It’s a new era of Miami Dolphins football, with the organization hoping to tap into some of the magic of one of the NFL’s heritage franchises.
Former general manager Chris Grier was forced to walk the plank ahead of last fall’s NFL trade deadline, and the Dolphins moved on from head coach Mike McDaniel at season’s end, replacing their power structure with former Green Bay Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan as general manager and former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as head coach.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has almost assuredly taken his last snap in a Dolphins uniform, and could be one of the more coveted veteran options for quarterback-desperate outposts across the league.
Meanwhile, for as much as McDaniel’s offense underachieved the past few seasons, they can’t hold a candle to the disappointment of a defense that allowed 24.9 points per game last season. Against that backdrop, it’s easy to see why Sullivan hired Hafley roughly 90 seconds after the ink was dry on his own contract as general manager.
Here’s a look at how the Dolphins can begin rebuilding in a division that houses two legitimate Super Bowl contenders and one organization with franchise-altering assets at their disposal this offseason …
On the surface, things are pretty bleak for a first-time general manager looking to put his fingerprints on a roster.
Ahead of the new league year beginning and free agency opening, the Dolphins currently have just $3.18 million in cap space, but there are some moves to be made that could create enough spending flexibility for Miami to fill some of the more pressing needs across the roster this offseason.
There’s no real easy solution for Tagovailoa.
Trading Tagovailoa before June 1 would incur a $45.2 million dead-money charge while only freeing up approximately $11 million in cap space this offseason, and while trading him post-June 1 would create $42.87 million in spending flexibility while triggering a $13.4 million dead-money charge, the market may look drastically different on June 2 than it does in late February.
Miami could offer to pay a portion of Tagovailoa’s salary to facilitate a trade in the weeks ahead, but it’s going to take some effort.
Far more likely, though, is that the Dolphins designate Tagovailoa as a post-June 1 release, take their medicine via $67.4 million dead-money charge this season and $31.8 million dead money charge in 2027, to move on.
Meanwhile, releasing pass rusher Bradley Chubb is going to free up anywhere from $7 million to just over $23 million in cap space this offseason, depending on whether they designate the move as a post-June 1 transaction, or not.
So, with a couple of pen strokes, the Dolphins will go to about the middle of the pack in terms of cap space at their disposal this offseason.
The Dolphins find themselves in a bit of a difficult position.
Just outside of the top-10 picks, Miami is far out of reach of Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, and presumptive No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, in what appears to be a one-quarterback class but could land an anchor along the offensive line or some desperately needed help in the secondary in the first round.
Similarly, armed with three third-round picks, including five of the first 90 selections in this year’s draft, Sullivan has the ammunition to move around the board to acquire the prospects Miami has at the top of theirs in the early rounds.
Here’s a look at the Dolphins’ current slate of draft picks:
First Round, Pick No. 11 overall
Second Round, Pick No. 43 overall
Third Round, Pick No. 75 overall
Third Round, Pick No. 87 overall (via Philadelphia Eagles)
Third Round, Pick No. 90 overall (via Houston Texans)
Fourth Round, Pick No. 111 overall
Fifth Round, Pick No. 149 overall
Seventh Round, Pick No. 227 overall
Trade Pick No. 11, Pick No. 43, and a 2027 Second-Round Pick for Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy
Miami is unlikely to find a solution at quarterback in this year’s draft, and would be wise to sprinkle its cap space across multiple positions of need.
So, acquiring J.J. McCarthy from a Minnesota Vikings franchise that can’t seem to get rid of him quickly enough nor dispatch any remaining vestiges of the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah era could solve multiple problems for the Dolphins.
Trading for McCarthy would reset the salary scale at quarterback, given that the former first-round pick is under team control for at least two more seasons on his rookie contract and give new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik a developmental prospect to build the rest of the offense around.
Given that Miami’s offense functions at its best when running back D’Von Achane is the focal point, and McCarthy is at his best in a ground-and-pound run-based offense, the fit here might be ideal for everyone involved. Besides, if McCarthy flops, the Dolphins aren’t tied to a franchise-quarterback level contract that they’d likely be forced to hand out to a Mac Jones, Malik Willis, Daniel Jones, or Anthony Richardson as a bigger swing in a mediocre quarterback market that’s overcrowded with suitors.
Sign Free Agent Offensive Guard Alijah Vera-Tucker
Regardless of what the Dolphins do to overhaul the offense, none of it will matter all that much if Miami doesn’t prioritize fixing an offensive line that allowed 38 sacks and has some pressing needs across the board.
Betting on former New York Jets top-15 pick, offensive guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, as he returns from a triceps injury could be a significant addition and upgrade up front.
When healthy, Vera-Tucker is one of the premier players at the position, and in 2024 Pro Football Focus points out that he posted the fourth-lowest pressure rate (2.8 percent) among guards in 2024. One of the top free agent guards available this offseason, Vera-Tucker could be the centerpiece of the Dolphins’ rebuild up front.
Sign free agent cornerback Jaylen Watson
Few defensive schemes place more of an emphasis on dominant cornerback play than Hafley’s, so spending big at the top of the market at this position makes a lot of sense for the Dolphins.
Watson, 27, is hitting the market at precisely the right time to cash in, and while the Chiefs would likely move heaven and earth to keep one of the more dominant players in the secondary, Kansas City’s cap woes could make that a genuine struggle.
Enter the Dolphins, who could build the entire cornerback room around Watson, who is fresh off a career-high 42 tackles with a pair of sacks and two interceptions this past season. Opposing quarterbacks posted a meager 69 passer rating when targeted last season, which could prove valuable in a division that houses former MVP Josh Allen and last season’s MVP runner-up Drake Maye for a Dolphins defense looking to forge an identity in 2026 and beyond.
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