The Miami Dolphins have made their stance on Jordyn Brooks crystal clear: he’s staying put.
On Tuesday, the team reached a three-year contract extension with its All-Pro linebacker, a deal multiple reports said could be worth as much as $51.5 million with about $35 million guaranteed. That ends the offseason chatter about a possible trade and makes it hard to imagine Miami moving him now, especially after the bonus money tied to the agreement.
Brooks had been a popular name in trade speculation all offseason, and NFL insider Jordan Schultz confirmed that in a social media post Tuesday. What Miami may have been offered, though, remains unknown. It’s also unclear how far any talks got between new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and an NFL counterpart, or whether Sullivan shut the idea down from the start.
What is clear is that Sullivan viewed Brooks as a core piece from the beginning. He said all offseason that Brooks was a foundational player for the Dolphins, and now he’s backed that up with a contract.
The structure of the deal will matter, because a three-year extension doesn’t always mean a true three-year commitment. Malik Willis signed a three-year deal that functions more like a two-year deal, and Brooks’ contract will now be judged in the same way once the details are fully known.
Still, Miami had reasons to pay. Brooks is 28 and just finished his best NFL season in his sixth year after entering the league as a first-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2020 draft. For the Dolphins, it was the best linebacker play they’ve had since Zach Thomas, even if it didn’t fully lift the defense to the next level.
That was the real tension in the decision. If Brooks couldn’t carry the defense to more success in 2025, was it worth committing big money to an off-the-ball linebacker?
Miami decided the answer was yes. The team had the cap room to make it work this year and again in 2027, when it will be flush with space.
Brooks also had more value to Miami than several of the high-priced players the Dolphins moved on from this offseason, with the possible exception of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. He’s younger or more accomplished than those players, but his leadership mattered just as much. And unlike an explosive wideout, an off-the-ball linebacker was never going to bring back a first-round pick in a trade.
The extension also gives the Dolphins a little more clarity as they move toward training camp. With Brooks settled, the focus shifts to what else Miami can do to help the team in 2026 and beyond.
But don’t expect a wave of major deals. The Dolphins aren’t handing out big contracts in 2026 outside of Willis and their core players - Brooks, De’Von Achane and Aaron Brewer.
Sullivan said during the offseason that getting Achane extended was the first priority, which made sense because he’s younger than Brooks or Brewer, with the idea being to handle the others later. Miami created some cap flexibility after Bradley Chubb’s post-June 1 release was processed, and that helped the team sign its 2026 draft class and get Brewer extended.
In the end, the Brooks deal came together sooner than some of Miami’s recent extensions. Zach Sieler’s two recent extensions were both done in August, in 2023 and 2025.
Alec Ingold signed a three-year extension in 2023 at the very end of August. Tua Tagovailoa’s extension came in 2024 a few days after training camp opened.
Brooks didn’t miss any spring practice that was open to the media, including voluntary OTAs, which is usually a good sign in negotiations. And now Sullivan has locked in all three of the team’s key pending free agents.
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