{"id":277763,"date":"2026-05-20T07:04:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T07:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/277763\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T07:04:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T07:04:33","slug":"why-dolphins-lb-jordyn-brooks-is-here-despite-wanting-new-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/277763\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Dolphins LB Jordyn Brooks is \u2018here\u2019 despite wanting new deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a reporter used the word \u201cif\u201d to describe whether Jordyn Brooks would be here come Week 1, Joe Barry looked puzzled.<\/p>\n

The Miami Dolphins run game coordinator couldn\u2019t quite understand why the star linebacker wouldn\u2019t be here as if the latter wasn\u2019t in the midst of a contract dispute. That\u2019s because Brooks, in spite of whatever\u2019s going on off the field, has been tasked with leading a team that\u2019s in the midst of a huge transition. Ultimately, that means showing up to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to get better as a player so that\u2019s why I show up,\u201d Brooks said Tuesday. \u201cObviously, I never want to send the wrong message to the team or to my teammates. I play with these guys. Go to battle with them. I want them to know that I\u2019m here no matter what [and that I\u2019m] playing the game for the right reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

One year removed from the best season of his career, Brooks now must balance his day job \u2014 i.e. setting the standard for the Dolphins \u2014 with that of his compensation. Although he\u2019s in the final year of the three-year, $27.2 million contract he signed in 2024, the former Texas Tech standout has no guaranteed money left. Throw in the fact that players such as the Houston Texans\u2019 Azeez Al-Shaair and the Washington Commanders\u2019 Sonny Styles have reset the market<\/a>, and it\u2019s no wonder Brooks wants a raise.<\/p>\n

And despite the new regime\u2019s pledges to do so, it\u2019s not official until Brooks\u2019 name is on that dotted line.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Brooks said when asked his comfort level that the team will get the deal done. \u201cIt could go either way, obviously. I\u2019m just controlling what I can control \u2014 play football. I\u2019m blessed to do it. So I\u2019m just going to keep approaching it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

His approach has already garnered praise from coach Jeff Hafley.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat leader, loves football, works really, really hard,\u201d Hafley said Tuesday. \u201cHe\u2019s made the right way. I\u2019ve really enjoyed him. You see the film, you see the type of player that he is; but once you get to know him you kind of understand why. I think his work ethic is elite and he loves football. He absolutely loves the game and he wants to meet. He wants to go over stuff. He wants to learn. He\u2019s a fun guy to coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooks received his first All-Pro honor<\/a> following a 2025 season in which he led the league in both total (183) and solo (99) tackles<\/a>. He also added 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Despite a coach and general manager change, Brooks remained one of a trio of players that included running back De\u2019Von Achane and center Aaron Brewer as building blocks for the new regime.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want Jordyn to be part of this,\u201d Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said during the NFL owners meeting<\/a> in late March. \u201cHe\u2019s made of the right kind of stuff. We want him to be a pillar on the defensive side of this as we build this thing out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of what makes Brooks the right person for this cultural reset is his growth as a leader. When arrived in Miami ahead of the 2024 season, he wasn\u2019t the most vocal person. The departure of team leaders ahead of the 2025 season required Brooks to step up, a call that he answered.<\/p>\n

That growth, however, is far from over.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always a new challenge,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cWith there being a lot of young guys and then just guys who haven\u2019t had a lot of playtime in the league, that\u2019s a lot more challenging on my plate as afar as being an example to those guys each and every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Brooks: \u201cIt\u2019s hard to do that every day. Some days you might come in tired. Some days you might not feel like making that extra effort. But for the sake of the guys around us watching, I think that challenges me more to take it up a level.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

C. Isaiah Smalls II<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

C. Isaiah Smalls II is a sports and culture writer who covers the Miami Dolphins. In his previous capacity at the Miami Herald, he was the race and culture reporter who created The 44 Percent, a newsletter dedicated to the Black men who voted to incorporate the city of Miami. A graduate of both Morehouse College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Smalls previously worked for ESPN\u2019s Andscape.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When a reporter used the word \u201cif\u201d to describe whether Jordyn Brooks would be here come Week 1,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-277763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}