The Miami Dolphins special teams’ unit just got a massive upgrade with the signing of former Tennessee Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse. #FinsUP
After years of being one of the league’s worst ranked units, the Miami Dolphins are finally making changes on special teams.
The first of those moves, came shortly after the 2024 NFL season, when the Dolphins parted ways with long-time special teams coordinator Danny Crossman. Coach Mike McDaniel would replace Crossman with former Tennessee Titans coordinator Craig Aukerman, who would be tasked with improving the Dolphins’ bottom-ranked special teams unit.
It is uncertain what type of changes Aukerman will bring to the return game and other aspects of special teams, but one area the Dolphins could clearly improve on is at punter. Jake Bailey has been fine, but we could all see the writing was on the wall. And with a new special teams coordinator, it was only a matter of time before Aukerman started to bring in his guys.
According to a recent report from The Draft Network’s Justin M, that’s exactly what happened — as the Miami Dolphins have reached a deal with free agent punter Ryan Stonehouse.
Stonehouse, 25, currently holds the top two single-season punting averages in NFL history, averaging 53.10 yards in 2022 and following that up with 53.06 in 2023 (He had a career low 50.6 in 2024 and also suffered a brutal knee injury — so it’s not all sunshine and roses). For comparison, Bailey averaged 47.1 yards per punt in 2024 and 45.7 yards in 2023. Miami is adding nearly 10 yards per punt with the Stonehouse signing, not to mention he’s two years younger.
Additionally, Bailey’s 2025 salary is not guaranteed, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The team could move on from him and only lose $550K in cap space. That seems inevitable, especially when you have a clear upgrade in Stonehouse now on the roster.
The only question I have is whether or not this will impact Jason Sanders. After all, part of the reason I thought Bailey might still be on the roster is because of Sanders’ damn near perfect play. Will this hurt Miami’s kicking game, which converted 37 of 41 field goal attempts in 2024?
Tennessee’s kicker Nick Folk converted 95.5% of his field goals in 2024… slightly better than Miami’s 90.2%… I don’t think it will be a problem… not even a little bit. #InRyanStoneHouseWeTrust
What are your thoughts on the Miami Dolphins signing punter Ryan Stonehouse? Do you see any world where Miami doesn’t YEET Jake Bailey directly into the sun? How do you think this signing impacts both the punting and kicking game? Let us know in the comments section below!
