hill won’t be traded],” McDaniel said from the NFL’s annual meetings, via Isaiah Smalls of the Miami Herald. “We are fully planning to move forward for a better version of our relationship with Tyreek.”
Hill pulled himself out of the season-ending loss to the Jets when it became clear the Dolphins weren’t going to win. After the game, Hill said, “I’m out,” suggesting a trade request was coming.
A month later, after the dust had settled, Hill said he was speaking out of frustration and wanted to remain in Miami. The Dolphins apparently still want Hill, but with some changes, after meeting with the star player this offseason.
“I know what has been put on display during the regular season when we had a fully attacking Tyreek Hill in the offseason – being the pace car for all the sprints, all those things – and I full expect to get a better version of that horse that is the reason that he was voted captain,” McDaniel said. “That’s the been the biggest thing: There’s been a lot of work that we don’t publicize.”
Hill, 31, didn’t top 1,000 yards for the first time since 2019, and he failed to make the Pro Bowl for the first time in his nine-year career. Hill finished 2024 with 81 receptions for 959 yards and six touchdowns.
The Dolphins missed the playoffs in 2024 for the first time since head coach Mike McDaniel joined the team and that’s led to some conversation about his job security heading into his fourth season in Miami.
During a session with reporters from the league meetings in Palm Beach on Monday, McDaniel was asked about those discussions and said he is not altering his approach to the job because of any perceived uptick in scrutiny due to the team’s performance in 2024.
“If we won two more games does that make me a different coach?” McDaniel said, via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. “I think it’s important for me to do my job the right way. That I never look at any sort of entitlement. . . . Every year, to me, if you’re not feeling heat on the seat, you have the wrong urgency. It should be that way every year. This is not my gift. It’s an incredible responsibility that I only sign up for because I believe I’m the best person suited for.”
McDaniel called coaching security “the fastest changing world in sports” while noting that Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was on a very hot seat at this time last year. That came after Sirianni had already taken the Eagles to a Super Bowl and McDaniel might need at least a playoff win in order to be back for Year Five.
