How This Rebuilding Project Already Is Vastly Different

While most around the organization won't say the word, the Miami Dolphins clearly are in rebuilding mode in 2026 under new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley, but this is a different kind of rebuild.

This is not like 2019 when the Dolphins also had a new head coach with Brian Flores and a GM with new personnel authority with Chris Grier (because the Dolphins were run more by Executive VP of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum from 2015-18).

What the Dolphins did in 2019 was a complete tear-down, start-over-from-scratch overhaul of the roster designed to create cap space and accumulate draft capital so that the expected pain of that one season would be followed by years of excellence.

What the Dolphins are doing now also should be categorized as a rebuilding project, but it's a lot more like a reset — the term Grier used for the Dolphins starting to look more toward younger players last year) — than an overhaul.

THE BUSY FREE AGENT PERIOD

The first obvious sign that things are different in 2026 is the massive amount of free agents the Dolphins have been signing since the start of free agency.

The number is getting close to 20 after the acquisition of offensive tackle Charlie Heck on Monday, a dramatic increase over the five free agents Miami signed in March of 2019, a list that included QB Ryan Fitzpatrick TE Dwayne Allen, DB Eric Rowe, OL Chris Reed and TE Clive Walford.

Yes, the Dolphins' signings almost exclusively have been one-year deals for around the minimum salary, but they're still filling up the roster with players with NFL experience who have something to offer and the hope is that a good group of them will become solid contributors, if not starters.

The one exception there is Malik Willis, who the Dolphins hope will provide the answer to the neverending quest for that franchise quarterback. An argument could be made that he represents the same kind of gamble the Dolphins made in 2019 when they traded picks in the second and fifth rounds for quarterback Josh Rosen a year after the Arizona Cardinals made him the 10th overall pick in the draft.

The gamble with Willis actually is less significant because what the Dolphins gave up was a modest two-year commitment, whereas they gave up two draft picks for Rosen.

The Dolphins' biggest method of acquiring players in 2019 was signing undrafted rookies and then working the waiver wire throughout the season. The Dolphins picked up 19 UDFAs after that 2019 draft and made 20 waiver claims.

It was all done in the quest for finding future answers more than being focused on winning games in that 2019 season, and it did produce defensive mainstay Zach Sieler, who came over via waivers from the Baltimore Ravens in December of that year.

The Dolphins no doubt will be signing a decent group of UDFAs this year as well, though the number might not reach 19 and we'd be surprised to see anywhere close to 20 waiver claims during the regular season.

HANGING ON TO STARS

As they did in 2019, the Dolphins released some high-profile veterans in the lead-up to free agency this offseason with a list that included Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb, James Daniels, Alec Ingold, Jason Sanders and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.

But the Dolphins have retained some key pieces like De'Von Achane, Jaylen Waddle, Aaron Brewer, Patrick Paul, Sieler and Jordyn Brooks.

Seven years ago, the Dolphins released veterans Andre Branch, Danny Amendola and Ted Larsen before the start of free agency, let Cameron Wake and Ja'Wuan James leave for other teams, then traded Ryan Tannehill and Robert Quinn in March before following that with the trades of Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick that September.

By the time Fitzpatrick was traded after the second game of the regular season, the only veteran holdovers on the roster were De'Vante Parker Reshad Jones, Xavien Howard and Bobby McCain.

The Dolphins so far have traded Fitzpatrick to the New York Jets, but have resisted the temptation to follow up with more deals and it very well could remain that way unless they get wowed by an offer.

THE SALARY CAP SIMILARITIES

One area that's similar is the Dolphins carrying a lot of dead cap space.

As has been discussed plenty already, the Dolphins will carry a whopping $155 million of dead cap space — cap money devoted to players no longer on the roster — once June rolls around and the Tua and Chubb transactions get processed. That's more than half the $301.2 million salary cap limit for 2026.

The Dolphins obviously will lead the league in dead cap space this year — and by a wide margin — but they also were second in 2019 with a little more than $79 million in dead cap space.

While Tagovailoa and Hill will carry the two biggest dead cap numbers this year, it was QB Ryan Tannehill and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh who held those distinctions in 2019.

The Dolphins did find themselves with a lot of cap space when they hit free agency in 2020, and the same will happen again next offseason — Over The Cap has the Dolphins currently with more than $120 million of projected cap space, though that's with only 33 players under contract for 2027.

So there are similarities, to be sure, between 2019 and 2026, but also some clear differences that suggests the upcoming season won't or at least shouldn't quite resemble what happened seven years ago.