A rough salary cap outlook. A franchise quarterback who isn't one with a massive contract on the books. A brand-new coaching staff and general manager. Yup, the Miami Dolphins are staring down the barrel of a difficult 2026 season.
Now I say that with a caveat. Maybe new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, thanks to his Green Bay ties, manages to score Malik Willis as Tua Tagovailoa's replacement in free agency. Perhaps Sullivan then nails his first, second, and one or two of his three third-round picks in the NFL Draft.
Sounds amazing. Borderline impossible to get all that done. What's worse is that every single other team in the AFC East has more money to spend on the open market than the Dolphins do.
I therefore thought it'd be worth exploring one free-agent move apiece for each of Miami's chief rivals to make that'd be particularly pernicious to the Fins' chances of any kind of glow up in 2026.
One frightening free agent fit for each of the Miami Dolphins' AFC East rivals
New England Patriots: WR Alec Pierce
It's very possible that the Indianapolis Colts place the franchise tag on wide receiver Alec Pierce, but that'd be quite a steep price tag at just under $29 million.
Is Pierce worth that amount? Hard to say. What isn't hard to concede is that Pierce is the best free-agent receiver on the market this side of George Pickens, who's widely expected to be tagged.
Pierce could become a tag-and-trade candidate, but in any event, the New England Patriots couldn't find a better match for Drake Maye's downfield passing talents. Maye has perhaps the best deep ball in the NFL despite only being in the league for two years. It's that uncannily good. He led the league with a 132.7 passer rating on throws of 20+ yards during the regular season.
Sounds like a great match for the ultimate vertical threat in Pierce. His last two seasons are as follows: 84 receptions, 1,827 yards (NFL-best 21.8 yards per catch), and 13 touchdown grabs. That'll play in New England!
Thoughts and prayers to whoever occupies the Dolphins' cornerback corps of the future on trying to stop that Maye-Pierce combo from dotting them up to oblivion.
New York Jets: QB Malik Willis
While I still contend that Miami or Arizona are better bets for Malik Willis, both in terms of the fit and the organization (though the Cardinals rival the Jets' radioactivity), what's stopping the Fins' AFC East rival from stealing their preferred future QB1?
Whereas the Fins are operating under a salary cap deficit of roughly $16 million as of now, New York has $83 million to play with. Not to mention a projected $201 million in 2027.
According to that last link on OverTheCap.com, restructured contracts for Brandon Stephens, Jamien Sherwood, and Garrett Wilson give the Jets almost $103 million in salary cap room for this year. Seriously, they could outbid darn near anyone for Willis' services.
How do you sell Willis on such a notoriously toxic franchise? Well, for starters, all the cap room to add free agents in the next two years. Then, how about five first-round picks in the next two drafts?
Rather than play the lottery and try to hit on a rookie QB, if Willis sustains the excellence he showed the past couple of years in Green Bay, the Jets' latest rebuild could absolutely explode in the best way.
Buffalo Bills: LB Devin Bush
Linebacker and safety are viewed as strengths in the draft. The Bills could very well double-dip at both positions in free agency and in the deep talent pool of rookies.
Given that the team is very much in win-now mode and picking so late in each round, though, it feels like they'd be more inclined to use their first-rounder on, say, a trade for a new go-to wide receiver. A.J. Brown perhaps?
Incumbent Buffalo linebackers Shaq Thompson and Matt Milano are hitting the open market for Buffalo. Terrel Bernard hasn't been great the last two seasons. The pass defense should continue to be a strength under new defensive coordinator/ex-NFL safety Jim Leonhard. What the Bills really need help with is defending the run.
Enter: Devin Bush. The 2020 first-round pick has enjoyed a rapid ascent from an apparent draft bust to an All-Pro caliber linebacker.
Bush is an excellent run defender who missed only 7% of his tackle attempts last season en route to 125 combined tackles. Plus, he yielded a mere 69.3 passer rating in coverage. Rather than possibly paying twice as much for Jacksonville's Devin Lloyd, the cap-strapped Bills could shell out just enough for Bush and sell him on the chance to win a Super Bowl.