The Miami Dolphins may have had one of the worst off-seasons for a team in NFL history. During the season, everybody knew that Mike McDaniel was going to be fired. Every Dolfan knew he was not coming back. No surprises there. So when the season ended, it was the first move the Fins made.
The man they got to replace him, however, surprised many. The reason for the surprise was that absolutely nobody knew who this man was. Jeff Hafley was the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. This hire didn’t exactly get a rise out of anybody.
The one other move that most Dolphin fans were pretty sure was going to happen, was the release of Tua Tagovailoa. His time had come. New coach, new quarterback. That’s a common occurrence in the NFL when the current QB isn’t a superstar. Hafley was going to want his own guy. And preferably a guy that didn’t have 101 concussions. And that is exactly what the Dolphins did, but we will get there in a minute.
The biggest problem for the Fins this offseason is that they cleaned house, but they didn’t clean cap space. They are taking huge cap hits with all of these players they let go and traded. They have more dead money than a funeral home. You may be asking, what is “cap space”, what are “cap hits”, and what is “dead money”?
“Cap space” is basically the amount that counts against how much a team can spend on its players in a given season. Right now, for 2026, a team is given 300 million to spend. That is a 22% increase from 2025. A “cap hit” is the amount that a certain player costs a team individually. And every one of those amounts counts against the 300 million. “Dead money” refers to the total amount a team has to pay for players that they no longer have on their roster.
Treez and SFL.media will go over the most notable moves that the Dolphins made so far this offseason. The cuts and the trades, because they did both. So here we go, and hold on, this gets bumpy.
- They let TE Darren Waller just head to free agency
- They released superstar WR Tyreek Hill. If they kept Hill, his cap hit would have been $51 million. By cutting him, they reduced it to only $28.2 million
- In March, they cut FB Alec Ingold and K Jason Sanders
- In another cost-saving move, they cut LB Bradley Chubb, who already jumped to the Buffalo Bills
- Then came the switcheroo at QB. The Fins cut longtime starter Tua Tagovailoa and signed lifetime backup Malik Willis. Tua had a horrible year and capped it with 15 INTs (a career high). They still owe Tua $54 million in guaranteed money in 2026, with a $67.4 million cap hit for 2026. Malik Willis signed a 3-yr $67.5 million ($45 guaranteed)
- The Fins signed Edge Rusher Josh Uche for one year. They are paying him the veteran’s minimum,, so they got a good deal with this one
- They signed former Rams WR Tutu Atwell for one season (no contract details). He’s fast, little, and should see a lot of touches in this depleted wide receiver lineup.
There were two trades made as well. One small one, and one HUGE one.
- The first was trading away Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. He was drafted by the Fins originally. But left the team years ago. Last season, they brought him back on a temporary basis. Kind of like renting him. There never was a long-term future. Well, they traded him within the division to the NY Jets for a 7th round draft pick in 2026
- Then you have the BIG BOY TRADE. To truly prove that the Dolphins were cleaning house, they traded away young WR Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos. The Fins sent Waddle and a 4th round pick in 2026 for Denver’s 1st round pick(#30), their 3rd round pick, and their 4th round pick. Honestly, getting rid of Waddle will hurt, but they got great picks for him, and it should truly help the rebuilding. But there is one problem with the trade. MONEY!!!! The Dolphins will still have to pay Waddle $41.2 million over the next two years left on his deal. This is guaranteed money from his original 3-yr $84.75 million deal.
So with all that being said,I say good luck Miami. And good luck Dol-fans.This is going to be a rough and tough season. Buffalo and New England didn’t magically disappear from the division. They are right there above you looking down, and are excited to open a can of whoop ass on your rebuilding team.
