Dolphins retain versatile defender from special teams unit

The Miami Dolphins are a poor franchise with a rich owner who will be paying a lot of dead contracts this year. That will change in the future, but for now, Jon-Eric Sullivan has to play his cards close to the vest.

Fans hoping for a splash in free agency will likely be disappointed. They have 36 impending free agents, but earlier this week, they cut that number to 35. The Dolphins have opted to re-sign linebacker Cameron Goode...and that's a good thing.

Miami Dolphins re-sign Cameron Goode ahead of free agency

Goode was drafted in the 7th-round of the 2022 NFL Draft. For the better part of his time with the Dolphins, Goode played mostly on special teams. That changed last year as the Dolphins dealt with injury and a depleted pass-rush group.

In 2025, his defensive play jumped to 108 snaps on defense, still only 10% of the season. He played 73% of the special teams snaps. The Dolphins need pass rush help this year, but it's unclear whether or not Goode will become the guy to play opposite of Chop Robinson or if he will be relegated to the special teams unit again this year.

Over his three seasons with Miami, he didn't play his rookie season; he has registered more than 60% of his playing time on the STs. With the Dolphins being down to just a couple of edge-rushers this year, he could see an uptick in playing time as Jeff Hafley re-evaluates the entire roster.

The move does move the needle for the Dolphins in terms of the salary cap. With the signing, Miami is back over the $302 million cap that goes into effect on March 11th. They have quite a few moves that need to be made before and after to not only get cap compliant but also free up space to sign players.

It's not a perfect world for Jon-Eric Sullivan in his first season as an NFL general manager. Miami is expected to carry more dead money over the next two seasons than just about every other NFL team. It's a small price to pay as they shift away from the Chris Grier method of operation.