it may take a few years until the team is ready to compete late into January.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nWith limited talent, salary cap space, and draft capital, here are five players who need to make a strong first impression with Sullivan and the rest of Miami\u2019s front office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WR Jaylen Waddle<\/p>\n
Waddle caught 64 passes for a team-high 910 yards while appearing in 16 games last season. He was the only receiver to average more than 35 receiving yards while appearing in at least five games.<\/p>\n
Waddle, who turned 27 on Nov. 25, stepped in as Miami\u2019s top receiver after Tyreek Hill suffered a season-ending injury in Week 4, but efficiency became an issue. Thirty-four of his 100 targets fell incomplete as the offense struggled with inconsistent quarterback play.<\/p>\n
Conversations around Waddle\u2019s future with the Dolphins aren\u2019t based on production or his contract ($11 million cap hit in 2026). Instead, the question should focus on whether his timeline aligns with Miami\u2019s incoming rebuild.<\/p>\n
Waddle thrived in Mike McDaniel\u2019s offense, but his production wasn\u2019t limited to that scheme. He caught 104 passes for 1,015 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie in 2021, when George Godsey and Eric Studesville served as co-offensive coordinators.<\/p>\n
NFL Network\u2019s Tom Pelissero reported at the trade deadline that Miami declined an offer from the Buffalo Bills for Waddle that included a future first-round pick. Rumors suggested the Dolphins passed because the pick was not in the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n
While Miami could use extra draft picks, trading Waddle would further complicate the franchise\u2019s salary cap issues. He has an $11 million cap hit for 2026, but that number would jump to over $23 million if traded before June 1 because of how his contract is structured.<\/p>\n
With limited talent across the roster, Waddle\u2019s future is among Sullivan\u2019s toughest decisions. Stick with the receiver in his prime, or reset the timeline with draft capital over the next few seasons before his cap hit balloons to over $30 million in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
C Aaron Brewer<\/p>\n
Brewer moved across the offensive line early in his career but really established himself as a center with the Dolphins. He started 16 of 17 games, allowed just one sack, and was named a Protector of the Year finalist as well as a second-team All-Pro.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Coming off his best season as a pro and with only one year left on his contract, it\u2019s hard to imagine that Brewer won\u2019t be asking for a new contract prior to the 2026 season. Brewer\u2019s $9 million cap hit for next season currently ranks seventh among all centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Things get tricky when considering Miami\u2019s salary cap limitations and the fact that Brewer was at his best in McDaniel\u2019s offense. He allowed at least four sacks in three straight seasons with the Tennessee Titans, which included back-to-back seasons with over 20 quarterback hurries, according to Pro Football Focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no denying that players grow over time, and Miami\u2019s offense will be somewhat similar with Bobby Slowik remaining with the team and taking over as offensive coordinator, but it\u2019ll be interesting to see how much Sullivan values the center position \u2014 especially after Miami\u2019s previous front office declined to extend Connor Williams, who shined at center in 2022 after four seasons playing guard for the Dallas Cowboys.\u00a0<\/p>\n
LB Jordyn Brooks<\/p>\n
Brooks was not only a captain and locker room leader for Miami, but he also led the NFL with 183 tackles while appearing in all 17 games and earned first-team All-Pro honors.<\/p>\n
Much like Brewer, Brooks is coming off his best season as a pro and has only one year left on his contract. They both also have three void years on the back end of the deal, which speaks to the franchise\u2019s messy spending over the last few seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Miami\u2019s tight salary cap situation makes retaining players challenging, but head coach Jeff Hafley has emphasized building a tough, physical football team that can withstand the elements. A former first-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks, Brooks has played 17 games in each of the last two seasons. He turns 28 in October and has been in the league for six years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the Dolphins are embracing a complete rebuild, Brooks fits what Hafley is looking for in his players and could serve as an ideal bridge piece to help set the standard for the incoming youth movement.<\/p>\n
WR Malik Washington\u00a0<\/p>\n
Washington is one of the smaller receivers at 5-8, 195 pounds, but the former sixth-round pick carved out a steady role returning kicks and as a backup wide receiver.<\/p>\n
He was targeted at least four times in seven of the last 13 games but failed to break 50 receiving yards. Primarily used around the line of scrimmage, Washington was typically utilized to help move the sticks rather than create a big play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Washington has two seasons left on his rookie deal, and the Dolphins will need cheap talent as they reset the books, but the offense desperately needs bigger targets to throw to, especially if the unit shifts from the rhythm-based attack used for Tagovailoa and his speedy playmakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Washington should be the front-runner to return kicks and punts entering next season, but Sullivan and the front office may be looking for a complete reset at the wide receiver position after the offense ranked 26th with an average of just 180 passing yards per game last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
RB Jaylen Wright<\/p>\n
De\u2019Von Achane is the Energizer Bunny of Miami\u2019s offense, but the unit needs more from the other running backs \u2014 especially if Achane is also going to lead the team with 67 receptions.<\/p>\n
Miami traded a 2025 third-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles to select Jaylen Wright in the fourth round of the 2024 draft. He\u2019s failed to reach 40 yards in 22 of his 25 appearances while exceeding 60 rushing yards twice over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n
Wright and Ollie Gordon, a sixth-round rookie, were neck and neck last season with 70 carries each. On top of that, teams typically stock up on running backs each offseason in hopes of striking gold with a late-round or undrafted player.<\/p>\n
Wright had the inside track as RB2 after former general manager Chris Grier traded up to select him, but that\u2019s no longer the case with a new GM in the building. With little production behind Achane, Wright will need to show he\u2019s ready to take a major jump in Year 3 to maintain his place on the depth chart.<\/p>\n
More Miami Dolphins Coverage:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve entered a new era of Miami Dolphins football, but change doesn\u2019t happen overnight in the NFL.\u00a0 Miami…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":722039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2049],"tags":[217,7,216,251,2087,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-722038","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-dolphins","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-dolphins","12":"tag-miamidolphins","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115996955183817574","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/722039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}