Breaking Down the First Big Dolphins Roster Move of the Offseason

The Miami Dolphins are parting ways with edge defender Bradley Chubb

Miami Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb (2) leaves the field following a game against the New Orleans Saints at Hard Rock Stadium this past season. | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

The reshaping of the Miami Dolphins roster has begun, and the first move was one that everybody should have seen coming.

The Dolphins will be releasing veteran edge defender Bradley Chubb, according to NFL reporter Jordan Schultz.

By releasing Chubb, the Dolphins will save upward of $7 million of cap space, though he still will count almost $24 million against the cap (dead space) as the result of prorated bonus money. The Dolphins could have saved $20 million against the 2026 cap by making him a post-June 1 release, but $13 million would have spilled into 2027 and the 2026 cap savings wouldn't materialize until June 2.

Chubb was heading into the fourth year of the five-year contract extension he signed with the Dolphins after they acquired him in a November 2022 trade with the Denver Broncos for a package that included a first-round pick in 2023.

The Dolphins were in a similar situation with Chubb last offseason, but he accepted a restructured contract that included a base salary pay cut replaced by incentives to return to the team.

This move comes around the same time of year as the Dolphins releasing veterans Raheem Mostert, Durham Smythe and Kendall Fuller last year.

CHECKING CHUBB'S TIME IN MIAMI

The acquisition of Chubb at the trade deadline in Mike McDaniel's first year as head coach was part of the Dolphins' go-for-it mentality that lasted a few years but ultimately failed to produce the results the organization was seeking.

Chubb had his moments with Miami, most notably the 2023 season when he was part of a defense that looked like it could carry the team deep into the playoffs until a rash of injuries hit late in the year and the offense kept coming up short at key moments.

Chubb was among those key injuries, as he blew up his knee in the final minutes of the late-season blowout against the Baltimore Ravens — when he frankly had no business being on the field.

After sitting out all of 2024 working his way back, Chubb had a solid comeback this past season, leading the team in sacks with 8.5 sacks. Unfortunately for Chubb, he hit the sack marks for incentive bonuses in his restructured contract, but failed to cash in because it also required the Dolphins finishing in the top 20 in the NFL in points allowed.

Chubb was a solid player for the Dolphins on the field and exemplary off the field — he was a team captain and the team's nominee for the 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year award — in his time in Miami, but the truth is he didn't prove to be the kind of difference-maker the Dolphins thought they were getting.

It was yet another example of the Dolphins taking a big swing during that time period of 2022-04 with not enough results and too much of a financial commitment that has left them in the situation they're in — with a sub-par roster and salary-cap problems.

Chubb was the first to go this offseason, but he probably won't be the last because Tyreek Hill almost certainly also will be released and there's also the Tua Tagovailoa situation to monitor.