MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins face a challenging offseason.

The franchise’s all-in approach in past offseasons under former general manager Chris Grier, along with the lucrative extension granted to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa ahead of the 2024 season, has put the Dolphins in a salary cap predicament that is difficult to dig out of while competing in 2026.

The decisions will ultimately come down to whoever is hired as the permanent general manager, with seven outside candidates joining interim Champ Kelly among those receiving interviews.

But this new GM will be tasked with, first and foremost figuring out what to do with Tagovailoa, who was benched this season and said Monday would welcome a fresh start elsewhere.

Then, the franchise must determine the same with wide receiver Tyreek Hill, once a star for the team who had his 2025 season cut short due to a gruesome knee injury.

The Dolphins are currently projected to be $17.6 million over the 2026 salary cap, according to aptly named website OverTheCap.com.

With more youth on the roster now than previous seasons, Miami has many of its starters under contract, but then the organization has to figure out how many of those pieces to trade away or cut. Additionally, a handful of starters and several more rotational contributors are slated for free agency in 2026.

With the Dolphins’ current salary cap situation, they will be hard-pressed to make many big signings for outside free agents, but coach Mike McDaniel, at his end-of-season press conference Monday, pushed back on the idea of a rebuild.

“I don’t see a complete rebuild,” McDaniel said. “What I see is a team that needs to make smart decisions.”

Some of the core veterans under contract for next season, like linebacker Jordyn Brooks and defensive tackle Zach Sieler after Sunday’s season finale in New England, expressed confidence in the roster’s current pieces being capable of returning and immersing themselves back into playoff contention.

Much of any incoming talent for next season, though, would likely come in the form of rookies in the draft. The Dolphins have all seven of their own picks and have the Philadelphia Eagles’ and Houston Texans’ third-round selections.

Tua and Tyreek

We may have already seen Tagovailoa’s last appearance in a Dolphins uniform. The team benched him for the final three games of the season in favor of rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, and McDaniel said there will be competition for the starting job next season, which likely means Ewers and another outside quarterback either brought in through free agency or the draft.

The Dolphins should surely first look to trade Tagovailoa, but there would be a number of challenges with finding a taker and what Miami may have to pull off in terms of payout of the remaining guarantees on the deal or extra draft picks traded just to have someone take him off the team’s hands.

If the Dolphins can’t trade Tagovailoa, then they’re probably cutting him. Releasing him outright, before June 1, would create $99.2 million in dead cap and actually work against the Dolphins’ cap space by tacking on $42.8 million to how much they’re over the cap. Cutting him post-June 1, which can still be announced before the date, only adds on a much more manageable $11 million because it splits the dead cap between 2026 and 2027, with $67.4 million hitting this coming season.

If Miami goes that route, some of that debt can be alleviated by releasing Hill. That’s about $24.25 million more in dead cap for next season but saves the Dolphins $23.65 million in 2026.

All in all, those two moves, under OverTheCap projections, would get the team to just $5 million over the cap.

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Other veterans

Once at that number, Miami can easily get salary cap compliant for the start of the league year March 11. Parting ways with either outside linebacker Bradley Chubb or safety Minkah Fitzpatrick gets it done.

It would be tough for the prospects of next year’s defense to be missing either player, but either prideful veteran could also get a chance to join a team with a better shot at contending.

The Dolphins have other players who would garner significant interest on the trade market, namely running back De’Von Achane and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. But Kelly and the Dolphins opted not to move them at the 2025 trade deadline, so it might take a sizable offer. A new GM, though, could be interested in starting fresh and stockpiling draft picks by finding deals for the most-valued trade pieces. A rebuild could always use some solid young talent as layovers from the previous regime.

Core building blocks like that could also be there in the form of Brooks, center Aaron Brewer, left tackle Patrick Paul and maybe more depending on the development of members of the past two rookie classes.

Internal free agents

There’s a high degree of turnover slated to hit the Dolphins’ roster, regardless, with a slew of players bound for free agency.

Aside from Fitzpatrick, the entire starting secondary from the 2025 season can hit the open market. That includes cornerbacks Rasul Douglas and Jack Jones and safeties Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu.

Douglas, 31, is coming off a standout season. He indicated with a social media post Monday he enjoyed his season with Miami, but he’s not used to losing. So if a rebuild is on the horizon, he could look to find a better situation to contend late in his career.

Tight end Darren Waller, cornerback Kader Kohou, tight ends Julian Hill and Greg Dulcich, defensive tackle Benito Jones, offensive linemen Cole Strange, Larry Borom and Daniel Brunskill, punter Jake Bailey and kicker Riley Patterson are among other key players up for free agency.

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Building through the draft

Finally, it’s draft and develop for the Dolphins in 2026.

They own nine picks. That can be added to the youth on the roster from the 2025 rookie class. Last year’s first-round pick, defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and second-round pick, guard Jonah Savaiinaea, along with a slew of late-round finds, can get a full offseason of development, which boded well for Paul going into his second season.

Miami can look to find another quarterback to compete with Ewers. It will need to infuse the roster with talented pass-catchers. Offensive line help is always welcome, especially at guard and with the possibility of finding another right tackle if Austin Jackson can’t stay healthy. The defense will need to add edge rushers and likely will fill in spots in the secondary, given how many free agents are in that unit.