The 4 players pictured above are most likely as good as gone. Whether they’re cut, or traded, the Dolphins need to create cap space just to get to back to being in the black as far as the cap is concerned. In the recent press conference with Sully, obviously he couldn’t just come out and say “Tua is gone”. To his credit, he came about as close as you can to saying it without actually saying it. The Dolphins would love to get some kind of return, and that’s still on the table at the moment, but they have to find the right team and the right situation where even if they have to pay a large amount of Tua’s salary, that they get at least a decent draft pick or player(s) in return. Draft compensation would be best because they will count less against the cap. The other question is if the Dolphins can’t find a trade partner, do they keep Tua on the roster? Do they give him an opportunity to compete for the starting job or maybe just keep him around for when a contending team loses their QB and there’s Tua Tagovailoa sitting right there to be had? That could happen too, and I wouldn’t be against that. Obviously, he would then not be playing, because no one here wants careful IDGAF Tua playing, and they don’t want him getting injured either, so Ewers and the drafted QB would compete to play while Tua hangs around looking pretty.
WR Tyreek Hill be the first to go, and he is almost certainly just going to be released. Tyreek has a $51M cap hit, but only (Only!!!) $28M dead cap hit. I can’t imagine any team trading for him with that salary, so figure Tyreek is cut ASAP. OLB/DE Bradley Chubb is a different story. He can immediately help a team, he’s a good player who is healthy and I expect there will be multiple teams interested in acquiring Chubb. Minkah Fitzpatrick is another player who is tradable. He had a nice season last year, and I once again point out the irony of the possibility that Minkah might actually want to stay and here and be a leader of this defense, but in a complete turnaround from when he was here in his 2nd season, the Dolphins would like to see Minkah go and get a decent return for him to save cap money. I think without a cap, the Dolphins would love to have Minkah back, but Grier really turned this situation into a total clusterfuck, so Minkah will be gone this season.
Once again, the easy QB connection of Malik Willis and former GB execs and coaches Sully and Haf are linked constantly to their former backup QB. Willis is an UFA in 2026, and he and his agent will be looking for the best deal, translated as the most money. The Dolphins are in no place to offer that, so you can probably scratch him off the list. Unless Malik is the rare player who may see a good situation, a legitimate opportunity to start immediately and grow with a young building team. Don’t bet on it, players run to the $$$ y’all! We see it every year, the supposed hometown discount is like the dodo bird or the dinosaurs, it’s extinct.
I hope we can secure a few draft picks for the players above, we need to get some kind of compensation for the players that will make an impact for other teams. I’d rate Chubb as the best chance, followed very closely by Minkah, and then if we get anything, and I mean anything for either Tua or Tyreek, take it and never look back. I think Tyreek is a physical specimen, and I wouldn’t put it past him that he actually contributes a good amount to some team this season. We saw Tyreek’s teammate Jaelan Phillips rehab from from two devastating injuries and Tyreek is at least at the same level or higher as a workout freak. Tyreek may not be available early in the season, but I do think he’ll be ready in time to help a team. I’m also totally intrigued to see where Tua lands if he’s either traded or cut outright, and how he does wherever he lands. Will Tua at any point decide to get really serious about his physical condition, get himself in excellent shape and find a renewed attitude where he’s just going to go out and ball and if he gets hurt doing so, so be it? We know he didn’t do it here the last 2 seasons, but maybe this will be a wakeup call for him. Whatever happens, I’ll be pleased if/when he’s gone because I don’t feel he gave us his best the last 2 years and I didn’t appreciate his stay healthy at any cost attitude which absolutely reflected not only in his play but the teams failures.
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
The hype about Malik Willis is based on a handful of games. I don’t see us spending what he’s probably looking for.
Exactly – It will be a short conversation. We’ll ask, he and his agent will answer, and then we’ll move on from that
Sully and Haf know what he is.
Thank you, Mike E.!
I believe we are starting over and we are not looking for FA QBs, imo. We are drafting our team of the future. And, I think that’s the best approach to cleaning up the mess/shit we’re in.
Yeah man, I still think we need an inexpensive vet QB for competition with Ewers and the QB we draft, but it won’t be a big signing by any means.
Thanks, Mike E. I agree that those 4 should be gone. IMO, outside of Patrick Paul and Achane, everyone should be on the trading block or released if possible.
Hey Rich – There are a few more guys I’d like to keep, and a bunch we have no choice but to keep, like Aaron Brewer on the good side, and Jonah Savaiinaea on the bad side. Jonah needs another chance to get better, and Brewer is a great player on this team. Austin Jackson could be a trade candidate, but I wouldn’t expect much of a return for a guy who barely played last season. I’d put James Daniels in the category of he needs a shot, but I’d have a short leash with him.
