One month out from the start of the 2025 NFL season, the Miami Dolphins’ secondary looks far from settled after an injury-hit start to training camp.

The franchise’s safety group has already appeared to be somewhat of a revolving door this off-season, with veterans Jalen Ramsey and Jevon Holland both departing, but the news that cornerback Kader Kohou has been placed on the injured reserve list after a season-ending knee injury makes things look even bleaker for the Dolphins’ defence and head coach Mike McDaniel.

Kohou was one of Miami’s shining lights last season — a third-year corner who recorded 45 combined tackles, a forced fumble, two interceptions, and eight passes defended — but isn’t the only defensive player McDaniels will miss in 2025.

Freshly-recruited unrestricted free agent cornerback Artie Burns is also on the season-long IR list with a torn ACL and, to make matters worse, fellow UFA Ashtyn Davis is expected to miss significant time due to a non-contact ankle injury suffered in camp. Losing three experienced defensive backs before the first preseason game could be a bad sign for McDaniel and his team.

Nevertheless, the head coach appeared resilient in the face of the endless stream of bad news during his press conference on 1^st August, indicating that he and general manager Chris Grier always have a few tricks up their sleeves to bring in some additional juice to the roster.

“We’re always one day away from making a move at any position because we’re constantly trying to improve the team,” McDaniel told reporters.

Interestingly, those words proved true earlier in the off-season, when Grier and McDaniel executed the blockbuster trade that sent Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for Minkah Fitzpatrick and a swap of late-round picks. The returning veteran at least bolsters the secondary corps but, with the season edging closer and their seats already warm after a mediocre 2024 campaign, it can be expected that the Dolphins will revisit the free agency market. The question remains: who will they sign? And will they stay sufficiently injury-free to keep McDaniel off the chopping block?