With the Miami Dolphins rookie minicamp coming up next weekend, the team’s 2025 draft picks have yet to be assigned jersey numbers.
But while who will wind up wearing what number remains uncertain, what we do know is there won’t be any drama of any kind related to unretiring a number as there was for a few days with the New York Giants, rookie first-round pick Abdul Carter and former quarterback Phil Simms.
The two members of the Dolphins’ incoming rookie class who were asked about jersey numbers on draft weekend — for different reasons — instead were very respectful of those who played for Miami before them.
That included first-round pick Kenneth Grant, who wore 78 during his time at the University of Michigan but is ready for a new number since that one was given to new Dolphins guard James Daniels.
“I’m thinking 90 right now,” Grant said the day after he was selected with the 13th overall selection. “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking about. I was going to go with number 94, but I want to be my own person instead of getting the same number as ‘Wilks’ (Christian Wilkins).”
The situation was a bit different for running back Ollie Gordon II, the sixth-round pick out of Oklahoma State who wore 0 in college. While Daniels is wearing the number he wore before he joined the Dolphins, new backup QB Zach Wilson is getting that number for the first time in his NFL career after wearing 2 with the New York Jets and 4 with the Denver Broncos, numbers that currently belong to Bradley Chubb and Kader Kohou, respectively.
But Gordon didn’t hesitate when asked about the idea of asking if Wilson might be agreeable to let him have 0.
“Look, when you come to these new teams, you’ve got to respect the vets,” Gordon said. “I don’t want to be on no side of the vets, I want to take in and learn from them, so I’m going cool with it. I’m going to be fine with the number I get for the first year. Like I said, I’m a team guy, so if my guy wants to put that zero on, that’s my teammate now, I’m going to respect him. He’s a big dawg and I know my boundaries. I’m going to be cool; I’m going to respect it. I just have to find something else I look good in.”
Gordon doubled down when asked what he would do if Wilson volunteered the number.
“He gave it to me, I’m going to have to give him a big hug, big hug,” Gordon said. “If he didn’t, I wouldn’t even trip. I wouldn’t even go out my way to ask for it. It’s just a respect thing. If I was the vet and I just changed my number to zero and we had a younger guy coming in, I’m not giving up my number, so I wouldn’t be mad at him.”Just because it feels right doesn’t make it right.”
For those not familiar with the Giants situation, they unretired number 1 last year to give it to first-round pick Malik Nabers after the family of Hall of Famer Ray Flaherty gave its permission, so this year Carter first asked about getting number 56, which was retired in honor of Lawrence Taylor, but the Hall of Fame linebacker said no.
Then Carter asked about getting the 11 retired for Phil Simms, who said he was fine with the idea until he was vetoed by his family.
In Tennessee, meanwhile, the Titans gave first overall pick the number 1 they had retired in honor of QB Warren Moon, with his blessing. The only difference with that situation is that Moon starred for the organization while it was the Houston Oilers.
When it comes to the Dolphins, the issue has come up only once, and that was driven by fans and some media members, not the prospect himself, and the idea was with Tua Tagovailoa in 2020 when he arrived as a first-round pick after starring at Alabama wearing 13.
That number, of course, was retired shortly after Dan Marino ended his Hall of Fame career.
And, as we explained at the time, the idea of unretiring numbers — Dolphins or any other team — is borderline offensive.
There’s a reason the organization retired Marino’s jersey in September 2000, a mere six months after he had announced the end of his brilliant NFL career. There’s a reason there’s a statue of Marino in front of Hard Rock Stadium, the only Dolphins player so honored.
The man was the greatest player in franchise history, and there’s not an objective fan or non-fan who would argue that point.
So if the organization deemed it appropriate to honor him by retiring his jersey number, what has changed to necessitate revoking that honor?
After all, the argument went, who better to honor the legacy of Marino than the superstar college quarterback who had worn that number since he was in high school?
But here’s the thing, and that applies to any incoming rookie on any team: Why is it such a hardship to ask the incoming player, no matter how promising, no matter the college achievements, to switch numbers?
Here’s another factor to consider: If Marino’s number or that of any great on any organization goes back into circulation, then why should there be any retired number?
If Marino’s 13 goes back into circulation, then why shouldn’t the number 12 (retired for Bob Griese) and the number 39 (retired for Larry Csonka).
But if any one number in the Dolphins organization should be retired, it’s 13.
Now, getting into the debate of retiring numbers in the first place is another story. But for example, why Griese and Csonka but not the other Dolphins Hall of Famers like Larry Little, Nick Buoniconti, Jim Langer, Dwight Stephenson, Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, and even Paul Warfield (though he had a lot of his success with the Cleveland Browns)?
The idea of unretiring a number isn’t unprecedented in the NFL because it happened in Seattle when Jerry Rice was given Steve Largent’s old number 80 after signing with the Seahawks in 2004, 12 years after it was retired.
That was wrong.
And even then Rice already had put together Hall of Fame credentials in the NFL.
For a rookie who has yet to play a down in the NFL, it’s doubly wrong.
To his credit, Tagovailoa wanted no part of this discussion after he was drafted by the Dolphins.
“For me, I’m not too worried about what number I have,” Tua said at the time. “I understand number 13 is retired and it should be. Dan Marino, he’s the GOAT. He’s like the mayor out there, and I have much respect for him. Whatever number I’m given by that organization, if it’s 78 or 99, I’ll wear it. It doesn’t matter.”
More Miami Dolphins Coverage:
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
