An all-too-familiar problem that’s haunted the Dolphins in recent years has once again taken root in Miami’s troublesome start to 2025
The good news is that the Dolphins are near the top of the charts. The bad news? Well, you may want to sit down.
The Miami Dolphins‘ season takes another step closer to the midway point on Sunday with a trip to Atlanta to face the Falcons. And Miami, sitting at 1-6, is enduring wave after wave of scrutiny and criticism amid what has been a disappointing campaign. But waves of criticism aren’t the only thing this team is currently mired in.
The Dolphins are also in the midst with a new battle against a familiar foe — attrition. Miami has, for pretty much the entirety of the Mike McDaniel era, saw their teams deal with disproportionate amounts of resources being left out on game days due to injuries. 2025 brings with it a new layer with a familiar result.
According to the latest numbers by Spotrac, the Dolphins are among the league leaders in missing resources on game days.
The Dolphins’ injuries and contract offloading puts them near top of the league in cap commitments off the field in 2025
| NFL Ranking | Team | Combined Dead Cap & Injury/Reserve List Cap Charges In 2025 |
| 1 | San Francisco 49ers | $157,267,481 |
| 2 | Cleveland Browns | $127,573,830 |
| 3 | New Orleans Saints | $114,428,453 |
| 4 | MIAMI DOLPHINS | $111,911,083 |
| 5 | New York Jets | $104,358,978 |
| 6 | Las Vegas Raiders | $97,811,855 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Eages | $90,481,063 |
| 8 | Seattle Seahawks | $88,152,505 |
| 9 | Jacksonville Jaguars | $85,679,905 |
| 10 | Houston Texans | $85,179,294 |
| 11 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $76,681,984 |
| 12 | Cincinnati Bengals | $70,409,448 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Chargers | $69,380,399 |
| 14 | Green Bay Packers | $64,494,386 |
| 15 | Carolina Panthers | $64,296,701 |
| 16 | Denver Broncos | $64,195,147 |
| 17 | Detroit Lions | $58,643,880 |
| 18 | Arizona Cardinals | $55,606,846 |
| 19 | New York Giants | $55,559,012 |
| 20 | Dallas Cowboys | $54,810,756 |
| 21 | Tennessee Titans | $54,718,006 |
| 22 | Baltimore Ravens | $54,377,926 |
| 23 | Los Angeles Rams | $53,970,321 |
| 24 | Washington Commanders | $46,549,054 |
| 25 | Atlanta Falcons | $45,539,238 |
| 26 | Buffalo Bills | $45,065,570 |
| 27 | New England Patriots | $43,783,361 |
| 28 | Indianapolis Colts | $39,547,118 |
| 29 | Minnesota Vikings | $36,984,447 |
| 30 | Pittsburgh Steelers | $34,829,247 |
| 31 | Kansas City Chiefs | $27,618,402 |
| 32 | Chicago Bears | $26,513,171 |
Between dead cap commitments and cap charges for players currently in injured reserve or the Physically Unable to Perform list, Miami currently ranks fourth among NFL franchises. The 49ers’ presence at the top of the charts may be Kyle Shanahan’s best argument for a Coach of the Year award if it sustains the rest of the way.
But for the rest of this list, it’s a two-win teams in the Browns and Raiders, one win teams in the Saints and Dolphins, plus the winless New York Jets. This is not the company you want to keep. And it’s a great indicator on how successful these teams have been through October.
Miami Dolphins’ biggest cap charges not on the field in 2025
- WR Tyreek Hill (injured reserve) – $27.67 million
- CB Xavien Howard (released in March 2024) – $15.69 million
- CB Jalen Ramsey (traded in July 2025) – $14.99 million
- OT Terron Armstead (retired in April 2025) – $7.8 million
The vast majority of these big charges for Miami aren’t going to be coming back, either. Tyreek Hill is done for the year. Jalen Ramsey is a Steeler. Terron Armstead is retired. Xavien Howard sat out a year, returned for a month with the Colts and is now back on the street — hitting Miami’s cap this year at $15.69 million.
So as Miami limps along through the rest of this season, it is probably safe to assume their record will likely continue to reflect what the numbers are telling us. Too much of Miami’s cap assets are not on the field for the team. It’s like what we saw in 2022 when Tua Tagovailoa was hurt down the stretch, in 2023 when the whole defensive front fell apart at the seams for the playoffs, or again in 2024 when Tagovailoa, plus the team’s pass rush unit BOTH were missing major chunks of the season.
These are, unfortunately, familiar waters for the Dolphins. And they should be again in 2026, too.
Miami Dolphins News
NFL insider gives Dolphins fans the clearest sign yet that major change is indeed coming to Miami
It sounds like the fanbase will indeed be getting what they’re asking for.