I would bring in Trey Lance to compete. He should be cheap and was in the Shanahan system for 2 years. Then add a rookie also to compete.
There’s slim pickins in FA, but there are some trade possibilities too, like Joe Milton III
You can’t blow up the entire roster in one season. Start with getting rid of big contracts and go from there.
^
more than half the team are free agents. Yes, the team is being blown up whether you want to admit it or not.
I know we’re going to add to the QB room but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ewers wins the job. The offense is going to be similar and he has a season under his belt.
Yeah, I don’t expect them to have 51 new players next year, which is why I added “if possible” at the end. It’s not possible to get rid of everyone, just as many as possible. None of these players were drafted by Sully, so there’s probably no emotional attachment to being his pick, and I know he loves draft picks. I would expect some trades, and they may include players you didn’t think we would trade.
I can see that.
We hired Bush Hamden as our QBs coach.
I guess it’s better than Ham Bushman at this point.
@)&*#&&”@(&’+%&)@&+% WORDPRESS!
I am genuinely excited going into this offseason. Do we have the right guys in place to build us a consistent competitor? I have no idea. But this is the first offseason in probably a decade where I have real hope we might see something different.
Same here. I think we will really have the OL addressed for once.
Indeed! I’m excited to see how it looks to do things the right way. We’ve been doing it so wrong for too long. That can be the slogan for the Miami Dolphins 2000-2025
“So wrong for too long”
lol this is the feeling with every new coach around here
Yeah, but it’s way more than just a new HC. New GM, new scouts, new coaching staff. To me, the GM was the biggest addition, and having faith in that GM to get things right trickles down to everything else.
Exactly MikeE, 3 of GB’s starting OL were drafted in the same draft. They went 3 for3 on their OL picks that draft. That gives some hope.
Not to mention they got LB Quay Walker, DT Devonte Wyatt, WR Christian Watson and WR Romeo Doubs that same draft. That gives a lot of hope.
Sure, there’s obviously renewed hope with every head coaching change.
It’s doubled up this time because for the first time in I can’t remember how long we’ve done a full reset instead of a half-assed partial reset. And maybe these guys will know how to build a damned team.
After 25 years of futility, deep down I can’t help but expect this to be an abysmal failure if I’m being honest, but on the surface I’m hopeful. I’m embracing that, lol.
NFL news roundup: Bills hire John Fox as senior assistant coach
John Fox formerly of the Carolina Panthers?
That’s who I believe it to be
The Dolphins announced they have completed Jeff Hafley’s coaching staff for the 2026 season.
The Giants have hired Dawn Aponte as senior vice president of football operations and strategy.
Remember when she was considered a cunt because she was tied to Jeff Ireland?
I always liked Dawn Aponte. I thought she did her job well
She did.
Indeed. GB has drafted pretty well. They were never big FA players until last year and even that was just going for the best defensive player in the league and that was a trade. They continued to be able to replace HOF QBs without having to be bottom feeders for years while looking for one. My hope is all the good ones came here and GB will start sucking! Lol
Overhaul of the scouting was much needed! They accomplished that and now we wait and hope because they have to nail the next 2 drafts.
We’re in a true reset and that’s what most fans wanted.
I was watching more of TE Eli Raridon. He’s like a less athletic and much slower Gesicki, can’t block very well. PFF has him a 5th round prospect which I think is about right. I would much rather have Joe Royer or Sam Roush in that area.
Also, Jack Endries is not a big TE, but he does a lot of things well, including blocking.
PICK: 11 RND: 1 (MIA)
Sonny STYLES
LB Ohio State
PICK: 43 RND: 2 (MIA)
Max IHEANACHOR
OT Arizona State
PICK: 75 RND: 3 (MIA)
Dillon THIENEMAN
S Oregon
PICK: 87 RND: 3 (MIA)
Malik MUHAMMAD
CB Texas
PICK: 90 RND: 3 (MIA)
Malachi LAWRENCE
DE-EDGE UCF
PICK: 111 RND: 4 (MIA)
Eli RARIDON
TE Notre Dame
PICK: 149 RND: 5 (MIA)
Taylen GREEN
QB Arkansas
PICK: 227 RND: 7 (MIA)
J. Michael STURDIVANT
WR Florida
Tim,
Dawn Aponte wasn’t considered a cunt because she was tied to Jeff Ireland. She was known as the cap guru until Armando wrote some hit piece about her, basically accusing her of trying to make a power grab to be GM by seducing Ross on business trips and saying she was the reason Ireland was fired.
