Read the full transcript from GM Jon Eric Sullivan's media availability on August 31, 2026.

Just to touch on the two quarterbacks acquired first, if you wouldn't mind going over each of them. McCord, what intrigued you about his skill set and same obviously with Brady?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Sure, I'll start with McCord. I've always been a fan of his. I feel like when you watch the kid play, he's a keep the train on the tracks kind of guy. I think he processes the game quick. I think he throws an accurate catchable football. He runs the offense, and I know he's a smart guy. I know he's a competitive guy. Scouted him in college, obviously followed him and tracked him through the preseason, and I thought he had an opportunity to come in here. We obviously want No. 2 out there, but if something happened, I thought he could run the offense and help give us a chance to win games.

Did you think you would get seven?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: I did not, but I'm glad that we did. I did not, you never know how that's going to go. You're a little bit at the mercy of the football gods, if you will. But I think we got incrementally better, which is always the goal. You guys know we're always going to churn this thing and keep this thing rolling in terms of roster development and competition. So I'm glad we did what we did, and I think we got a little bit better today.

The 53-man roster usually makes a statement about a program or about a team. What does this 53-man roster say about the 2026 Dolphins?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, it's a good question. I think it says that we look at ourselves honestly and that any chance we get to get better, we're going to get better. We're not going to tell ourselves lies when things aren't getting done at the level that they need to get done, and we're going to continually turn over rocks to get better at every turn. I'm proud of our guys, all the guys that participated in camp. I think we got a lot of really good things going. I'm very, very happy with our draft class as a whole. Certainly not here to anoint anyone that hasn't played an NFL game yet, but I do think those guys are what we thought they would be. And I think that the vets that we brought in, obviously some made it, some didn't. I'm happy with where we are, but there is always room for growth.

What can you tell us about the competition between Jacob Rodriguez and Tyrel Dodson, and did Dodson at any point maybe even ask for his release rather than be a backup? Was any of that?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: No, T. Dot's a pro, he competed. I think it was a fair competition, obviously we have a lot of like for Jacob Rodriguez, that's never been a secret. I thought T. Dot showed up. He was a pro. He competed. It's a very fair question, like why would you move on from T. Dot, but I think it really just highlights how we feel about the young guys on our team. It's unfortunate what happened to Trey Moore. He will be back. We got a lot of like for Jacob and so on and so forth, Ronnie's done a good job. There's so many factors that go into when you're cutting the 53 down, it's layered. Both long-term and short-term, there's financial components. There's all kinds of things that go into the decisions. But we are very appreciative of what T. Dot has done here. I wish him nothing but the best. I'm sure he's going to go on and have a good career. He was very professional in our conversation, I wish that guy nothing but the best.

What was it like to strike a deal with your old boss?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: It was kind of cool, to be honest with you. It was easy. He knows me, I know him. We know how each other think, and it was really kind of right to the point. He thought it was good for the Packers, I thought it was good for the Dolphins, and we did what we did.

I heard about what you said about McCord being able to come in here and run the offense, however he hasn't been here that long. And so if you know Malik Willis got hurt against the Raiders, what gives you confidence that McCord or any of the other quarterbacks that come in here and run the offense?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Bobby Slowik, Bush Hamdan, they're good coaches. They'll get them ready. It's not ideal. I'm not going to sit up here in front of you and try to say like this scenario is perfect. It's not. I think sometimes when you're talking about your roster and trying to get better, you have to take some chances and do some things that maybe are uncomfortable, if you will. But I have a lot of faith in the guys that are going to be coaching him every day, and like I said, we hope No. 2 is out there, but if something happens, I think we'll be ready to roll.

And when it comes to Quinn Ewers, I think we all saw him struggle in camp. Knowing that he was dealing with a couple injuries, did that make it any more difficult of a decision or were you pretty set on what you wanted to do?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: At the time, when I made the decision, I was set and again, no different than T. Dot, I wish Quinn the best. I think Quinn has an opportunity to play in this league for a while and do well, I think he needed a fresh start. I think we needed a fresh start. And I just think it – look, this is a performance-based business, and it was not getting done at the level that it needed to get done at. Quinn knew that, we had a lot of conversations. I think Quinn, if he was standing right here, would tell you that. I just think it was time to kind of move on, him get another fresh start and us start fresh with somebody else as well.

