The Miami Dolphins took their first steps on the path to a rebuild on Monday, bidding farewell to three prominent players, with another cut still lingering in limbo.

Star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, fellow wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and offensive guard James Daniels were given their walking papers on Monday afternoon. Pass rusher Bradley Chubb remains on the roster but with an acknowledgement that his time in Miami is over. That would seem to indicate he is destined for a Post-June 1st release when the league year starts on March 11th. The process has just begun, but Miami’s moves are saving nearly $70 million in payroll for 2026. What are the biggest remaining moves Miami can make for a salary cap purpose? Here are five big ones left as possibilities? Here are five big savings moves left on the table (although acknowledging their existence should not be confused as an endorsement to actually do all of them).

Five big remaining salary cap moves the Dolphins can make

Package a draft pick with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to offload his contract

I would file this one in the ‘highly unlikely‘ category but as a possibility it is worth acknowledging that Miami could potentially find the right combination of a cap-rich franchise with a thirst for more draft capital. General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan is preaching the importance of draft picks, so I would frankly be stunned if he sent away a premium pick just to offload this contract. If (and this is the biggest of all “IFs“) the Dolphins could get a team to take on the full salary, they would save $11.067M against the salary cap and, of course, $54 million in cash. Every dollar they spent to offset cost for a different team buys would be subtracted from that savings mark.

To facilitate a trade like this, I would imagine it would involve pick No. 43 or, possibly, a pick swap involving No. 11 overall. It’s going to require the big pieces. And given how cheap the rest of this roster is trending for 2027 and beyond, I don’t think it’s worth the squeeze. But it is a possibility until it’s not.

Trade (0r extend) safety Minkah Fitzpatrick

Minkah Fitzpatrick is owed $15.6 million in cash this upcoming season. The Dolphins could likely get an early Day 3 draft choice for the veteran safety. The play is still quite strong but his age (30 this season) and the cash involved are going to be held against Miami. If Miami were to trade Fitzpatrick (or, technically, release him) before June 1st, the team would save $5.853 million in salary cap space. If a trade (or, technically, release) happened after June 1st, Miami would save the full balance of the cash he is owed this season, $15.6 million.

The Dolphins could zag instead of zig here, too. If Fitzpatrick is on board with an extended stay in Miami, the Dolphins could easily be justified in keeping and extending him. If he cashed in a new deal that averaged top-tier money for safeties in the league, it would likely pay him around $18-20M per season. The Dolphins could pay that out and see his 2026 salary cap charge cut in half from $18.849M to somewhere closer to $9 million, depending on the contract structure.

Post-June 1st designate a release for offensive tackle Austin Jackson

Releasing or trading Austin Jackson outright at the start of the league year doesn’t offer much in the way of cap savings since his contract has been restructured in each of the past few seasons. The Dolphins could part ways with Jackson between now and June 1st via trade or release and save $1.6 million in salary cap space. But if the team is willing to either expedite the Bradley Chubb release or carry out the Tua Tagovailoa process into the summer time, the Dolphins could Post-June 1st designate a release for Jackson and save $11.11 million in cap space, effective June 2nd.

Trade running back De’Von Achane

Trading De’Von Achane is one of the cleanest breaks the team can create with any player on the roster, as he’s on his rookie contract. Achane is owed $5.8 million in salary for the fourth and final year of his rookie deal. Trading him would create $5.65 million in salary cap savings. If the Dolphins want to keep him and are ready to extend him, there’s good news here, too. You can save against the cap if the signing bonus stays in the $12-14M range and the contract runs three new seasons — but the cap savings are only going to be about a million dollars. The big savings here are with the trade, which I would classify in the ‘Unlikely’ category thanks to general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan talking about him as a building block of the roster.

Release fullback Alec Ingold & kicker Jason Sanders

The Dolphins have between $3-4 million in 2026 cap savings at their disposal with both Ingold and Sanders, if they want it. Sanders missed all of 2025 with a hip injury suffered in the preseason, whereas Ingold has been a persistent team captain with Miami during his run with the team. But this whole build is rooted in getting young and cheaper at the beginning; the Dolphins could opt to go this way and take on negligible cap penalties while clearing several million in space and cash budget in 2026.

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