That was during the time when Dennis Hickey was hired. Hickey who is now the Giants as Assistant director of player personnel.
I don’t recall Armando writing a hit-piece about Aponte. I DO recall the Dolphins organization releasing a ‘flow-chart’ regarding the power structure in the FO. It had too many chiefs, not enough Indians, and it had heads butting with equal power… with no one actually leading.
It was yet another “Stevie Blunder” (in the words of Old Dolfan) moment for everybody’s favorite owner, Steve Ross: it was a complete disaster on paper and in action.
Gotta be REAL, even if I’m in the vast minority: I can see us trading up from R1P11. I’m not calling the shot, anymore than I’m recommending as much… but I think if David Bailey or Mansoor Delane fall far enough, we might actually do what must be done to procure their services.
Rich had stated to me the other day that Delane might not even make it to us @ R1P11, and he’s absolutely correct. And y’all already know that Bailey is a very hot commodity right now.
Don’t know what the threshold may be in order for us to trade up (dunno, maybe the Redskins @ R1P7???), but I’d really not like losing out on BOTH before we get to R1P11.
Plenty of time between now and the Draft (Combine and pro days) for stocks to sink or rise, so who knows.
Just sayin’, we’ve got three 3rd-rounders this Draft by which to trade up for a potential franchise-changing player… and we REALLY need a stud EDGE or CB.
And we could also just as easily trade down to gain more picks to fill the many holes we have on our roster.
NO TRADING UP!!! AT ALL!!!
Trading up in the 1st would surprise me. I think it’s kind of the antithesis of what they want to be. They want to build the team through the draft and they are starting on the ground floor right now; they need all the picks they can get.
I definitely remember the Mando hit piece. It was actually more like a hit series.
he used to say Aponte was cozying up to Ross on planes. It was pretty bad and very unprofessional in my opinion.
this is a link to a dead spin article about what he was reporting
https://deadspin.com/report-the-dolphins-are-a-dysfunctional-mess-behind-th-1497770963/
I personally began to really second guess everything he reported after that. He really seem consumed with creating drama
I don’t remember Armando specifically, but I do remember the rumors about Aponte gunning to be GM and getting Ireland fired. Prior to that I recall her being called the cap guru quite a bit. She was respected on this board at least.
OK…Odds on when we first hear: “It just feels different this year.” and who says it? Lol
I swear I will fucking scream if we trade up. There’s no reason whatsoever to do that. The Chris Grier School is CLOSED, boarded up. We’re not operating on the assumption that we MUST have any one player. We’re going to be a T-E-A-M
MikeE,
Fuck that team shit. Go get me about 5 studs who will produce. I want some game changers. Then, we’ll take ‘em out to the sand….Can you dig it?
YES!
Wait, I just saw a headline on this…the Patriots caught cheating again with a Drake Maye injury coverup? I didn’t see it on a reputable source, so I didn’t read it.
https://youtu.be/ZSDmgI5TmaI?si=rnGs7lzJBPrqZkQt
lol, that is a pretty awesome cover
Figured it’s still Friday, tried uploading a YouTube video. Not sure if it worked though 😂 One of my top 3 favorite bands just paid tribute to Dr John and released this today 🤘🤘🤘
We will not trade up. I am almost 100% sure on that. We have very limited cap. They will have to build through the draft and with all the needs they can’t do that by giving away picks.
I can see them doing what GB has done in the past. Trade down to the bottom of the 1st round getting a bunch of picks. Then trade back up to the early 20’s for a player you want and still come away with extra picks.
The problem with that is this draft is void of elite talent. We would need someone like Caleb Downs to be there to have a trade partner. Then, do you want to trade or take the player?
if we don’t get Sonny Styles early, it might be worth looking at Kyle Louis on day 3
I like him but I don’t think he fits the mold of what Hafley likes at ILB. Hafley likes big and athletic. Kyle Louis measured in at 5’11 and 224 pounds at the Senior Bowl.
Day 3 you never know though.
he’s really undersized
He’s basically a safety
hard to fire big LBs that can cover though
part of the reason Sonny Styles is such a good prospect is bc he’s so unique
Looking at the roster and players we should cut outside of Tyreek to clear cap were mainly Ingold and Sanders.
With Slowik now the OC, I think they may keep Ingold and restructure/extend him. Hopefully Ingold would comeback and forget about his concussion last year and play like the Ingold of old.
I would still prefer to cut him. He will be 30yo this season. While not old, he is not the future either.
I would love to get Indiana TE/FB Riley Nowakowski in the 7th round to replace Ingold. He’s much bigger at 6’2, 243.