Going back to what Perkins just asked you regarding the quarterbacks, I would kind of broaden the question as a follow up. You have so many new faces. At what point do you have almost too many new faces to get ready for a season opener?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: I mean, look, this is the National Football League. You hope everybody is professional, but it's always about getting better. If you deem something not good enough, then you have to address it. It's my job to make sure that we are as competitive as we can be in the moment, given the circumstances. And if we sit on our hands so that it's comfortable, then I'm not doing my job as a general manager. I understand the question, but we are where we are. You guys understand the circumstances and the things that we had to do; we're a unique spot. We had to do some things in the spring that are unprecedented, and so there's cause and effect to everything you do. But my job is to make sure that we keep getting better, and I feel like we've done the best that we can in the situation we are in.

Were there a few spots where you had to make a call with a longer lens after engaging in conversation with coaches who perhaps felt, "hey, this guy or two could maybe help us a little more this year," tell me about the lens?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, there's always a balance to that, now versus down the road, and I have to be fair to the coaches. I have so much respect – you guys know my dad's a coach – I have so much respect for them, and I think oftentimes it's funny, we laugh. Coaches usually see things this far in front of their face and they should, that's their job. Like they got to go out and win on Sunday. It's my job to see the overview, long-term, big picture, and you try to marry that up and balance. We've all got really, really good relationships with these guys. We have great conversations. So I try to walk that line of doing what I need to do to make sure that we're getting better, but at the same time, respecting the job that they have to do as well.

If you could assess what you liked about Brady Cook?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, Brady's the ultimate competitor. Tough as nails, got a lot of swag, if you will. Guys follow him. You watch what he did at Missouri and his time there he elevated a program that maybe at the time wasn't the most talented, they played well and I think a lot of that had to do with him. And again, I think it upgraded our room. And again, I have nothing but respect for Cam, Quinn, I wish those guys the best. I think they'll play in this league. But I felt like we needed to turn a couple pages and get better in there, get better performance and production.

The decision to trade Tutu and go so young at wide receiver with was the initial 53, is that sort of in line with your thoughts at linebacker that it just reflects on how you feel about your young players?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, I mean I think that's fair. You guys know, I've said it time and time again, we're going to be a draft and develop team. Obviously we've only had one draft. Now it's the best player available and that's just the way that it fell. I didn't go into the draft like 'hey, we got to revamp the receiver room or revamp the inside linebacker room,' that's just the way that it fell in the moment. We felt like those guys were the best player on the board at the time. But yeah, we'll be a draft and develop team. We will always be a young team. I've said it before, we will be very, very selective in who we bring in here in free agency and we'll pay our core players. We just did that, you know with J. Brooks and Achane and Brew, but that's how we'll move. I think this is a young man's game. I think from a salary cap standpoint, staying young allows you to be sustainable, and then you go pay your difference makers versus having a bunch of mercenaries that are overpaid, if you will.

Regarding special teams in general and Bradley Pinion specifically, did anybody make the roster based largely on special teams, maybe DJ Herman or someone? And Bradley Pinion, are you comfortable with where he is after some hiccups in preseason?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, I had a conversation with Bradley today. I have confidence and faith in Bradley. He knows he didn't have the best preseason, or it was up and down anyway. He did actually a lot of good things. He just wasn't as consistent as he needs to be. And again, he would tell you that if he was standing right here. Ryan Miller, I thought did some really good things as a coverage player, that's why he's here on the 53. You always have to get those backend corner, DB, receiver spots, you got to get special teams play out of those guys. So if you're asking me to highlight one guy, I'd say Ryan is a guy that I'm excited about what he brought to the table in the short time that he was with us from a special teams standpoint.

What did you see out of Justin Joly that wanted you to bring him in?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: We're banged up in that room a little bit and we had a lot of like for him, quite frankly. A lot of it was just based on our college evaluation of him, and so we'll bring him in, see how he does and what it looks like and move down the road with him. But to be honest with you, that was basically based on the North Carolina State eval.

When you watched the joint practices and you watched preseason games and you watched training camp. What, if anything, do you feel you learned about the state of the team and the program?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: I feel like for the better positive, you want to focus on the positive, I thought we compete really hard. I think the effort, the resilience, the physicality I think is there. I think again when you're playing a lot of young players, maybe the consistency is not what it needs to be yet. And then there's places like every roster in the NFL where the depth is not what it needs to be, but again, my job to keep turning over rocks and make sure that we're trying to fortify this roster at every opportunity that we can. But I think even the good teams that sit up here and tell you, 'hey, we got a room or two that's not where it needs to be.' We're no different. Maybe a little more significant than others, but we'll get there.

