The Miami Dolphins’ final offseason domino quietly changed the math for several veterans on the roster bubble
The Miami Dolphins suddenly find themselves in a different zip code of the salary cap conversation and that’s bad news for a few veterans on the bubble.
You know the story by now. The Miami Dolphins‘ cap situation is not a pretty one — at least for the 2026 season.
But the tide has turned on this front a bit thanks to the final domino falling for the team’s extension spree. With the full details of the Jordyn Brooks contract dropping at the end of last week, Miami has even more wiggle room to survive the season. And that, my friends, may not be good news for a handful of veteran players on the roster bubble.
The Miami Dolphins may have enough wiggle room to axe veterans on the bubble with guaranteed salary
With the contract extension of Jordyn Brooks pushing the majority of his compensation into a signing bonus, the Dolphins actually opened up more than $4 million in additional 2026 salary cap space by paying Brooks his new deal. That means the Dolphins, per OverTheCap, sit over $16 million in cap space for 2026. That’s not a ton. But it does mean they’re closer to being in the top-10 in the league (Green Bay, $27.8 million in space) than they are to being last (Pittsburgh, $2.9 million in space).
Now the Dolphins don’t really have $16 million to spent. They’ll need some for a “rainy day fund” if injuries hit the team. And they’ll need several million for the team’s 2026 practice squad. When the team cuts to 53 players at the end of camp, they’ll need to account for two more players versus the current “top-51” accounting for the offseason.
Miami does, however, now have enough space that a few of their minimum salary veterans with guaranteed money could be on the chopping block for cuts. Wide receivers Tutu Atwell and Jalen Tolbert both have fully-guaranteed salaries of $1.075 million. Cutting either one a few months ago would have felt unimaginable because of the cap situation. But at $16 million in cap space? Yeah…the Dolphins could theoretically cut ties with one of them if August doesn’t go well.
The Dolphins no longer need to covet every cent of spending power. And that gives them more freedom in the weeks ahead to try to get the best 53 players on their roster, not just among the spots that wouldn’t stack up more dead cap space. So in the NFL’s ultimate rat race, the pressure cooker just got turned up another notch. It’s time to perform.
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