BTW, I’m a homer for Nowakowski but my top FB prospect would probably be Jackson Acker from Wisconsin. It’s close though.
I don’t really care if we trade up, as long as it works out. The problem with Grier was most of them didn’t. That said , I don’t want to trade a bunch of valuable future pics, but if we need to trade up a little in the third to get someone that works out, I’m fine with that
It would be refreshing to see our GM stay put, and still draft good players. GM’s do it every year, I’d like ours to do it.
Same here. Going by their history, nothing is out of the question. I think they are more likely to trade around the more picks we have. It will be interesting to see what we have as picks when/if they trade Tua, Chubb, and/or Minkah.
I could see a late 3rd at best for Chubb and Minkah or a 4th and a 2027 day 3 pick or swap of picks.
I don’t see anybody worth giving up multiple picks to get in this draft. What I hope to see is a GM who plays the draft and doesn’t let the draft play him. Every draft is a living thing. They are all different. It’s not that hard to identify good players. You guys do it here every day. I’d like to see a GM who can get good players but come away from a draft feeling like they got the most out of it. Grier often left me feeling like the draft played him.
Grier often left me feeling like the draft played him.
—–
Every year
I love Theineman. His stock is rising- we are going to have to grab him at 43 if we want him.
Randy – That’s exactly how I feel. Play the draft, don’t get played!
Grier made horrible picks when he traded up- that’s why he got played, not because he traded up.
^^^
bailbondmike
says:
February 14, 2026 at 9:34 am
…The problem with that is this draft is void of elite talent…
———–
PRECISELY! So if an elite talent falls to say R1P7 (Redskins, who don’t have many draft picks as it stands), and being we have three 3rd round picks, we may be able to move one of our 3rd round picks in a trade up to nab a Mansoor Delane or David Bailey.
Again, I’m not advocating we do as much… just sayin’ that I could see it happening. Now, if it costs us multiple (as in more than two) day 2 draft picks to move up, I’m out… and I’m certainly NOT trading our 2nd round pick under any circumstances.
The only problem with a trade up theory for us? We’ll likely be outbid by another team, being we will NOT sacrifice much in draft capital in order to move up. Another team who WANTS their target will likely offer way more than we can or will.
Addendum: I’m willing to trade our 2nd round pick ONLY to get back into the 1st round, so as to land TWO 1st round picks. And that’s ONLY if we stand pat @ R1P11, NOT in addition to a trade up from R1P11.
Short and sweet: I’m willing to trade only ONE of our three 3rd round picks to move up only once.
Brian – There’s good players all over the draft – The key is to not fall in love with a specific player and do whatever it takes to get them. We need to hit on so many picks, why waste any? We’re going to have holes everywhere once we cut some of the players I mentioned and maybe even others as well.
Mike E,
If we have the opportunity to land a blue-chip player via the Draft, I see nothing wrong with a reasonable (<– key word!) trade up.
Ya can’t say that Sully is going to be Jeff Ireland or Chris Grier in being foolish with a trade up. It wasn’t the action of trading up that doomed Ireland and Grier, it’s that they chose poorly after trading up.
And I’ll say it AGAIN… perhaps we end up trading down from R1P11 and accumulate even more picks.
Gotta trust the new guys in town until we can’t.
Past performance (with other GMs) is not indicative of future results (with a new GM).
M13,
Isn’t it all the same scouts? It’ll be interesting to see how they manage this draft.
As I understand, we have a new scouting team.
And YES, it will be interesting to see how they manage this draft.
Mike E,
I agree and would prefer to keep draft picks- the more we have it ups the chances of keepers and impact players. My point was if we do trade up for someone, and he works out, then it’s worth it. We are jaded by Grier’s history of trading up for players that likely would have been there at our original spot.
M13,
I don’t think hiring new scouts at this late date means much for this draft. Like I said, it’ll be interesting to see how they manage It. BBM says they may tend to favor RAS, so maybe we see that sort of approach.
I’ve been an official RAS cat for YEARS now. Listen, RAS scores are really nice to see and it has its place, but if it doesn’t translate to play on the field, it’s absolutely worthless.
There must be a bridge by which to correlate RAS scores to play on the field. I’ve seen SO MANY with high RAS scores fail to even make it in this league.
And never forget: interviews are as important as anything… probably more important to this new FO than ever before. If ya don’t take the game seriously, we don’t want you.
Just for instance, Jalen Ramsey and Tyreek Hill are elite talents in this league, acquired by us via FA. I, for one, don’t believe Sully or Hafner would EVER have brought them in.
We’re now TEAM FIRST, and check your damn ego at the door.
