Dolphins Top 5 Cut Candidates for 2026 Offseason

The Miami Dolphins will need to do a lot of cap gymnastics this offseason.

The Dolphins are $24.4 million in the red for 2026, according to Over the Cap, but the team has some obvious cuts that can alleviate some of that pressure.

There’s always room to find money, but it will take some creativity from new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and vice president of football & business administration Brandon Shore.

Of course, sometimes you need to cut players even if it doesn’t help your cap situation. Let’s dive into five players who are prime cut candidates for the Dolphins, whether they save the team money or not.

Top Five Dolphins Cut Candidates for 2026 Offseason

1. Tua Tagovailoa, Quarterback

Let’s address the elephant in the room first. At this point, it seems more than likely the Dolphins will designate Tua Tagovailoa as a post-June 1 cut this offseason.

That would spread his dead cap hit out across two seasons, resulting in $67 million in dead cap for 2026 and $32 million in 2027. It’s a tough pill to swallow for Miami, and it would break the previous dead-cap hit record set by the Broncos when they released Russell Wilson.

However, Denver is a good example of the clean slate being worthwhile. Miami has more overall roster holes to fill, but getting Tua out of the QB room opens up every avenue for the team to find its franchise signal-caller.

This cut hurts the cap, but it allows Miami to move on from an era that didn’t meet expectations, which is still quite important.

2. Tyreek Hill, Wide Receiver

While it would be easy to view Tyreek Hill’s Week 4 season-ending injury as the reason he’ll likely be cut this offseason, that’s not the case. Hill was due $54 million in 2026, but none of it was guaranteed.

Regardless of how this past season went, there was a 0% chance Hill was playing on that contract number in 2026. If things had gone better, perhaps the team would’ve extended him or restructured his deal, but now, he’s probably the easiest cut on the team.

The Dolphins can save $22.9 million of cap space by releasing Hill with a pre-June 1 designation, and could save $35.2 million in cap space with a post-June 1 release. Each team only gets two post-June 1 releases each offseason, so we can’t just assume every player will get that designation.

Another important number to know about Hill is that cutting him would free up $36 million in cash (the actual amount a player is paid), the largest on the team.

3. Bradley Chubb, EDGE

Chubb falls into a similar category as Hill. None of his $31 million is guaranteed for 2026, making him a pretty easy cut.

However, unlike Hill, cutting Chubb before June 1 would only save the Dolphins about $7 million in cap space. A post-June 1 cut would save the team $20.2 million, but again, the Dolphins only get two of those.

Chubb also differs from Hill in that the edge rusher played this past season and is a positive influence on the locker room. He took a pay cut last offseason to return to the team, and Miami could work on getting him back on a new deal or finding a way to make his current one work.

Whether Chubb wants to take another pay cut to stay in Miami is unknown, and if he doesn’t, then the team will cut him at some point this offseason. We wouldn’t be shocked if the two sides figure something out, though.

4. James Daniels, Guard

Daniels landing on this list is super rough because he was the crown jewel of last year’s free agency class, but he played all of four snaps this season before suffering a season-ending pectoral injury.

None of his $3.6 million is guaranteed for 2026, so it’s pretty easy to let him go without thinking too hard. The real benefit of cutting Daniels, though, is freeing up some cash. He’s owed $7.87 million in cash this season because of an option bonus of $5 million.

Getting that off the books would free up more spending power for the Dolphins. Daniels has only played in four games across the last two seasons, and the general manager and head coach who brought him in are gone.

We think Daniels will get cut, and the team will be on the lookout for a guard yet again this offseason.

5. Jason Sanders, Kicker

A change at kicker is hardly exciting, but Jason Sanders missing the entire 2025 season and having no guaranteed money for 2026 puts him at risk. Miami would save just under $4 million in cap space and closer to $4.2 million in cash.

With Riley Patterson having an excellent season, which included breaking Sanders’ record for most accurate season with the Dolphins, it’s fair to question whether he’s worth keeping at that price.

Patterson isn’t on the books at all for 2026, so the team would have to cut Sanders and sign Patterson. That would cut into any savings from cutting Sanders, so really, we could see this going either way.

For now, Sanders makes this list ahead of players like Austin Jackson and Minkah Fitzpatrick, who are cutable but would require much more resources to replace.

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