It seems like there's like a higher volume of trades recently, obviously here and elsewhere. I'm curious in your time how you've maybe seen the trend of front offices being willing to trade or change?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: I think it's just an effort to get better. I think it's one of those deals where when you're looking at your roster and you see an opportunity to improve, then you explore every avenue. And if you deem it good for your team, and look, there's different – in the business, people view trading differently. I love picks. I come from a place that values draft picks. There's other places that have been very successful that don't value them as much. I'm not here to say who's right and who's wrong, but I do think what we all share in common is just the effort and desire to get better. And when it is your job to make sure that that happens, I think you have to take that serious. You have a huge responsibility. It's a very competitive league. We all know that, and it's one percent better is one percent better. And that's a huge deal when you're competing against the best in the world every Sunday.

Maybe outside the building fans may like trades are fun. Do you find that process fun for you, trying to work with another team on maybe holes they have or you have?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: It depends on who you're dealing with. (laughter) Yeah, it's fun. It's the NFL; being involved in NFL is exciting. That part of it's fun. I think any time you're on the cusp of doing what you deem is an improvement to your roster is fun.

So with Jarquez Hunter, you traded for him in the Tutu Atwell trade. Obviously he's on your practice squad now. What did you see in him that made him a piece that you wanted?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Jarquez, really back to his days in college, he's a hard-charging, very physical runner that I feel like embodies what we want to be here. The physical, run-first, got to build the line of scrimmage, all that stuff. But he gets downhill, gets the tough yards. Wanted to get him here, wasn't sure how it would work out at the 53 cut, if we would carry him through or put him on the practice squad. There's so many moving parts but definitely wanted him to be in the fold. Tutu, love the guy, probably was not going to make it, so it was just an opportunity to get him back to a spot where he had a better chance and bring in a guy that we had some like for.

Two players that I'm wondering if you can, without giving away strategy, tell me their outlook for 2026. Willie Gay, is he a candidate to start early and how big is special teams for him? And then Kyle Louis, is he kind of a Swiss Army knife, for lack of a better term?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, Kyle Louis is a Swiss Army knife, and our expectation for him, I think he'll be a really good special teams player. I'm sure you guys have seen, we've had him out there doing some things that he's never done before as a gunner, and he's really good getting off the ball. He runs well. There's some things he's learning, coming to balance. Our expectation is that while Kyle grows as a positional player, which will be kind of what we call the Joker, the big nickel and safety, that he will be a difference maker for us on special teams. That's his role early. Kyle, he's a really good football player and we expect him to do good things for us. And then Willie, Willie is physical, he can run. Special teams is vitally important to him. Right now we're banged up in the linebacker room, so it's hard to say where he'll land on the depth chart, that's still in flux but we're glad Willie's on the team. I thought he played with great effort, and you always can see his speed and his run and his play style. We'll kind of see how it unfolds with the other guys in the room.

What's your assessment on how Kadyn Proctor has made the adjustment to guard?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: I think he's done a nice job. The traits are what jump out to you. I think there's times maybe with his eyes, he could be a little better and cleaner, but Kadyn has done a great job. We watched practice every day and he continues to grow and turn corners and improve. Is he all the way there yet? No. Do I expect him to be a really good player in the future? I do. I think he's doing a really good job. The physicality is, you guys have heard me say it probably to the point of nauseam, but when he gets thick on people and moves people off the ball, it looks different than everybody else. And he presents Malik with a very firm pocket. Guys cannot play through him, and that's why we drafted him. The other stuff is all coachable and he will get better in time.

Chris Bell, did he exceed your expectations dramatically health wise? And a top five this year, potentially for three draft picks, Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert. Do you feel good about that group this year?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: I do. I'll start with Chris. Chris has worked his behind off to get himself ready. Our expectation was probably getting him back after the bye. It's a testament to the kid, and it is also a testament to the people that work with him every day, Kyle Johnston, Todd Hunt and that staff down there. But yeah, we're excited about Chris. He's put forth the effort to get himself ready to go much earlier than we expected and we'll get him going.