That’s going to play a part in who we draft, IMO.
M13,
I don’t know. These guys sound just like every other guy. The words comin’ out their mouths ain’t never the problem. We’ll see.
Athleticism should always be part of the equation. You might have been able to get by with not being pretty athletic at some positions in the past…but not anymore.
By the way…you’re a sci-fi gonk like me, if you haven’t been watching Fallout on Prime…it’s worth a watch. I was hoping for darker but it’s still fun.
I love retrofuturism and Fallout nails it.
Randy, serious question, when is it ever right with you?
Are they supposed to say the opposite? I want to build a soft team that never wins anything. 🤣
Tim,
It hasn’t been right in years. It’s not my fault! Get mad at the team. Lol
It’s totally new for the first time in 10 years.
My wife and I watched the first season of Fallout, but she doesn’t really want to watch the 2nd. I liked the show. I think she did too, but not as much as I did
Tim,
The rhetoric isn’t new. I’m more interested in seeing what happens on the field. Just like with MM, I’m hoping for the best and giving them the benefit of the doubt, but I am still going to voice my pessimism that this franchise has imbedded in their fans for decades. If that’s okay with you.
Don’t be so sensitive. The new regime just got started. The team hasn’t even practiced yet. 😂
MikeE,
They’ve done a good job of pleasing fans and sticking to the base material. The second season is good.
Nice – I’m gonna watch it myself. I liked it, maybe I can convince her to watch it too if I like season 2
Randy
says:
February 14, 2026 at 8:48 pm
…By the way…you’re a sci-fi gonk like me, if you haven’t been watching Fallout on Prime…it’s worth a watch. I was hoping for darker but it’s still fun.
————-
Yessir, I’m a sci-fi geek! Thanks for heads-up on Fallout… I’ll check it out soon. I’m currently engaged in Picard, still on season 1.
I hesitated to even watch Picard, being it received poor reviews and I don’t want to remember the good Captain as a fragile, elderly gentleman. A friend of mine recently said it’s worth the watch to enjoy season 3, where the old band gets back together.
I’ve heard great things about Fallout, so that will be next on my list. Thanks again, Randy!
Tim,
I’m not sure where you’re getting that I’m being sensitive. We’ve had this very discussion many, many times over the past 30 years. You are glass not only half full but overflowing. I am glass empty. I compliment you and thank you for your positive attitude to offset my darkness. You belittle me for being negative. Am I missing something? Lol
I’m not belittling you. I’m also not over flowing with positivity because I don’t know what is going to happen this offseason and in the next couple of seasons. I’m just saying we don’t know if the new regime will be different than the past or if they will succeed or fail. It’s unknown at the moment.
Test…
https://www.pff.com/draft/nfl-mock-draft-simulator?ref=d4fb89bb-3d4d-4163-89f4-1dfaeacddb49&complete=7&draft_grade=B%2B&multi=false
Nope, didn’t work. Seems one MUST post to social media the results of a PFF mock draft.
Even if I took a screen-shot of it, I’d have to find a way to import it through WordPress.
Easiest way to do so? Through social media.
I’m really not trying to pollute my followers with constant mock drafts!
It’s all good to do so here, but not so much for many of my followers on social media.
Anyway… in terms of our EDGE group, Bradley Chubb is very, very likely to be traded or cut… ONLY due to his $$$ vs the cap. Could he restructure? Sure, but that will only kick the can down the road… we’re not going to do that if we’re financially wise. That would make it even more difficult to trade him after ’26, making him a year older, right?
That makes Chop Robinson as our only reliable EDGE, and he had a rather shitty season in ’25. We MUST improve our EDGE room, period.
HC Hafner will employ the ‘Wide-9’ (love it or hate it), so that tells me we’re looking for pressure-cookers, speed, and pass-rush win rates on the EDGE.
And I don’t think we’re going to wait until day 3 of the Draft to first address the matter.
I’m very much looking forward to the Combine to show us more pieces of the puzzle, which is the NFL Draft!
I wonder if they bring back Cameron Goode or Quintin Bell. They both may be better in a wide 9 and are good vs the run.
Bell will be 30yo but had a very high RAS of 9.89 and ran a 4.48 at the combine years ago.
Goode also had a high RAS of 9.45 and ran a 4.58. Not to mention he has been a very good ST player.
I would say bring Goode back as a depth/ST guy who can give you some quality snaps.
It’s a building year, can’t fix everything at once.
I am sure they are getting good info from Slowick on the character of some guys.
I am sure Slowick would like to have Dulcich back.
