If there was ever any doubt that the Miami Dolphins would be one of the worst teams in football this season, Sunday's result should serve as a true indication of where this franchise is headed in the next few months.
Following the team's 59-10 loss at home to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, several Dolphins players reportedly began scrambling to find a way off the team. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio writes, "Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, multiple Dolphins players contacted their agents after Sunday’s season-opening blowout loss and directed them to attempt to engineer trades elsewhere."
Florio notes that those Dolphins players are convinced that the organization is truly embracing the "Tank for Tua" mantra, and that they aren't really interested in winning games this season. Rather, like we've seen in the NBA over the last few years, Miami is actually hoping to finish at the bottom of the standings so that they can secure the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. So far, they're doing just that.
Although we're only one game into the season, the Dolphins are already the front-runner to land the #1 overall pick, which is expected to be Alabama's quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Prior to the start of the season, Miami traded away tackle Laremy Tunsil, as well as wide receiver Kenny Stills, for a number of future draft picks including the Houston Texans' first round selections in each of the next two drafts.
Before they can begin piecing together their rebuild, they'll need to survive the next 16 weeks, regardless of who's on the roster. And next up is a matchup against the defending champion New England Patriots, who open as 17-point favorites at some sports books.
