Depth remains the loudest issue around the Miami Dolphins as they head toward Preseason Game 3, and the concern goes well beyond the usual end-of-August roster churn.
Miami is in the first year of a rebuild, stripping down the roster and resetting the salary cap after years of chasing wins now. The result, as plenty of analysts see it, is a team that could wind up near the bottom of the standings and in position for the first-overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft.
What’s made the Dolphins young has also made them thin. With the roster turnover and the lack of cap space, Miami has little margin for error across the board. The club is only five days away from having to trim from the 90-man preseason limit to the 53-man regular-season roster, and according to the Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly, the bigger issue may not be deciding who goes - it may be figuring out who stays.
Kelly wrote that Miami has “roughly 45 legitimate NFL players.” He pointed to the cap squeeze behind the problem:
When $179 million of the team’s cap space is committed to paying off debt from players who aren’t on the roster, there are a limited amount of resources the front office gets to use to improve the talent base. That somewhat explains why Miami’s backups have looked disappointing in the two joint practices and preseason games. This roster needs reinforcements, which is why Sullivan needs to view next week’s cut-down day (Aug. 30), and the days of releases that will follow it, as a supplemental draft for Miami, claiming talent at all positions that can potentially improve this roster.
That reality sits in the background of everything else happening around camp, including the injury to standout rookie linebacker Trey Moore. The problem became obvious when Moore went down in Saturday’s preseason loss to the New York Giants, and Sunday morning testing confirmed the Dolphins will be without him for a while.
Miami also worked through a busy Monday on the practice field. Training camp 2026 is moving toward the finish line, and the Dolphins opened the final week with a brief, rain-soaked session. Head coach Jeff Hafley had already laid out the makeup of Monday’s work on Sunday.
The team returned for an intrasquad practice after the Saturday preseason game and Thursday joint practice with the Giants, with reporters getting one of the final three open sessions of camp. There were news and notes flowing from that workout, along with the usual stock up, stock down chatter as the roster battle tightens.
There was at least one encouraging checkpoint on the injury front. Chris Bell, working back from a knee issue, cleared a major hurdle in his recovery. His first snap in 11-on-11 without a red jersey ended with a dropped slant from Malik Willis, but the bigger takeaway was Bell getting that far in the first place.
Miami also added to the roster with the signings of linebacker Jaheim Thomas and a tight end, part of a Monday that brought more personnel movement as injuries continue to shape the picture.
On top of that, the Dolphins evaluated another former first-round pick on the rebound, with the possibility of more names coming into the mix as the roster picture gets tighter.
The competition for the final spots is only getting sharper now. In this first year under general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley, training camp has been defined by competition, and that battle is about to hit its most unforgiving stage with cut-down day close enough to feel it.
In Other News...
Dolphins Could Pull Off A Franchise Reset Without Losing A Blue-Chip Weapon
If the Dolphins ever found themselves on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick in 2027, the conversation in Miami would get interesting in a hurry. ESPNs Jordan Reid floated a mock-draft scenario in which the Dolphins move down with Cleveland, add a haul of picks, and still come away with Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, giving the franchise a way to reset its draft capital without giving up a blue-chip pass catcher.
The appeal of the idea is obvious from Miamis perspective: a trade like that would bring back multiple first-rounders, a fourth-round pick and a future second-rounder, while still leaving the team positioned to land one of the most intriguing offensive prospects in the class. It is only a projection at this point, not a real deal, but it underscores how a top pick could become more than just a single-player decision if Miami ever gets that opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins End Camp With Roster Battles And New Injury Questions
Miamis training camp wrapped up with an indoor session that leaned into red zone work and late-game situations, a fitting way to close a month defined as much by competition as by conditioning. Several players made their case in the final practice, with Malik Willis, Malik Washington and rookie Caleb Douglas among those who stood out, while the staff also got a look at a few players returning from injury as the team tried to sort out roles before the next phase of the preseason.
Jeff Hafley spent part of the day giving injury updates, and that remains the other big camp storyline for the Dolphins as they move from evaluation to decisions. Some players were unavailable or limited, which only adds to the roster pressure after a camp that has already featured enough on-field intrigue to make the final cut conversations more complicated than usual. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Suddenly Have A Linebacker Decision They Cant Ignore
The Dolphins are spending camp exploring just how flexible their defense can be, and that has put the linebacker room in an especially interesting spot. Under Jeff Hafley, Miami has been mixing and matching personnel to cover roster needs, and the group at the second level has become one of the deeper areas on the team. Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson bring established experience, while Jacob Rodriguez and Jackson Woodard have added more competition to the mix.
Woodard has drawn attention for the way he has played despite some athletic limitations, and that is part of what makes this a tougher evaluation than it might have looked a few weeks ago. Miami is not just sorting through who can help on defense, but who can also add value on special teams, and those overlapping jobs can shape the final roster picture as much as anything else. The Dolphins have options here, but the challenge now is deciding which combination gives them the most reliable return. [Read more 🡒]