It’s been nearly a decade since we’ve seen a team accomplish what the Miami Dolphins are threatening to do in 2026
The Miami Dolphins could be the first team in nearly a decade to achieve this roster feat.
The Miami Dolphins are blazing a trail in 2026 that we haven’t seen from NFL franchises.
Miami is committed to spending 60% of their salary cap allotment this season to players that are no longer on the team. Names like Jalen Ramsey, Terron Armstead, Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb, Jaylen Waddle, and others are carrying a heavy tab for Miami. And, as a result, Miami is skewing heavily towards less-established players.
Many of them will be rookie contract players. Others are on one-year deals after spending four seasons in the NFL. And, in all, Miami is trending young. But just how young? We could be on the doorstep of Miami doing something we haven’t seen from an NFL team in nearly a decade.
Miami Dolphins could be the first team since the 2017 Cleveland Browns to have an average roster age below 25
The Miami Dolphins are going to make a serious run at the youngest roster in a decade. My most recent 53-man roster projection for Miami boasts an average age of 24.79 years old. We’ve seen plenty of super-young teams in the NFL, including several of the Green Bay Packers teams that Jon-Eric Sullivan helped assemble.
But younger than 25 years of age on average?
The 2017 Cleveland Browns were the last to achieve that feat, per Spotrac. Cleveland was, on average, 24.4 years old that season and they promptly went 0-16 before securing the No. 1 overall pick and drafting QB Baker Mayfield. Being young doesn’t guarantee a poor season, however. The 2023 Packers (25.0 average age) went 9-8. The 2020 Miami Dolphins were the league’s third-youngest team (25.4 average age) and they went 10-6. One thing we do know? Miami is going to be young. The question is how young.
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