The Miami Dolphins’ best path left to roster upgrades in 2026 is still off limits
The Miami Dolphins’ hopes of securing some roster upgrades is still off limits. For now.
The 2026 offseason for the Miami Dolphins has brought endless waves of change. The roster looks dramatically different from what it did just a few months ago. Few would argue that change wasn’t needed. The Dolphins had flown too close to the sun in an effort to upgrade their roster with expensive talents. And the skeleton of what lied at the core of the roster was flawed. And expensive. It was time to change.
So the Dolphins did. But after more than a dozen draft picks and a highly strategic effort in free agency, there are still questions left and the need for more talent. And there is one prominent path for talent acquisition left on the calendar for the Dolphins. But Miami can’t take advantage of it yet.
The Miami Dolphins’ best path left to roster upgrades in 2026 is still off limits
Free agency and trades are out there. Absolutely. The downside to trades, of course, is that you have to give up compensation to acquire a player. So unless Miami has identified someone on their own roster that they’d want to move on from, trades are a hard pill to swallow for a team that needs to be adding resources and long-term flexibility.
The dollars are tight for free agency. Yes, Miami could absolutely spend on a few cheap free agents and preserve most of their remaining spending power for the 2026 season. But that also requires a veteran player who is willing to accept their value to be at or near minimum salary.
It’s not a great sales pitch. And, accordingly, the best avenue for talent acquisition left on the calendar looms a few months away, out of Miami’s reach.
The waiver wire may be the best option left
I’m talking, of course, about the waiver wire. And before you thumb your nose at the idea of adding talent through other team’s discarded players, consider this. Tight end Greg Dulcich wasn’t a waiver claim last year, but he was subjected to waivers before the Miami Dolphins added him to their practice squad to start the season. I’ll save you getting on my soapbox about preserving a 53-man roster spot for Tanner Conner in favor of Dulcich last September.
Defensive tackle Zach Sieler was, once upon a time, a waiver claim for the Miami Dolphins out of Baltimore. Sieler enters 2026 just 4.5 sacks away from being the first 40-sack defensive tackle in franchise history. Linebacker Tyrel Dodson may be fighting for a starting job, but he’s been a starter for a year and a half in Miami and was secured via waivers.
There are no guarantees with the waivers, just like there are no guarantees with anything. If the Miami Dolphins are going to add significant talent to their roster the rest of the way? There’s a good bet the waiver wire will be the primary path. And that means we’ll need to wait a few more months before things kick into high gear on that front.
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