As the 2026 NFL trade deadline draws nearer, the Dolphins are still a team worth watching, and not just because they’re rebuilding. That process picked up real steam after the regime change that installed Jon-Eric Sullivan as general manager and Jeff Hafley as head coach, but there’s an argument that the reset truly started at last year’s deadline.
Miami made only one move, but it was a forward-looking one.
The Dolphins dealt outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick, and one year later that decision looks like a smart piece of business. The pick turned into the 87th overall selection in the 2026 draft, which Miami used on Ohio State tight end Will Kacmarek, one of three players the club took in that round.
That deal came days after Champ Kelly took over as interim general manager following the firing of Chris Grier, and the cap picture was a major part of the equation. Phillips was in the final year of his contract, and Miami plainly wasn’t interested in meeting the price tag he would command as a free agent. The goal was simple: get value before he walked.
That mattered because the best compensatory pick a team can get for losing a free agent tops out at the end of the third round, beginning with the 97th overall selection. Instead of waiting and hoping for that kind of return later, the Dolphins got a better pick from Philadelphia immediately.
Phillips eventually signed a four-year, $120 million deal with the Carolina Panthers in the offseason, and that contract came with $80 million guaranteed. According to OverTheCap.com, his cap number climbs from $10 million this year to more than $30 million in each of the next three seasons. The Eagles will now be in position to get a compensatory pick for losing him, but that comes in the 2027 draft and still lands later than the pick Miami already spent.
Taken 18th overall in the 2021 NFL draft, Phillips has been a solid to good player in the league, but it’s hard to argue he’s worth that kind of money - and even harder to argue Miami should have paid it. “the market is the market,” right?
The Dolphins certainly could use him right now, especially with their pass rush struggling, even if Chop Robinson’s eye-opening metrics are part of the discussion. But Phillips is already back on the injury report in Carolina, which has been a frustrating theme throughout his career.
That has been part of his story in Miami too, and it’s another reason the Dolphins had little reason to hand him a massive extension, even at 27 years old.
When the Panthers play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Thursday night, Phillips will be inactive for a second straight game because of a hamstring injury. He has 2.5 sacks in five games this season, which would actually lead the Dolphins right now; Miami’s leaders are Zach Sieler and Robinson with two apiece.
Phillips also missed the second half of the 2023 season and most of the 2024 season with Achilles and knee injuries. That was bad luck, plain and simple. But it doesn’t change the larger picture: Miami made the right call by moving on, and the trade still looks like a win a year later.
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Dolphins Face A Trade Deadline Dilemma Fans Can't Ignore
As the trade deadline approaches, the Dolphins are doing what smart front offices do this time of year: looking for younger talent that can fit both the roster and the long view. Miamis interest appears tied not just to immediate help, but to players who can grow with the team while keeping salary-cap flexibility intact, a balance that matters as the franchise keeps one eye on the present and another on the next wave of roster building.
That approach gives Miami some room to be selective, and it also explains why the Dolphins are being linked to defensive help rather than a splashy short-term rental. The bigger picture is about positioning, with cap space projected to be a major advantage down the road, and any move made now could be part of a larger plan to get ahead of free agency before the rest of the league catches up. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots QB Just Handed Dolphins Fans A New Reason To Laugh
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Maye's comments landed far enough outside the usual football chatter that NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman felt compelled to respond and defend the moon landings. For a rival quarterback to hand Miami a fresh wave of amusement in the middle of a divisional storyline is the kind of off-field gift that does not help New England's credibility, even if the football implications are still to come. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Just Made Another O-Line Move Fans Will Want To Watch
The Dolphins kept working the edges of their offensive line depth chart Monday, claiming guard Christian Haynes off waivers from the Seahawks and adding another experienced option to a group that has been in constant motion. Haynes had played in seven games this season for Seattle before his exit, and Miami landed him because it held a higher waiver priority than the Ravens, who also put in a claim.
To make room on the 53-man roster, the Dolphins waived rookie sixth-round pick DJ Campbell, who had been inactive every game this season. It is another small but telling adjustment as Miami keeps sorting through its protection mix, and it leaves the team with one more new piece to evaluate as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]