Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has successfully gutted a roster that was far too overpriced and top-heavy in his first offseason, but it was at the cost of most of their veteran leaders. Fielding one of the league's youngest rosters offers hope for the future, but the 2026 season still needs to be played.
Without much cap space to work with, thanks to a staggering $179 million in dead money for this season, their options to add veteran talent are limited. That didn't stop ESPN's team of NFL writers (specifically Seth Walder) from naming the Dolphins as a candidate to trade for Bears tight end Cole Kmet in a recent article.
Kmet has been a hot name in trade talks ever since Chicago drafted Stanford tight end Sam Roush in the third round of this year's draft, even if GM Ryan Poles has consistently pushed back on the idea. If he were to become available, however, would Miami be the right team to make the move?
Miami Dolphins named as a potential landing spot for Bears tight end Cole Kmet, but should they consider it?
If Miami is going to make a trade for a veteran this offseason, Kmet would not be high on my list of targets. While Greg Dulcich and rookie Will Kacmarek are unproven, Kmet is nothing more than an average NFL tight end at this point in his career. As the team of ESPN writers points out, he is also rather expensive in the last year of his deal in 2027.
"Kmet's contract was restructured before the draft to reduce his 2026 cap hit to $7.775 million, while escalating his cap number to $15.425 million for 2027 (the last year of his contract)."
That 2027 amount wouldn't be cost-prohibitive thanks to a huge uptick in cap space coming Miami's way, but Kmet would be grossly overpaid at that number. Walder's proposed compensation, a fourth and sixth-round pick next year, would also be a high cost for a team that clearly values its draft picks under the new regime.
If Miami is going to make a trade before the start of the 2026 season, it should be on the defensive side of the ball instead. With gaping holes at safety, slot corner, and edge rusher (from a run defense standpoint, at least), that should be where the Dolphins look to add veterans via the trade market. As of now, though, I would bet that Sullivan stands pat and allows his young roster to play through its growing pains.
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