And the three rookies, Malik and Tolbert that room, obviously Miller you mentioned as well. Do you feel good about that group being NFL quality receivers when some of them are so young?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: The youth is the youth; you can't rush that. It is what it is. I mean, there will be inconsistencies, I feel really good about the talent in the room. I feel like we need to continue to grow and evolve. We need to be more consistent, but I feel like we have NFL players in that room that should be good NFL players. Caleb, I mean you guys are out there, Caleb has a lot of natural gifts and that's easy. You don't have to be a scout to see that; it shows itself every day. Caleb needs to be more consistent. Malik Washington is a really good football player. He shows up every day, I'm glad we got him. I think Kevin Coleman has showed speed, twitch, hands, all the things that you want to see in a young receiver. When I watch Kevin, that guy is an NFL football player. What his ceiling is, we'll see. I don't have a crystal ball, but I've never for one second doubted that he doesn't belong. I would actually say the opposite. He's exceeded expectations. And then Chris Bell is different, man. Guy is 228 pounds, 230 pounds and can run and powerful. And he's just coming off an injury and we'll see where it goes, but I think all those guys are to this point what we expected.

I wanted to ask about quarterback development and kind of, in general, what your approach and philosophy has been to finding and developing a young quarterback and kind of how you've seen league wide that has changed in the last few years?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, what I come from is I don't think you can ever have enough quarterbacks. I mean, obviously the roster limitations prevent you from hoarding too many numbers, but I think you always want to try to get young quarterbacks that you think have the potential to grow. You want to get them in the stable and then you want to try to develop them. I think processing is the most important thing, the ability to play quick between the ears. I love arm strength, I love athleticism, but if you can process the game and play quick and then you can throw an accurate, catchable ball, I think you have a chance to play in this league. I come from a place that when you have a chance to sit, obviously you guys know in Green Bay, I was there when we had Brett (Farve), drafted Aaron (Rogers), he sat for three years where he could watch Brett every day get coached up. And then when it came his time, he was ready to go here. He was confident. He knew what he was looking at, and he could play fast. And then we did the same thing with Jordan. And so, you take a Kyle (McCord), you take a Brady Cook, you take those guys and let them sit behind Malik for a couple years, and if you feel like you got a guy, then you either trade them or something happens to Malik, who knows what the future holds. But I think when those guys that you believe in – and look, they won't all work out. I mean, that's just the truth. Draft picks, guys that you bring in, they're not going to all work out. But I think when you feel like people have talent, especially quarterbacks, you bring them in, you coach them up, you let it simmer, and then you see what you got down the road.

Going off the quarterback development question, you talked about the youth that you have here. How do you get a long-term evaluation of Malik Willis when there's moving chairs, maybe some chemistry things you have to continue to work with?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, it's a great question. I think anytime your ability to move the football, your ability to handle the hard times as a guy, your ability to process – I mean, Malik I think is different than most because of the athletic traits he has, the powerful arm. I feel very comfortable that as these young players grow with Malik, we'll all see what Malik is. The evaluation part of it is just simply playing the position soundly, making good decisions, using your legs when you need to use your legs, throwing the ball accurately, getting the ball out on time, processing. I know where you're going with the question, it's like, do we have enough around him for us to evaluate him? I would say yes, we do. But I don't know that you guys will see it the way we see it when we're evaluating. Does that make sense? I don't know that the fans, the common fan that's sitting out there is going to watch what's going on and say, this guy's got a chance to be a really good player. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But I think we'll be able to measure that week-in and week-out and see if he's going this way.

Is there something that we should be looking at? We don't have your scouting eye, but is there something that we should be looking at in signs of, "hey, this guy's got it" determined based on this?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: I mean to me, it's one of those things that you don't want to overcomplicate it. Is he making good decisions? Is he taking care of the ball? Is he taking care of the ball? Is he turning the ball over? I mean, if you're a running back, you can't fumble. If you're a quarterback, you can't throw interceptions. Like you cannot turn the ball over and win in this league. Is he throwing the ball accurately? Is he missing guys? Is he using his legs when he should use his legs? That's one of his greatest gifts. And then are we moving the ball? I think the really good ones tilt the field in their favor, maybe when everything around them is not ideal, and I think he has that kind of ability. Now, time will tell, but I think you'll see a player in Malik that has a lot of traits and then intangibles that will allow him to be successful in this league.

