Breaking Down the Big Jordyn Brooks News

The Miami Dolphins removed a lot of high-priced talent in a seismic offseason, but there were certain players they clearly wanted to keep.

Jordyn Brooks always was one of those players.

The Dolphins locked up their All-Pro linebacker Tuesday, agreeing to a three-year contract extension that multiple reports indicated could be worth up to $51.5 milion, with about $35 million guaranteed.

So now the speculation about the possibility of a trade can be put to rest because the Dolphins aren't going to move him — even if they have a terrible record at the trade deadline — because of the bonus money they've just committed to him.

Brooks was the subject of a lot of trade speculation throughout the offseason, and NFL insider Jordan Schultz confirmed that in a social media post Tuesday, though it's unknown what kind of trade offer the Dolphins got for him.

It's also unknown how far any discussion new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan might have had with an NFL counterpart got or whether Sullivan simply shut down that door from the start.

BROOKS A FOUNDATIONAL PIECE

The question now with Brooks' contract will be the exact structure, more specifically what kind of realistic commitment the Dolphins made because a three-year contract isn't always "really" a three-year contract.

Look no further than quarterback Malik Willis, who signed a three-year deal that's more like a two-year deal and let's see where things are at that point.

Exactly how much to give Brooks and for how long always was the question facing the Dolphins because he checked all the boxes for somebody Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley would want to anchor their defense with his playmaking and leadership ability.

Brooks still is only 28 and is coming off his best NFL season in his sixth year after arriving as a first-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2020 draft.

It was the best linebacking the Dolphins have gotten since the days of Zach Thomas, though it didn't necessarily translate to overall success for the Miami defense.

And this is where maybe an argument could have been made against paying Brooks big money — if he couldn't elevate the defense with that kind of performance in 2025, then why pay big dollars for somebody at that position?

The Dolphins did have the cap space to make it work financially, both this year and in 2027 when they'll be flush with cap space.

Brooks is younger or more accomplished than the prominent players the Dolphins moved in the offseason, with the possible exception of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

But Brooks always had more value to Miami because he's a better leader and also the Dolphins will need some of those players in the first season of their rebuilding project. It's also a fact that Miami couldn't have gotten a first-round pick in a trade for Brooks because an off-the-ball linebacker simply can't impact the game the way an explosive wide receiver can.

Sullivan was pretty clear all offseason that he considered Brooks a foundational piece for the Dolphins, and now he's put his money where his mouth is.

HEAVY LIFTING DONE FOR SULLIVAN

With the Brooks contract no longer an issue, the Dolphins can head into training camp pretty much focused solely on who else they could bring in to help the team in 2026 and ideally beyond.

But we shouldn't expect any more big deals, if for no other reason than the Dolphins aren't giving big deals in 2026 outside of Willis and of course keep their core players, Brooks, De'Von Achane and Aaron Brewer.

Sullivan said in the offseason that getting Achane a new deal was the first priority, which made sense considering he's relatively younger than either Brewer or Brooks, and that ideally he'd address the other two a bit later.

The Dolphins got a little bit of cap maneuverability once Bradley Chubb's post-June 1 release was processed, and that enabled them to sign their 2026 draft class along with the Brewer extension.

Maybe there was some trepidation regarding Brooks because a deal hadn't gotten done, but the reality always was that when team and player want to make it work, it usually does work.

BROOKS DEAL EARLY

The Brooks extension, as it turned out, wound up getting done relatively early compared to other recent Miami extensions.

Veteran defensive tackle Zach Sieler had signed two contract extensions in recent years, both of them executed in August (in 2023 and 2025).

Fullback Alec Ingold signed a three-year extension in 2023 at the very end of August.

And then there was quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who signed his contract extension in 2024 a few days after the start of training camp.

Brooks didn't miss any practice in the spring — at least those open to the media — and that includes the voluntary OTAs, and that's always a positive sign in terms of negotiations.

And so it came to pass.

And Sullivan now has secured the services of the team's three key pending free agents.

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