Three roster moves that would do the Dolphins more harm than good in their effort to reset their salary cap books
Which potential moves left for Miami to make this offseason may be too cost-prohibitive?
The Miami Dolphins‘ offseason of change is off and running.
Miami’s started the process of stripping down expensive contracts off of the roster, the first domino in what is sure to be a chaotic couple of weeks in South Florida. Several moves left on the table for Miami could facilitate big savings. Others could infuse more draft picks into the mix while saying goodbye to potential long-term building blocks. But which moves could be hurting as much as they help? Here are three possible moves Miami could make in the coming weeks that would yield massive negative effects against the Dolphins’ tight salary cap in 2026.
Three big moves that would cost the Dolphins dearly against the salary cap in 2026
Trading WR Jaylen Waddle
Waddle is going to likely be a persistent trade discussion piece for fans of other teams across the league. He reportedly garnered significant interest in the lead up to the 2025 NFL trade deadline, too. But because of the way Waddle contract was structured since signing it in the spring of 2024, would actually cost the Dolphins significantly more against the salary cap if they were to trade him.
Waddle currently is on the roster for $11.6 million in cap space. Trading him between now and June 1st would prompt the Dolphins to carry a “dead cap” figure of $23.22 million — meaning Miami would lose more than $11.5 million in additional cap space to trade their top pass catcher.
Trading DT Zach Sieler
Everything that applies to Waddle also applies to veteran defensive tackle Zach Sieler. Sieler signed his contract extension last summer and he’s owed more than $16.5 million in compensation in 2026. It is a fully guaranteed figure. Miami may like to offload that amount but because of the extension conducted last summer, he’s got cap debt that would accelerate with a trade.
Trading Sieler before June 1st would lose the Dolphins an additional $7.7 million in cap space on top of the $11.275 million he’s already on the cap books for to play this season— a total of $19.006 million in dead cap overall.
The outright release of QB Tua Tagovailoa
$99.2 million dollars in dead cap. Everyone wants to know what the limit is for a roster move that you physically cannot make because of salary cap implications. This one might be it. Miami taking on a full $99.2 million dead cap charge to release Tagovailoa outright this spring would put the Dolphins somewhere around 55% of the total salary cap being committed to players not on the roster. You have to field a team of 53 players, at some point. And given the costs of the rookie class, the costs of a practice squad, and the need for wiggle room in-season if injuries hit, that is teetering on the brink of that line in the sand called ‘impossible’ with the cap.
The Dolphins have already done the hard part, which is tear down their cash spending. They don’t need to take things to this extreme of a level to be successfully set up for a future pivot.
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