I think a lot of you guys are much more excited about Dulcich than I am. I’ll take him back because we don’t have anyone, but I don’t think he’s anything special. He’s aiight
That is what I think about him. He is nothing special but is good at both blocking and receiving. Got a little YAC ability in him. Just a solid guy to have in the TE room that is void of any good talent right now.
Our roster is now at 55. Three days after the SB the Dolphins signed Patriots backup CB Miles Battle who was on their PS and became a F/A after the SB. He did appear in 5 games for the Pats. He was a UDFA after the 2024 draft.
Big and fast, his pro day #’s 6’3.2, 196 pounds, 4.37 forty and 9.50 RAS.
Looks like a good singing. They signed him for 2 years.
signing
Wonder if they will be interested in Edge R Mason Thomas. While not tall at 6’2 he’s still 249 pounds and quick off the edge and good running stunts. Should score a decent RAS. He tweaked his knee toward the end of the season and missed a couple games but wasn’t serious. He may need to clean up setting the edge vs the run.
Also, projected 4.6 forty. He’s ranked as an early to late 2nd rounder. CBS was the only one to rank him as a 3rd rounder. A guy to keep an eye on if he falls to #75 but I don’t see that happening.
As far as the knee injury, he did finish the season and play in their playoff game vs Alabama.
I think we are really SOL in finding a team to trade for Tua. I think teams like the Vikings, Browns, Steelers and Jets would prefer trading for Murray, Cousins or Carr over Tua.
I also think LB Jaishawn Barham could be a possibility in the 4th for us. He’s a big athletic ILB at 6’3, 243 and projected 4.55 forty who I think is underrated. He’s a great blitzer and very good vs the run. He is very versatile. You can line him up at ILB or put him on the edge. He should have a high RAS also. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jim Harbaugh take him in the 3rd. He was one of his guys.
I want to draft a guy named Omega
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dolphins-will-release-bradley-chubb
Must have found no trade partner.
Zach Wilson contract expires leaving 3.8 m in dead money.
I can’t belive we are taking on dead money for that POS who did nothing for us
I was raging at the blue sky for a reason!!
most news outlets are reporting we already cut Chubb and some are reporting we cut Tyreke too
now we released James Daniels
https://x.com/tompelissero/status/2023433409935319120?s=46
this one is not a surprised
Westbrook-Ikhine cut too
https://x.com/tompelissero/status/2023434563754848673?s=46
The Chubb cut may be designated as a past June 1 cut
just bc he was cut today doesn’t mean it won’t be labeled a 6/1 cut
correct
ESPN ticker says Hill is gone.
And the purge begins.
basically it’s
Chubb
NIW
Tyreek
3 snap Daniels
so far
and probably will be
Ingold
Austin Jackson
eventually
maybe Jason Sanders and Minkah – but it kind of makes sense to trade Minkah or keep Minkah
personally I would keep him and take advantage of having vets like Brooks, Minkah
sanders should be gone. Jackson is mediocre at best without a very good G like Hunt next to him
I would generally keep mediocre players just to have some vets on the team while we build through the draft
but these moves are more about cap savings than anything else
you can free up some money
I don’t think we will be cutting Jackson. With his restructure, it would only clear about 1.5m of his 15.3m cap.
Spotrac is only reflecting Tyreek, Chubb and Daniels being cut right now.
That puts our current 2026 dead cap at 96.2m and counting. SMH
It’s going to skyrocket to another stratosphere if we cut Tua.
I’d keep Jackson if they feel his health is good. We need OTs. I think Jackson still has another level to reach. He has played well in spots. I get Brian’s point, but it wasn’t just Hunt. If they don’t think he can stay on the field, cut him loose. If he can, keep him…and push him.
I agree 100%. You don’t save much cutting him.
yeah, the fact of the matter is we can’t cut everybody, we still need to field a team. I just don’t see it long-term with Jackson. As you mentioned, he can’t stay healthy and his only really good year was one hunt was next to him and the offense was firing on all cylinders.
We are now under the cap. If the NFL sets the cap at 303.4m, per spotract we are 2m under the cap and that is already counting 6m to sign our rookie class based on where our draft picks are currently landing.
OTC does not account for the rookie signing in their cap projection and currently have us at 9.6m under the cap. But, that is also with them including NWI’s cut.
The NWI cut only saved about 1.5m.
Per OTC our current dead money is at 97.8m.
I’m believe if we cut sanders it will save another $3 million and change
Yep, Ingold as well.
Brian, no doubt. The Dolphins have already set the all time NFL record for most dead cap going into a season. This just broke the Broncos record set last year at 89m in dead cap.
When projecting cuts about 2 months ago, I said we would probably break the record and 1/3 of our cap space will be dead money.
