The second week of the 2025 NFL regular season is underway, and the Detroit Lions are tasked with playing the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Both NFC North teams are 0-1, and it'll be the first time that ex-offensive coordinator Ben Johnson heads back to the Motor City as the Bears' head coach.
Although this storyline is the main focus in Detroit, Lions fans are also paying attention to the fact that former safety Ifeatu Melifonwu made a terrible choice in free agency. And it took one week to notice it.
Ex-Lion Ifeatu Melifonwu Made Bad Choice to Join Dolphins
Back in March, Melifonwu signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Miami Dolphins. He stepped into the starting lineup for the Dolphins, but it was a disaster for both parties. The Indianapolis Colts torched Miami 33-8 in Week 1.
The Dolphins were dominated on both sides of the ball, en route to allowing 418 total yards and committing three turnovers. Melifonwu played in 50 total snaps, which was the second most at the safety position on the team, only trailing Minkah Fitzpatrick's 73.
Melifonwu's reps displayed plenty of problems. Although he had six total tackles, the 26-year-old had a 49.0 overall Pro Football Focus grade (85th among 102 graded safeties), 55.6 run defense grade (72nd among 102 graded safeties), and 51.3 coverage grade (78th among 102 graded safeties). He also allowed two receptions in coverage for 14 yards.
He has room for personal growth, but it looks like the Dolphins are on a sinking ship. Before the season even began, head coach Mike McDaniel was on the hot seat. He's currently the betting favorite to be the first head coach fired, according to Covers' Chris Vasile.
And after the loss to the Colts, the Dolphins' players held a players-only meeting to discuss what went wrong. The fact that these guys are holding a players-only meeting after one game shows the state of the team.
The culture seems to be broken from the outside looking in. And if the Dolphins continue to rack up these losses, McDaniel will be axed. They would then scramble to name an interim coach and begin thinking about the 2026 season.
Melifonwu is on a one-year deal and is still auditioning for other teams in the league. Putting good film on tape is what he needs to do, but doing so on a bad team makes it tough. While he has more playing opportunities with the Dolphins, it looks like the former Lion made the wrong choice to sign with them.