Whatever Happened to the Dolphins Free Agent Class of 2026, Plus New Team for Kohou

Cornerback Kader Kohou's comeback took a positive step this week when the former Miami Dolphins fan favorite found himself a new team.

Just days after being released off the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad, Kohou now is a member of the practice squad for the Buffalo Bills, who just might be the best team in the AFC but also badly need help in the secondary.

Whether Kohou can provide that help remains to be seen, but it's the step in the right direction in his comeback attempt from the torn ACL that cost him the entire 2025 season after he had put himself in position to earn a full-time starting job.

When the Dolphins began adding a slew of low-price free agents at cornerback, there were a good number of fans vocal on social media about their wish they simply had retained Kohou, who became a success story after arriving as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2022 and carved himself a role in a secondary that included at different times stars like Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey.

Kohou signed a one-year contract with the Chiefs this offseason worth $1.8 million, which actually was more than the Dolphins gave to any of the free agent cornerbacks they brought in.

That group included Alex Austin, Darrell Baker Jr. and Marco Wilson, along with A.J. Green III being re-signed.

Austin, Wilson and Green no longer are with the Dolphins, while Baker has been on PUP since the start of training camp.

Meanwhile, the three cornerbacks who round out the position group along with holdovers Jason Marshall Jr. and JuJu Brents and rookie first-round pick Chris Johnson all were claimed off waivers — Jaylin Simpson, Reece Taylor and Marcellas Dial Jr.

Makes one wonder whether the Dolphins maybe should have simply kept Kohou.

THE FREE AGENT SCORECARD

The three cornerbacks were part of the Dolphins' very — and we mean very large — free agent class, a group that consisted almost exclusively of players given one-year contracts for the veteran minimum or close to it.

Six months later, the Dolphins already have moved on from a lot of those players.

Of the 12 unrestricted free agents the Dolphins signed in the offseason, five remain on the active roster — QB Malik Willis, EDGE Josh Uche, WR Jalen Tolbert, punter Bradley Pinion and LB Ronnie Harrison Jr., who's currently on injured reserve. Another, kicker Zane Gonzalez, was placed on IR, waived with an injury settlement, and re-signed to the practice squad.

The other six were WR Tutu Atwell, T Charlie Heck, S Lonnie Johnson Jr., EDGE David Ojabo, OL Jamaree Salyer and CB Marco Wilson.

Of those, the only one currently on another team's 53 is Atwell, who the Dolphins traded back to the Los Angeles Rams for RB Jarquez Hunter after it became apparent he wasn't going to make the 53-man roster anyway. Hunter also didn't make Miami's 53 and has since been released from the practice squad.

Other free agents the Dolphins signed — though not technially classified as unrestricted free agents — were edge Robert Beal Jr., punter Seth Vernon, long-snapper Tucker Addington, safety Zayne Anderson, tight end Ben Sims, and long-snapper Taybor Pepper.

Addington and Anderson remain with the Dolphins, and Beal this week joined the practice squad of his previous team, the San Francisco 49ers.

Add it up, and that's eight of 18 free agents signed between March and June who still remain with the Dolphins, with Gonzalez on the practice squad.

As mentioned before, this always was about being on the lookout for potential hidden gems, so this hit rate for the Dolphins isn't nearly as problematic as it would be in a normal season.

FORMER PLAYER UPDATES

-- The aforementioned Alex Austin had a tryout this week with the Chiefs.

-- Former Dolphins defensive tackle Matthew Butler, who played 12 games with one start for Miami last year, had a tryout with the 49ers.

-- Cornerback Jack Jones, who started for Miami last year, had a visit with the Carolina Panthers.

-- QB Cam Miller, who the Dolphins signed off the Raiders practice squad last December and was in camp this summer, signed with the Green Bay Packers practice squad.

-- WR River Cracraft had a tryout with the New York Giants. He played two games with Washington last season.

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