Braxton Berrios hopes to shine again at Hard Rock Stadium

Braxton Berrios helped give Miami Hurricanes fans great memories in the fall of 2017. With his high level of play, Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mad house as the Canes rose up the polls.

Berrios hopes making great memories for Miami fans continues in 2023.

Berros signed with the Miami Dolphins on March 17, 2023 after spending his previous four seasons with the New York Jets. In his four years in New York, he had 107 catches for 1085 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Oh, and he’s done a little bit more than that.

But it’s on special teams where Berrios should truly shine again in South Florida. Berrios has 67 punt returns for an 11.4 yards per return career average. He also has 67 kickoff returns for a 24.9 per return average with a touchdown. For his efforts, he earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2021.

Now, in 2023, Berrios appears to have the inside job for the Dolphins’ punt return job, if not the kickoff spot, depending on how he and Devon Achane look during the preseason. He also should have an opportunity in Mike McDaniel’s offense as a slot receiver. With Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle taking the top off of defenses and the Dolphins lacking a good pass-catching tight end, there’s a clear opportunity for Berrios to be a shifty, stick-moving target on third down, at minimum.

And it doesn’t hurt Braxton’s chances that the Dolphins guaranteed $3 million of his $3.5 million contract for 2023. That’s a large investment to eat if things don’t work out.

Berrios won’t be the star of the offense in 2023 in Miami like 2017, obviously. However, he’s prone to making big plays in several different aspects of a game. If he’s given a chance, then his handcuff celebrations from 2017 might not be the last time we see Berrios show out in a Hard Rock Stadium end zone.