How the Cap Keeps Coming Up for the Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins made a series of financial moves to create cap space

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler (92) looks on during practice at Baptist Health Training Complex. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A large part of the Miami Dolphins' rebuilding plan for 2026 has been managing the salary cap, with the idea being to set themselves up for as much flexibility as possible this year and moving forward.

The salary cap obviously has played a large part in the team's decisions since Jon-Eric Sullivan took over as GM in January, and the latest developments indicate the work isn't done.

The Dolphins made some conversions to create additional cap space, according to Spotrac. The moves involved defensive tackle Zach Sieler, tight end Greg Dulcich, tackle Austin Jackson and cornerback JuJu Brents.

Per Spotrac, the Dolphins created about $2.5 million of additional cap space by converting either roster bonuses or (in Brents' case) salary into signing bonuses.

Recent #Dolphins Conversions
(~$2.5M total cap created)

Converted $1.51M of OT Austin Jackson's per-game bonus, creating $1.2M of cap.

Converted $341k of TE Greg Dulcich's per-game bonus, creating $272k of cap.

Converted $792k of CB Julius Brent's salary, creating $634k of…

— Spotrac (@spotrac) September 16, 2026

In Sieler's case, the Dolphins created $408 of cap space, lowering his 2026 cap number to a bit over $11 million. It is by far the highest number on the team, way ahead of Jackson's new figure of $6.7 million after the Dolphins saved $1.2 million of cap with his conversion.

The Dolphins have about $8.8 million of cap space, per Spotrac, a figure that ranks 21st in the NFL.

The Dolphins, of course, have that whopping $180 milion-plus of dead cap space, which is led by Tua Tagovailoa's $55 million figure but involves 90 players. There are 13 players with a dead cap number of $1 million or more — Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Jalen Ramsey, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Bradley Chubb, Terron Armstead, James Daniels, Zach Wilson, Alec Ingold, Jonnu Smith, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Matthew Judon.

THE DODSON DECISION

The next player on that list is linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who still counts $768K against the Dolphins salary despite being released in the cutdown to the 53-player limit.

But the Dolphins did save about $3 million by releasing Dodson and avoiding having to guarantee his salary as a vested veteran had he been on the 53-man roster in Week 1.

And it turned out it wasn't just the Dolphins who viewed Dodson in that manner, as someone they maybe would have liked to keep but not enough to guarantee his salary, because he began the 2026 season on the Carolina Panthers practice squad before they signed him to their active roster.

While $3 million of cap space isn't a huge deal, the Dodson decision made sense for the Dolphins because of where they are as an organization and the fact he really didn't fit into their plans beyond 2026, keeping in mind that unused cap space carries over to the next year.

"He was a pro," GM Jon-Eric Sullivan said about Dodson after he was released. "He competed. It's a very fair question, like why would you move on from T-Dot, but I think it really just highlights how we feel about the young guys on our team. There's so many factors that go into when you're cutting the 53 down, it's layered. Both long-term and short-term, there's financial components. There's all kinds of things that go into the decisions."

That's the key phrase right there, "financial components."

It's a big part of everything the Dolphins are doing with their roster in 2026, and chances are it'll stay that way for a while longer.