As of Tuesday, the Miami Dolphins had made enough moves to get $2 million under the projected salary cap. NFL teams won't need to be compliant until March 11th at 4:00 P.M. Eastern. Miami got a head start.
Several players have yet to see their names on the chopping block, and it appears that Bradley Chubb's release could be a post-June 1 designation. That will save Miami money this year while pushing the rest into 2027.
What is interesting is that the Dolphins have enough dead money to field a big portion of their roster. According to Over The Cap, Miami is currently eating $73 million in dead money. However, that number may balloon to over double that amount.
Miami Dolphins $73 million dead money hit could increase by another $100 million
Tua Tagovailoa's eventual departure will be an interesting one. The Dolphins want to trade him, but it's not likely to happen, and even if it does, the cap hit will still be brutal. Releasing Tagovailoa before June 1st carries a $99 million hit to the dead cap number. That's nearly $30 million more than what they have now.
$48 million of their current dead space is occupied by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Ramsey, whom the Dolphins traded before the start of the 2025 season. A monumental mistake by Chris Grier, the Dolphins kept handing Ramsey more money despite him not being a fit on the team.
Terron Armstead, $10.7 million, is the only other player with a double-digit dead money hit. That will change when the Chubb release becomes official.
It's not all bad news. The Dolphins managed to trim nearly $30 million off their cap with Monday's four releases. Who will be next? That's a guessing game at this point, but these players make the most sense.
Player | Dead money | Savings |
|---|---|---|
Jason Sanders | $663,000 | $3.9 million |
Alec Ingold | $1.9 million | $3.06 million |
JuJu Brents | 0 | $1.8 million |
Austin Jackson | $13.7 million | $1.6 million |
In Jackson's case, a post-June 1st release would make sense, but the Dolphins can only designate two players as post-June 1st releases. It appears that Chubb and Tagovailoa are the candidates for this offseason.
There are minor moves that can be made as well, including extensions or restructures for De'Von Achane, Jordyn Brooks, and possibly Aaron Brewer. The Dolphins could also try to trade Minkah Fitzpatrick, which would make sense given the executive turnover.