Time for the Dolphins to Rebuild
The Miami Dolphins have to start anew and not act like there's a short-term fix out there.
We’ve already seen one NFL team fire its head coach before the season has ended, and now, we have an NFL team dismissing its general manager before season’s end.
The Miami Dolphins parted ways with Chris Grier as their general manager this past week. Grier had been the Dolphins’ GM since 2019. During his tenure, the Dolphins had four winning seasons (though they were 9-8 in two of those seasons) and two playoff trips but have had back-to-back losing seasons and are 2-7 at the midway point of the 2025 season.
Since Grier took over as GM, the Dolphins have been fairly aggressive when it comes to trades and free agency. Their draft record overall hasn’t been bad under Grier but they had little in the way of draft capital in 2022 and 2023 and didn’t keep everyone they drafted in the two years prior when they had multiple picks, particularly multiple first rounders.
Having parted ways with Grier, there is speculation the Dolphins could be sellers at the trade deadline on Nov. 4. They do have seven picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, with two third-round picks and no sixth rounder but could use more draft capital.
Also, the Dolphins are projected to be $11.9M over the cap for 2026, assuming a base salary cap of $295.5M. That’s with 36 players under contract. Getting some cap space freed now would help with carryover and they will need to consider additional moves to get their cap situation sorted in 2026.
The time has come for the Dolphins to rebuild and part of that means moving on from certain players even if they really don’t want to lose them. This isn’t a team that just need a few tweaks but needs a significant amount of work to get back on track.
Here are five things I believe the Dolphins need to look at to get themselves in a better position for the coming seasons, regardless of who they hire as the next general manager and who will likely become the new head coach (given that it’s likely Mike McDaniel is gone at season’s end).
Trade Jaelen Phillips before the Nov. 4 deadline.
Phillips missed the bulk of the past two seasons because of injuries. The Dolphins picked up his fifth-year option in 2024 and he has stayed healthy . However, he’s in the final year of his contract, but is the type of player who would likely net significant draft pick compensation if they trade him before this week’s deadline.
I can understand the desire to keep Phillips but he’s not a game changer at his position and it’s better to get draft capital for 2026 rather than wait for a potential comp pick in 2027 – and it’s much better to get draft capital than it would be to franchise or extend him when you don’t have a good cap position for 2026.
Try to trade Bradley Chubb before the Nov. 4 deadline or cut him next offseason.
Chubb is another player the Dolphins could consider trading and I would imagine they’d be more inclined to move him, given that he is older than Phillips and carries a significant cap charge of $31.2M for 2026.
Chubb probably wouldn’t get as much draft pick compensation in a midseason trade, but if there is a buyer out there, the Dolphins should listen. If they can’t work out a trade, they need to cut him in 2026 to get cap space freed.
Be prepared to cut Tyreek Hill in the offseason.
Hill suffered a dislocated knee and torn ligaments in Week 4 and is done for the season. There are some questions about his future in the NFL – and this comes as 2026 is the final year of his contract with the Dolphins. He carries a cap charge in 2026 of $51.9M.
The Dolphins will free $23.65M of cap space in 2026 if they either cut Hill or he retires. They would have to pay an injury settlement, but given the significance of his injuries, they could agree to pay him an additional sum. He’s due a $5M roster bonus in 2026 and the Dolphins could agree to pay him that, in addition to an injury settlement, as a condition of his release.
Leave Tua Tagovailoa’s contract alone.
Tagovailoa carries a cap charge of $56.4M for 2026. That’s a huge number and it may be tempting to convert some of his $39M base salary into a signing bonus to free cap space. They already have a $15M option bonus due, though, so it’s not a good idea to convert any more salary into a signing bonus.
Furthermore, the Dolphins have to ask themselves if Tagovailoa is the long-term answer at quarterback. They are stuck with him in 2026 but would be able to get out of the contract in 2027 with just $3M owed to him that year (that $3M becomes fully guaranteed on March 15, 2026). The Dolphins need to have that flexibility to get out of the deal rather than tie themselves to a QB who, while not a bad QB, isn’t a game changer.
If trading Jaylen Waddle, do so before the option bonus is due March 23, 2026.
There are some teams who have reported interest in Waddle, though the Dolphins are said to be hesitant to trade him at this time. Trading Waddle now is a possibility though they would take significant dead money charges in 2026. However, if they get a strong offer, they need to consider it.
If the Dolphins don’t get an offer to their liking by the Nov. 4 deadline, they could still discuss trades during the 2026 offseason but, if he is traded, they need to complete the trade by March 23, 2026. That’s when an option bonus of a little more than $15M is due and, if exercised, the Dolphins would get no cap benefit from trading him.
In this case, I wouldn’t say the Dolphins have to trade Waddle. This is simply pointing out that, if they decide to do this, they need to do so by a particular deadline to ensure they get cap space freed.
There are other moves the Dolphins can consider to sort their cap situation but the biggest thing they need to do is set aside the notion that they must be aggressive in free agency or trades to get back to the playoffs right away. They need to revamp the roster, not just bring in people who are there to try to win with the current roster. That approach calls for a long-term plan, not a short-term fix.