The good thing about it is all the dead money accelerates to this year.
In 2027, Spotrac is projecting the cap to go up to 318m. With the all the dead money coming out this year, they are currently projecting our 2027 cap space at 141m.
good. I was reading the specifics on Tua’s contract and I guess this is the last year we will be on the hook for anything in terms of dead money.
Only in a pre 6/1 trade would we not have dead money on tua in 2027. If he is cut or traded post 6/1, we will have 2027 dead cap on him.
yes, and in extremely unlikely scenario someone trades for him, we will have to be eating a lot of his salary anyway, if not all of it
Another thing about Jackson is he is on his rookie extension. He will factor into the comp formula if he stays this season and plays out his contract. Let’s pray he has a good healthy season.
yes, but not TOO healthy; we have a QB to get in 2027
LOL, I am not worried about that. I see 4-5 wins this year regardless of Jackson. lol
says:
February 16, 2026 at 1:26 pm (Edit)
Only in a pre 6/1 trade would we not have dead money on tua in 2027. If he is cut or traded post 6/1, we will have 2027 dead cap on him.
*****
do you mean a pre 6/1 trade or cut? Not just a trade?
honestly I would say the odds of having the same record in 2026 as we did in 2025 are pretty high
if we are picking before pick 20 next year, we should be able to draft a QB if we the 2027 draft shapes up to be what people are saying it will be
I think closer to what BBM said, 4-5 wins. We just aren’t going to be able to put the talent on the field with the cap hell we are in. And our SOS is one of the hardest in the league.
JES out here burnin’ down the house.
piggy,
I hope we’re in the top 5 next year. I don’t think being in the top 20 is any sort of guarantee of getting a high quality QB. Most are usually gone long before then.
2026 is projected to be a very good QB class, but who knows at this point, right? But, if it does work out that way, there will probably be a run on QBs early…which there usually is anyway. I’m not so sure being in the top 20 gets you much. Plus, I do not want to waste draft capitol going after a guy. This team needs as many draft picks as possible over the next 2-3 years. Giving up a bunch to go get a QB isn’t the right way to go. Taking the 5th or 6th QB in the 2027 class doesn’t inspire me much either.
RIP Robert Duvall @95
RIP
KC is 57.9m over the cap. Mahomes has a 78.2m cap hit this year and has already been restructured.
do you mean a pre 6/1 trade or cut? Not just a trade?
—–
Yes, but a pre 6/1 cut is out of the question. You create another 99.2m in dead cap. It would put us back at about 40m over the cap. There are not enough moves left you can make with the roster just to get back to under the cap.
Pre 6/1 trade or post 6/1 cut or trade is all you can do at this point.
A post 6/1 trade would be awesome. It would clear another 42.8m this year and clear another 21.6m in 2027. That would put our 2027 cap space at around 163m.
I mentioned cutting Ingold but I bet Slowick wants to keep him.
Maybe they will restructure him. Hes not worth what they are paying him.
I also expect to see extensions for Brooks, Brewer and probably Achane to clear more cap this year. I think they could clear another 12m-15m by doing that.
Yeah they’re all keepers.
I include Waddle in that group
I’d trade Waddle if we could. I’d take a 1st RD pick, but I don’t think anyone would give it.
I think they like Waddle but if we got the right offer they would probably do the trade.
They were willing to give that before the trade deadline
Don’t let the door hit ya…
If we traded Waddle pre 6/1, we would take an extra 11m cap hit. He would be very cheap to a team trading for him for 2026. I think he would only cost the team trading for him like 1.8m for 2026. I would definitely want a 1st and that team to take on more of his dead cap.
He would cost that team trading for him about 24m in 2027 but they could restructure him.
I don’t think it would be out of the question. Can’t find the site now, but a couple weeks ago, I saw Waddle’s trade value was 2nd round – pick 1, so pick #33. It also said or a late day 3 2026 pick and a 2027 mid to late 1st round pick
Waddle’s cap hit is 33.8m in 2027. Something needs to be done.
I would take a 2027 1st for Waddle if the trading team took on his 11m extra cap hit in 2026.
One team who needs WR help with a bunch of cap space is the Chargers. I would be giving them a call.
Not sure if they would give up their 2026 Pick #22 and take on that 11m extra cap hit. Trade for their 2027 1st plus take on that extra 11m and hope they miss the playoffs this year. lol
Chargers current starting WR group: Keenan Allen who will be 34yo this season, Slot WR Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston ??? who? lol
LMAO. You telling me our new GM cut our best OL?!
😂
Who was our best OL? Daniels?
