The Miami Dolphins’ new general manager will have some cleaning to do.
Former Chris Grier left behind a messy salary cap situation, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill signing expensive extensions that will inevitably leave the Dolphins facing a huge amount of dead money in 2026.
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Finding ways to create salary cap space is something the Dolphins must do this offseason. Here are 10 potential ways Miami can clear space:
Trade QB Tua Tagovailoa
Cutting Tagovailoa would further inflate his already-high $56.4 salary cap hit. A more frugal way to get rid of some of these charges would be to transfer the contract to another team.
Easier said than done.
In 2017, the Houston Texans agreed to trade Brock Osweiler and The Cleveland Browns’ second- and sixth-round picks were used only for their fourth-round pick. Essentially, the Browns agreed to absorb his contract in exchange for draft capital.
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The Dolphins would likely need to make a similarly structured trade and come to an agreement to pay a significant portion of Tagovailoa’s trade in order to move the quarterback elsewhere.
Release WR Tyreek Hill
The speedy receiver turned 32 in March after suffering a serious knee injury in September. With Hill’s salary cap hit at $51.9 million, there’s no way the Dolphins can keep Hill on the roster. A cheaper reunion isn’t impossible, but it seems unlikely.
Releasing Hill would save $23.65 million in 2026 salary cap space (designated $36 million after June 1).
Posted by OLB Bradley Chubb
Chubb led the Dolphins in sacks in 2025 with 8.5, but he is no longer the player he was when the team acquired him in the 2022 trade. He posted an elite 88.8 grade at PFF in 2023 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. This season, his grade is just 54.5.
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With the 2026 and 2027 salary caps at just over $31 million each, the Dolphins will likely move on from the pass rusher.
Releasing him after June 1 appears to be the most prudent course of action, as $20.2 million will be cleared this year and $23.3 million in 2027.
Trade S Minkah Fitzpatrick
The Dolphins’ 2018 first-round pick performed well in his return in Miami. Fitzpatrick, a Pro Bowl alternate, was PFF’s highest-graded Dolphins defensive player, beating out NFL tackles leader Jordyn Brooks by a few points.
But Fitzpatrick will be 30 next season, and under a new general manager, the Dolphins need to get younger and save money on the roster.
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Fitzpatrick projects Miami’s salary cap hit will be $18.8 million next season, ranking fourth behind the aforementioned trio of Tagovailoa, Hill and Chubb. While releasing the safety would give the team $13 million in dead money, it would make more sense for Fitzpatrick to move again in the summer.
Trading Fitzpatrick after early June would save the Dolphins $15.6 million.
Trade or restructure OT Austin Jackson
The 2020 first-round pick has been a good, but not great, offensive lineman throughout his tenure with the Dolphins. When Jackson missed 11 games into the 2025 season, the Miami offense played at a fairly similar level with his backup, Larry Borom.
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So the $15.8 million salary cap the Dolphins set for Jackson is a bit too much.
If Miami wants to keep its right tackle, the reorganization could cost around $7 million over the next few years. But transactions after June 1 may clear $11.5 million. Finding a team willing to give up a draft pick in exchange for a relatively reliable 26-year-old tackle (with 60 career starts) probably wouldn’t be too difficult.
Extension C Aaron Brewer
Brewer is a huge asset on a roster that has multiple issues. He’s one of the best centers in the NFL and the leader of a team that doesn’t have many offensive players.
The 28-year-old forward will enter the final season of a three-year, $21 million contract as a free agent in 2024. But Brewer is expected to count $9.2 million against the Dolphins’ salary cap in 2026 after making just $2.5 million and $3.9 million the first two years.
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An extension would ensure the Dolphins maintain a top-tier offensive line for years to come while also cutting into the salary cap with a back-loaded deal that puts a future burden on Miami long after it has dealt with the fallout from the Tagovailoa affair.
Free K Jason Sanders
Jason Sanders finished the 2024 season with 27 consecutive field goals. A year later, the kicker missed all of 2025 with a hip injury, a record that still stands at 27 games.
He was replaced by Riley Patterson, who shot 93.1% from the field, breaking the Dolphins’ franchise record.
Replacing Sanders with Patterson wasn’t a given. The latter may be accurate, but with his career total of 54 yards, Miami may not want to take the kick full-time. But keeping Sanders on the $4.6 million salary cap hit isn’t the most satisfactory solution either.
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The Dolphins would get about $4 million in return by cutting Sanders, leaving the team with a tricky decision at kicker this offseason.
Post FB Alec Ingold
Mike McDaniel likes to have an efficient back going forward in the run game. He hired Kyle Juszczyk in San Francisco and added Ingold shortly after taking over in Miami in 2022.
If McDaniel becomes the Dolphins coach in 2026, Ingold’s job may be safe. But his $5.1 million salary cap hit doesn’t come cheap. The 49ers will pay 10-time Pro Bowler Juszczyk about half his salary next season.
Releasing Ingold will free up more than $3 million in space.
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Free G James Daniels
Daniels is the Dolphins’ most expensive free agent acquisition in the 2025 offseason. That investment was wiped out when the guard suffered a season-ending pectoral injury after playing just three games in Week 1.
Prior to that, he missed 13 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2024 season with a torn Achilles tendon.
If the Dolphins believe Daniels is ready to return and be a productive linebacker in 2026, his $4.9 million cap hit might actually be a bargain. But teams can recoup $3.7 million in space through designations after June 1 (it’s worth noting that teams can only use two spaces each offseason).
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Releases wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikein
James Daniels and Westbrook Ikoin are the only free agents the Dolphins have brought in on multi-year contracts. The latter is healthy, but not nearly as effective as imagined.
In 15 games, he caught just 11 passes for 89 yards. While his contract is cheap, the Dolphins could save $1.6 million by giving up the receiver and there’s no reason not to.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins 2026 salary cap space: 10 money-saving moves Miami can make
