The Possible Ramifications of Jordyn Brooks' Contract Restructure

The Miami Dolphins reportedly tweaked the contract of their starting inside linebacker

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks (20) tackles Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford (34) during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The timing of the report indicating the Miami Dolphins have restructured the contract of linebacker Jordyn Brooks, 12 days before the NFL Trade Deadline, certainly is interesting.

The Dolphins, according to ESPN reporter Field Yates, converted base salary into a signing bonus for Brooks, in the process creating $3 million of cap space for 2025. This, of course, happen because the signing bonus can be spread out over multiple years.

Prior to the move, Brooks carried a $7..8 million base salary, per Over The Cap, and the team had $4.9 million of cap space.

So what the move mean for the big picture with the Dolphins?

THE TRADE CONNECTION

Under normal circumstances, the Dolphins creating cap space certainly would be viewed as setting the stage for the acquisition of a veteran before the trade deadline, but this obviously isn't a normal Dolphins season.

The idea of the Dolphins acquiring a veteran via trade in the next 12 days doesn't make a lot of sense for a team that is or soon will be (or should be) preparing for a rebuild.

Is it possible that the opposite applies here and maybe reduced Brooks' cap number to make him more tradable?

Brooks leads the NFL in tackles in the second year of the three-year contract he signed with the Dolphins as an unrestricted free agent in 2024, though as we chronicled last week that's not all good news considering a lot of those have come away after good gains for the offense.

Regardless, Brooks probably can help a lot of teams around the NFL. And the Dolphins now are absorbing his 2025 salary because it's in the form of a signing bonus, so that has facilitated any trade opportunity.

And then there's his contract situation with the Dolphins.

While he's got a year left on his contract, Brooks does not have any guaranteed money left after this season and he currently has a $10 million cap number for 2026.

He was among those Dolphins players who seemed like a logical candidate to get an extension in 2025, and the fact that never happened despite him being voted a team captain, suggests that maybe he's not a lock to be on the 2026 roster regardless because the Dolphins could chop off half his cap number by releasing him next offseason, with more than $8 million coming off if he's a post-June 1 cut.

This isn't to suggest that Brooks will get traded, but at this point there probably are very few players who should be considered off limits.

The more logical candidates to be traded still include one of their edge rushers and veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas, but the idea of Brooks being moved shouldn't necessarily be dismissed.

At the very least, the contract restructure was certainly noteworthy.