The South Florida media made their rounds in the Miami Dolphins locker room on Thursday, and while players were giving statements to reporters, there was a surprising and noticeable absence. No, it wasn’t EDGE rusher Jaelan Phillips who was shipped to the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this week in exchange for a 2026 third-round draft pick — the surprise element missing from Miami’s locker room was their card table in addition to their Pop-A-Shot mini basketball hoop.
When asked for comment, Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks refused to talk about the matter, however defensive tackle Benito Jones was happy to answer questions as to why the recreational accessories were missing. Jones told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that those items were removed so that the team could “turn full attention to [their] remaining games.”
Well, I guess we now know why the Dolphins were so severely underperforming this season — card games and mini basketball competitions were too much of a distraction.
Thursday’s decision to remove the locker room distractions in Miami Gardens is reminiscent of early October 2022 when there was controversy over why a ping-pong table was discarded from the same locker room. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said at the time it was done so that the Dolphins could “better focus on opponents.” Miami wide receiver Tyreek Hill contradicted his coach and said the table was removed simply because it was “bent,” and the team was “ordering new custom-designed ones.”
Who knows when the 2025 version of the Miami Dolphins will allow the return of the card table and Pop-A-Shot, but Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills will show what kind of impact their absences make on the on-field product the Dolphins display, and if getting rid of some distractions can allow the team to pick up some scarcely found wins during the team’s final 8 games this season.
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