I know you guys are process-oriented over results-oriented, but is there an exception at edge rusher? Do you need to see some quarterback on the ground numbers in the form of sacks – especially with Chop Robinson?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, Chop – I have big expectations for Chop. I think Chop has had a really good camp. I think he's an ascending player, so sure. Yeah, we need pass rush. Every NFL team needs pass rush. I would say Chop is our most gifted pass rusher, I don't think that's a secret. But we need Chop to answer the bell and keep doing the things that he's doing, keep turning corners and get a bunch of sacks – of course any team's going to benefit from that. I think Haf and those guys, I think right now we got a bunch of rugged, tough edge setters. I think we're going to have to scheme up pass rush. But I think Uche and those guys are up to the challenge. When you watch Uche, he's got very natural pass rush ability. He is quick, he's slippery, and then that's when the coaches come in and they draw it up and get you home. But to answer your question, I'm excited about Chop. I think those other guys are all role players, they know they're role players, but I'm glad that they're here. I think they've gone about it the right way, I think they're rugged, tough guys and we'll see what we can come up with.

Just a quick follow up again on the quarterback thing. There seems to be like a carousel of quarterbacks with teams finding out if that's their guy or not. I know this varies from team to team, but what are the factors in how patient you can be in figuring out if this is your guy for the future?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Level of play. And then look, we're in this business to win. I think any quarterback, any head coach, any general manager, at the end of the day you're going to be judged on wins and losses. That doesn't fall short on me, like nobody cares – your circumstances, what you've had to overcome – nobody cares, you're winning or you're losing. So ultimately with Malik, with myself, with Haf, we're going to be judged on wins and losses. I think with Malik in particular, or any quarterback again, I always start with the ability to play the game at a high level, and that's just processing the game, taking care of the ball, not turning the ball over and then making plays when they are there to be had. We've all seen those quarterbacks that sit in there and you got a guy running across the middle and they overshoot them. You can't do that time and time and time again. You got to make the throws you're supposed to make. You got to make the runs you're supposed to make. You got to make the reads you're supposed to make and just play the game at a high level that gives your team a chance to win every week. I think that's the big key, is the consistency. You can't be up and down and up and down. You can't win that way. You got to be consistent every week. That's not to say you won't make mistakes, you will. But then you got to bounce back at a high level.

You've made a strong investment in De'Von Achane. He's talked about wanting the ball, wanting the responsibility. That's a lower shelf-life position. How do you balance maybe getting your investment in that position this year or the touches may not be as important long term for how you view this team?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: I just want to make sure I'm answering your question. You're saying like, how do we preserve his health and get him his touches?

Yes, so that three or four years from now, he's still a really good player for you guys.

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Sure, I mean that's where Jaylen Wright and Ollie got to step up. Those guys both have a skill set. Jaylen's a big back that can gash fast, he can crease you. Ollie's a big back with tremendous hands and got power and size, and we need to use those guys. We've got to be able to depend on those guys. Achane is a special player, we all know that. He's going to get the ball. He's going to touch the ball. We have to be creative in how we get him his touches. But the other two got to step up so that we have faith in those guys to spell Achane and feel like we don't drop off, and I think both those guys are very, very capable.

The most NFL starts of anyone in your secondary is JuJu Brents – 11. We talked about this a little bit in April, but how much have you given thought to, do we have enough veteran experience, proven NFL starters, at safety and corner? And how did you arrive at the decision to go with almost entirely youth there?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Yeah, I mean, part of it's just who performed at the highest level in camp, who we felt like – look, it crosses my mind. We don't have a ton of experience in the room, but I like who we have in the room. I think we have guys that are competitive and can play the game, but they got to step up. They have a responsibility and we're going to get tested here in a couple of weeks and we'll see where it goes. But yeah, I mean, we're young, it is what it is. We're young, we're inexperienced. There's going to be some growing pains, but we'll lean on each other and we'll get through it. I expect those guys to grow every week as players.

You have some exciting young talent at defensive tackle. I'm wondering what the approach was with Zeek Biggers – I'm not sure that he played in games. How did he look in in joint practices and intrasquad practices?

Jon-Eric Sullivan: Zeek's done a really good job, and he's provided some versatility. He can play inside as a defensive tackle, he can play big end. Zeek is a guy that over time I've really, really grown with in terms of my confidence and my belief in him. He plays hard, he's physical, he's got length. It's important to him to be a good player. I think he approaches the game the right way. He was dealing with a couple little minor things, which is why you guys didn't see him out there at times in games, but I'm very pleased with Zeek, and I think he's going the right way as a football player. I think he's going to provide us some versatility across that defensive line – both big end and defensive tackle.