Kelly: Mike White’s nestled into the arms of the enemy with Dolphins’ secrets | Opinion

The Miami Dolphins’ worst fear when it came to cutting Mike White just happened.

The Dolphins’ decision to release White — who lost a training camp battle to Skylar Thompson for the backup quarterback role — instead of keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster just threw a man with intimate knowledge of Miami’s offense, and it’s Pro Bowl quarterback, into the arms of the team’s biggest rival.

I can picture the scene in Orchard Park right now. Bills head coach Sean McDermott and Bobby Babich, Buffalo’s defensive coordinator, probably have White in some dark room, sitting on a metal chair at the end of a folded table with a bright light shining down on him, requesting he tell his new team everything he knows about Mike McDaniel’s offense, and Tua Tagovailoa’s tendencies.

After all, it was White who assisted Tagovailoa with a good percentage of his film breakdown.

“If it’s not the third downs, then it’s ‘Hey, your job is just to watch two-minute, and then on Friday you share with me two-minute plus-50, two-minute minus-50,” Tagovailoa said this week, explaining White’s old role. “OK, what happens when it’s a stopped clock? Do they pressure? Do they not? Or is that only on the opposing side once we cross the 50?’

Now, Tagovailoa’s thought process, all his preferences, and dislikes, gets shared with the Bills.

The Dolphins are going to pretend like this doesn’t matter, as if White nestling into the arms of the team’s enemy as its new practice squad quarterback is not a big deal.

But the truth is that football is the one sport that firmly believes in espionage.

Think about it. Have you ever heard the term “if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying,” used in any other sport?.

Ask yourself why coaches on every level of football cover their mouths when making play calls. Think it’s habit or tradition?

No, it’s someone on the other sidelines watching with binoculars trying to break the code, trying to gain an edge, an advantage, even if it’s only for one play.

That’s Jim Harbaugh who got in trouble at Michigan last year before ditching his beloved college program for the NFL, avoiding NCAA penalties and sanctions.

It’s why the New England Patriots were penalized twice during their dynasty under Bill Belichick, once for filming an opponent’s walk-through, and the second time for allegedly deflating footballs for Tom Brady.

Every little edge you can gain matters, so let’s not downplay the fact that the player with the most intimate knowledge of Tagovailoa is now in the arms of the Bills, who are going for their fifth straight AFC East division title.

White, who spent all of 2023 with the Dolphins after signing as a free agent, knows Miami’s playbook extensively.

He knows all of Miami’s audible calls, which now have to be changed. Imagine how tough that’s going to be on the newcomers, who barely knew them to begin with.

White knows the finer points of Miami’s cheat motions, which about half of the league labored to replicate last season since it was so innovative, and served as a catalyst for Miami being the NFL’s most productive offense.

White might not know the weekly game plan, but he knows the offense’s alerts, the hot routes and the vision and plays designed for new tight end Jonnu Smith, who is the biggest addition to Miami’s offense.

He knows what Tagovailoa likes to throw and when, and what he doesn’t like to face.

Relaying that information to an opposing defensive coordinator so he can instruct his players puts Miami at a disadvantage.

It means Miami’s next two weeks, which leads up to the Sept. 12 Thursday night home game against the Bills, just got harder.

And that means Dolphins season just got harder because of Mike White.