The Patriots and Dolphins first went toe-to-toe in 1966, and ever since the following year, the longtime rivals have met on two occasions every NFL season.
It’s been an entertaining rivalry, to say the least, and a number of players have experienced both sides of it.
Here are five memorable players who spent time in both Foxboro, Mass. and South Florida over the course of their respective NFL careers.
Larry Izzo
The term “unsung hero” was made for players like Izzo. After going undrafted in 1996, the Rice product latched on with the Dolphins before the start of that season and quickly made a name for himself as a special teamer. In fact, legendary head coach Jimmie Johnson labeled Izzo as a Dolphins roster lock before he even played a single snap at the professional level.
Izzo went on to play five seasons in Miami and was selected to the Pro Bowl in his final campaign with the Dolphins. His South Beach tenure was solid, but it paled in comparison to what he did in New England. After signing with the Patriots as a free agent in 2001, Izzo won three Super Bowls in the first wave of the organization’s dynasty and earned two Pro Bowl selections. He also was named to the 2004 first-team All-Pro squad and earned spots on both the Patriots’ All-2000s team and All-Dynasty team.
Brandon Bolden
Another undrafted free agent, Bolden signed with the Patriots in 2012 and managed to secure a 53-man roster spot despite fumbling twice in the preseason. Bolden’s rookie season was one of his best, as he rushed for a career-high 274 yards and scored two touchdowns. But like Izzo, Bolden primarily earned his keep in New England by serving as a rock-solid special teamer. Alongside Patriots great Matthew Slater, Bolden helped New England’s special teams unit rank among the NFL’s best in the 2010s. That facet of the game helped the Ole Miss product win a pair of Super Bowls in Foxboro.
After six seasons in New England, Bolden was released by Bill Belichick and company and quickly signed on with the rival Dolphins. He suited up in every game for Miami in 2018 and managed to post an 11.4 yards per carry average, albeit on only eight rushes. Bolden’s Dolphins tenure proved to only last one season, as he returned to New England in March 2019 and played three more campaigns with his original team.
Junior Seau
Seau always will be remembered as a Charger, but the legendary linebacker closed out his Hall of Fame career with Dolphins and Patriots stints.
After 13 years in San Diego, Seau was traded by the Bolts to the Dolphins ahead of the 2003 season. The 1990 first-round pick set the tone for Miami’s defense in his debut campaign with the team, but injuries hampered the rest of his tenure with the Fins. A torn pectoral muscle limited him to eight games in 2004 and he only played in seven the following season, his last with Miami.
Seau called it a career in August 2006, but his retirement only lasted four days. The USC icon signed with the Patriots and showed shades of his old self that season, but a broken arm cut his campaign short. The following season was one to remember, as Seau was part of an elite New England defense that helped Tom Brady and company come within one game of a perfect season. The lone loss prevented Seau from winning his first Super Bowl.
The late ‘backer played two more seasons in New England before retiring for good in January 2010.
Irving Fryar
When having the conversation about the best wide receivers in Patriots history, most turn to the pass-catchers who played in the Brady era.
But let’s not forget about Fryar, who was a star in New England almost a decade before TB12 even arrived in Foxboro.
After a standout final college season at Nebraska, Irving was the first overall pick by the Patriots in the 1984 draft. Following a quiet rookie campaign, Fryar broke out as a sophomore, catching seven touchdown passes. He earned the first of his five Pro Bowl selections in that 1985 season and was the lone New England touchdown scorer in its Super Bowl XX loss to the vaunted Chicago Bears.
Friar played seven more seasons in New England before he was traded to Miami in 1993. He only played three seasons with the Dolphins, but he started all 16 games in each campaign and caught 20 touchdown passes over that stretch. While Friar was great in limited time with Miami, spots on New England’s All-1980s team and 50th anniversary team in 2009 will make him always remembered as a Patriot.
Wes Welker
To say Welker’s level of success in New England verse Miami was lopsided would be the understatement of all understatements.
An undrafted free agent signing by the Chargers in 2004, Welker played three forgettable seasons with the Dolphins, with whom he played 46 games but only caught one touchdown. A trade to New England before the 2007 season signaled the start of one of the greatest stretches by a wide receiver in Patriots history.
Welker caught 112 passes in his first season with the Patriots, 16 more than he corraled in his previous three seasons combined. Eclipsing the 100-catch mark in a single season became the norm for the Texas Tech product, who accomplished the feat in all but one of his six seasons in New England. Welker even managed to go over the century mark in the 2008 season that Brady missed entirely due to a torn ACL. Two of those monster campaigns saw Welker snag 123 and 122 balls.
Nearly all of Welker’s career accolades were earned during his Patriots tenure. The list includes five Pro Bowl selections, four All-Pro nods (two first-team) and three receptions leader titles. Welker also earned spots on both the Patriots’ All-2000s and All-2010s Teams, as well as the All-Dynasty group.
Welker got into coaching shortly after his playing days concluded and he returned to Miami in 2022 as a wide receivers coach.
