The writing is on the wall for multiple Miami Dolphins players.
That includes several entering the final year of their contracts. Including restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, there are 40 players on the roster whose contracts will expire after the 2025 season, provided they don't get an extension.
It would be easy to pick some of those players to fill this list, but that would be like cheating. Instead, these players, whose contracts are not up in 2026, could be headed for the exit.
With Jalen Ramsey still expected to be traded prior to the start of the 2025 season, we won't put him on this list.
Dolphins players who won't be back in 2026 (and could possibly be gone sooner)
Edge Bradley Chubb
If Chubb gets hurt, his career in Miami is all but over. He will be cut if he can't make the impact to warrant the $31 million cap number that is coming in 2026. Releasing him before June 1, 2026, makes no sense, as the Dolphins would carry nearly $24 million in dead money.
Waiting until after that date would bring the Dolphins $20 million in cap relief, with $10 million in dead money. If Chubb is having a good season but the Dolphins struggle, he could be a trade option before the NFL deadline this fall.
Either way, there's a good chance Chubb's time in Miami is almost over.
WR Tyreek Hill
Hill will start off strong this season, and Dolphins fans will all but forget about his Week 18 antics to end last year. At some point, however, Hill will mess up again, and the Dolphins will need to move him.
In a perfect situation, Miami finds a mid-season trade deadline partner that wants him on their roster for a playoff run. Like Chubb, it depends on where the Dolphins are positioned and how they are playing. Releasing Hill as a post-June 1 cut would still give Miami a significant dead cap hit, but it becomes far more realistic next offseason.
The Dolphins would save $36.3 million in cap space by releasing or trading Hill next spring.
FB Alec Ingold
Ingold's use in the Dolphins offense isn't worth the $5 million cap hit in 2026, so there's a good chance he's gone after this season.
Miami will save $3 million if he is released in 2026, and that might happen depending on the Dolphins' cash needs. Since joining the Dolphins, Ingold has taken 40, 38, and 33% of the team's offensive snaps. That's not bad for a fullback, but adding Ollie Gordon in this year's draft may reduce his snap counts in short-yardage situations.
T Austin Jackson
Jackson's career has been consistently inconsistent. In his five seasons, Jackson has played in 13, 17, two, 16, and eight games. It has been an up-and-down rollercoaster of availability. When he is healthy, he has become reliable at doing his job.
The Dolphins gave him an extension partway through the 2023 season. He missed all but nine games in 2024. If Miami moves on in 2026, it will almost certainly have to happen post-June 1, as releasing him prior to that could cause the team to lose $12.3 million in cap space. A post-June 1 release would save them a little under $1.5 million.