Yes! I sure recall someone using him as a point in the defense of Grief……repeatedly. I’m surprised you don’t even though your opinion doesn’t matter.
Brewer was our best OL, IMO.
Daniels played 3 snaps for us. I was worried about signing him from the get-go. I was more worried about his Achilles injury, but sometimes the injury causes players to overcompensate other things and that’s how they get hurt
So, I read that we now have one offensive guard on the roster. Jonah Savaiinaea…..
Not ready to update my Avi yet…
Nah, we’re good. We have Josh Priebe also. Feel better now? 😉
https://x.com/drclownphd/status/2023404750478114840?s=46
I want a bigger WR but if Zavion Thomas is there late day 3 I would take him. He’s only 5’10 but built thick at 196 pounds and has good speed.
Hopefully Brewer wasn’t cut, was he? I’m trying to keep up here
What?!? Have not heard anything of it. Don’t see anything either.
I haven’t seen anything about Brewer and Sully talked very highly of him.
^
Mauigoa is a powerful dude but he doesn’t look athletic to me. He would probably win 95% of his battles in a phone booth though. I don’t think I would take him at #11.
That’s what I saw when looking at his film
I think it’s too early to predict wins and losses. We haven’t signed anyone in FA which we will do, and we haven’t drafted or signed any UDFAs. QB is going to play a big role in our record and I believe we might already have one in Ewers. That would be the best thing that could happen.
It is too early. I just was throwing something out there. Our defense could actually be better so who knows.
Will you let us know when it’s okay to make predictions on wins and losses? We don’t want to speak out of turn.
Give it a rest. You’re just looking for an argument and I’m not playing.
I guess sarcasm didn’t come across too well. Lol
Alec Ingold always seemed to play smaller than his size to me.
^^ After his concussion, he got smaller and started whiffing on blocks as to not get hurt again. He got Tua-itis.
If we don’t take a TE until the 5th round or later, my top 2 are Marlin Klein and Sam Roush. Both are great blockers. Klein is 6’6, 250 and probably one of the top blocking TE’s in the draft. He’s from Germany and still learning. I feel he has a very high ceiling. If he is there at #149, we should take him.
‘Reek cost us a 2022 first-round pick, second-round pick, two fourth-round picks, and a 2023 sixth-round pick. Chubb cost us a 2023 1st-round pick and a 2024 4th-round pick.
That’s the equivalent of an entire Draft class plus an additional 1st rounder… all for 2 players who collectively cost us $250M in contract guarantees when it was all said and done… and not a single playoff victory to show for it.
Yes, you read that right: 1/4 of a BILLION dollars on 2 players… and an entire Draft class, plus an additional 1st rounder. And outside of that alone, Steve Ross also cost us an additional 1st rounder and 3rd rounder for his attempt to land Tom Brady and Sean Payton over the same stretch.
🤪🤬💩🤡
I don’t feel great about cutting James Daniels, but I also can’t disparage the move: we’ll see if he suddenly regains his health post-Miami. He’s one of the best ZBS/OBS Guards in the NFL when healthy.
NWI was barely utilized last season, was probably overpaid as a result, and I understand why he was cut. He’s got the size and is a very effective redzone target… not his fault that Tua shat the bed last season. Maybe we bring him back on the cheap? Dunno.
The entire organization were all in to go for it. They failed. The 2023 season excited everyone.
Now we’re in a reset. 😞
But it is a fresh start. I know it’s just words but I do like what Sully and Haf have said about their approach.
I did read that Slowick likes to use 2-TE sets often. He did that in Houston as OC. Keep that in mind.
My only regret is not getting any compensation for Chubb. I would have thought we could have gotten a day 2 pick for Chubb, but I guess they didn’t feel like waiting. I wonder if Minkah is safe now, or maybe they’re willing to wait with him a while to see if they can get something back for him. I do think he will garner interest, and I personally couldn’t care less if he’s here or not, I’d rather have a draft pick and get someone who might be here long term
I agree. I thought Chubb, after having a solid healthy season would have gotten us something.
My guess is they needed the cap now while trying to figure out what to do with Tua. Anything other than a trade of Tua, we lose more cap.
we can always move Minkah before the trade deadline and get a pick in 2027. That would probably be the smarter play.
And right now, this offseason, for the first time ever, The Cheetah is all the way turned up and locked in. Focused,” Hill wrote
———
So, after 10 seasons in the league you were never turned all the way up, locked in and focused.
What a dummy
I think the Chargers may become the #1 landing spot for Tyreek. As I mentioned yesterday their starting WR group is terrible. They have plenty of cap, MM is there and he knows the system.
Everyone keeps talking a return to the Chiefs but they are in cap hell.