Ryan Fitzpatrick: Dolphins Could Go Winless This Season
The ex-Dolphins QB says Miami's $180M in dead cap and tough schedule make an 0-17 finish realistic, even after week one's loss to the Raiders.
Ryan Fitzpatrick says the Miami Dolphins have a real chance of finishing this season without a single win.
The former Dolphins quarterback, now an analyst, made the prediction before the season even started. A 13-27 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in week one has not changed his mind.
"They've got more than $180 million in dead money under the salary cap. Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Bradley Chubb, Jalen Ramsey, Minkah Fitzpatrick — all of these guys count against the cap even though they're no longer on the roster. In part, the club backed itself into this situation," Fitzpatrick said.
He pointed to a difficult schedule and drew a comparison with the 2019 season, when Miami opened with seven straight losses before finishing with five wins.
"I think 0-17 is entirely achievable. But coaches and players can get in the way of a season being deliberately tanked — that's exactly what happened in 2019. I'm rooting for them to mess it up again and stop that from happening. But I consider 0-17 a realistic outcome," Fitzpatrick said.
No team has ever finished an NFL season 0-17. Since the league moved to the current 17-game format in 2021, every club has managed at least one win. The Dolphins, founded in 1965, play their home games at Hard Rock Stadium, which holds 64,767 spectators.
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