The Miami Dolphins are in the midst of a complete rebuild under new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, which means seemingly nothing is off the table in terms of creative roster moves.
Not that Sullivan is about to go overboard in free agency. He doesn't have the funds for that due to the Tua Tagovailoa contract situation. However, heads are rolling, so to speak, already, as Sullivan has cut Bradley Chubb and Tyreek Hill, among other key Miami veterans.
To run an effective offense under new coordinator Bobby Slowik, yes, the Dolphins need to upgrade from Tua, but they also need to build on an accidental strength of last year's team.
That could mean poaching a restricted free agent from the San Francisco 49ers who'd flourish in Slowik's system, which is an offshoot of his former superior's, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan.
49ers tight end Jake Tonges could price himself out of San Francisco and on to the Miami Dolphins
George Kittle suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the playoffs, which could mean the 49ers do all they can to retain Tonges as their temporary No. 1 tight end until Kittle is healthy enough to return.
But San Francisco's current roster is more or less a house of cards. As things stand right now, the $41 million in 2026 cap space looks robust — until you look ahead to 2027. The 49ers are only projected to have $10 million or so in cap room then, per OverTheCap.com.
It's atypical for teams to slap anything more than the standard free-agent tender on any given player. Tonges had 34 receptions for 293 yards and five TDs last season. A $3.5 million or so price tag checks out.
Although the Niners would have the chance to match any bid from another team, Miami could go well beyond that RFA tender amount. It'd suddenly put San Francisco in a pickle as John Lynch juggles multiple future priorities, knowing that the team is still in a decent position to contend right now.
Whenever the decision is made to release Brandon Aiyuk, Lynch, Shanahan, and Co. will get some cap relief from that. Still hasn't happened yet, though. That magnifies the importance of every 49ers move.
Miami stumbled its way into a good tight end room last year when Darren Waller retired, and Greg Dulcich proved he was far above practice squad duty. It's critical to maintain that position group as a strength.
By stealing Tonges away from the Bay Area, Slowik would have a great anchor to lead the room. Tonges would know the system very well and hit the ground running. He'd have a huge role as a pass-catcher, too.
When Slowik was in Houston for C.J. Stroud's first two seasons, he hard-pivoted to using lots of two tight end formations (12 personnel) in 2024.
The Green Bay Packers are where Sullivan and new Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley hail from. They just saw Matt LaFleur use 12 personnel at the league's third-highest rate this past season. Sullivan was part of a front office that drafted Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave in the same draft.
Now that Tyreek is no longer in the fold, it behooves Slowik to build his offense around tailback De'Von Achane, the running game, and heavier personnel sets that feature multiple tight ends. Jake Tonges is the perfect glue to hold all that together — if the Fins can pry him away from the Niners.