The Miami Dolphins‘ season was a rollercoaster. Mike McDaniel‘s team finished second in the AFC East with 8 wins out of their 17 games. Some weeks, they looked like a team that could make it to the playoffs, while other weeks, the ‘they can win’ vibes were not exactly flowing. Now in the offseason, the Dolphins front office is in full ‘fix it’ mode. They don’t want another season ending with a ‘what if?’ feeling. And speaking of fixing it, Miami has just added a new player to their squad to that end.

This move comes hot on the heels of Jevon Holland publicly admitting that he was not ‘feeling wanted‘ as he hit the free agency. Change is in the air at Mike McDaniel’s Miami, and things are warming up quickly in South Beach. In the team’s latest roster shuffle, they have signed a young cornerback – Ryan Cooper Jr.

The 23-year-old from Palo Alto, California has been bouncing around practice squads after going undrafted in the 2024 draft. Cooper spent half the season on the Ravens practice squad before making his debut in late October against the Browns. Soon, in mid-November, Miami released him, and he found a home in Seattle. He spent plenty of time on the Seahawks practice squad until they too released him – on February 21. And now, Ryan’s with the Dolphins. Talk about a wild ride!

Notably, Ryan didn’t get much time on the field in his rookie season. In the only game he played, he failed to record any stats. So far, he only has his college numbers to show for himself. The young CB played for two college teams, starting with San Mateo. During his time with the California-based outfit, he recorded 47 tackles and four interceptions. After that, he took the field for Oregon State, playing in 23 games over his two years at the university.

At Miami now, Ryan will be joining Cam Smith, Storm Duck, and Ethan Bonner on the Dolphins’ cornerback depth chart. Just two weeks ago, the team released their starting CB for 2024, Kendall Fuller. So, with Jalen Ramsey as the only veteran in the group, it looks like he’ll have plenty to teach the young corners. So, while Cooper finds his feet in a new home, Dolphins safety Jevon Holland feels left out in the cold in sunny Miami.

Jevon Holland left in the lurch by Miami

Jevon Holland has been expecting a contract extension with the Dolphins since last year, but they unceremoniously let him hit free agency. Now, this year, they will have to decide whether to retain him or bid him goodbye. And lately, Miami’s moves suggest that they are interested in the latter option.

Holland has been playing as the team’s safety for four years now, and of course, he would expect at least a conversation about his possible future with the team – even if they decide not to offer him an extension. The 24-year-old was already left hurt after Miami dedicated a post to some of its players on Valentine’s Day that featured Tua, Ramsey, Jason Sanders, and others, but no mention of Jevon at all.

So, Jevon on his  Breakin’ House Rules podcast reflected on the same saying, “Transparently, seeing the Dolphins post things like the Valentine’s Day stuff or any type of edits and things like that. You can see guys that may not be here next year or maybe somewhere else are just not in it. So, I’m like following them on Instagram, right, and I’m not in none of this s— no more. And I’m like, OK, they’ve kind of moved on.”

Its a hard reckoning, but if the Dolphins do part ways with Jevon, he has plenty of options. The soon-to-be 25-year-old would be among the most sought-after safeties in the free market. The Jaguars, Panthers, and Bengals might be among the teams that could go after Holland. Although he is quite nervous about having to choose a new team if he has to. “… if I do go to another place… it’s nerve-wracking, like am I gonna choose the wrong one? But I just gotta trust myself,” he said. So, what does the future hold for Jevon? Only time will tell.