The Miami Dolphins have pushed their 2026 salary cap about as far as it can go.
A huge chunk of that cap is already tied to players who are no longer on the roster, and the numbers are eye-popping. Tua Tagovailoa is set to cost more than $50 million in actual cash and will count $55.4 million against the cap.
Tyreek Hill carries a $28 million hit, Jaylen Waddle $23 million, Jalen Ramsey $21 million, Minkah Fitzpatrick $13 million, Bradley Chubb $11 million, and Terron Armstrong $11 million. None of them are on the team.
That has forced Miami into some unusual financial cleanup just to get under the cap and leave enough room to handle in-season additions, especially injury replacements. According to Jason Fitzgerald at Over the Cap, the Dolphins may have done something no other NFL team has pulled off.
“The Dolphins did four minor restructures to save about $2.516 million in cap room this year,” said Fitzgerald. “They now have $9 million in cap room.
I believe they have no players remaining on the roster to save any cap room as those were the only players left with any savings. The restructures were as low as $340,000.”
That’s the remarkable part: these were tiny restructures, not the usual big-money moves teams use to create breathing room.
Usually, restructures are built around contracts with plenty of salary to convert. Some deals can’t be touched because the player is already making the league minimum for his years of service.
Here’s the basic idea behind an NFL restructure. The Collective Bargaining Agreement allows teams to spread signing bonuses over as many as five years.
So a team takes as much of a player’s base salary as it can and turns it into signing bonus. That lowers the current-year cap hit because only 20% of that bonus counts right away, with the rest pushed into future seasons.
Using round numbers, if a player is due $6 million in 2026, the team might pay him $5 million up front and leave a $1 million minimum salary. That $5 million gets spread across five years on the cap at $1 million per year. Instead of a $6 million hit, the player would count $2 million in 2026, with $4 million still waiting to be accounted for later.
The catch is simple: the money always comes back around. Every dollar gets counted eventually. When a player leaves by trade, retirement, or release, the remaining dead cap accelerates, which is what happened with most of the players listed above.
It’s basically the financial version of maxing out a credit card - without the interest piling up.
Miami’s motive here is straightforward. Teams want cushion during the season, and they can’t create as much room once salaries are already being paid out. If an injury hits and a team needs a million dollars to bring in a replacement, that space has to exist already.
Most clubs like to keep around $15 million in reserve entering the season. The Dolphins went all the way down to $9 million, which leaves them some flexibility while still taking a pretty aggressive approach.
Even with all that cap pressure, Miami isn’t at the bottom of the league in available space. Eleven NFL teams have less cap room. Still, the Dolphins’ maneuvering gives them a shot at claiming players during the season who get cut by other teams, while they keep building for what’s ahead.
In Other News...
Dolphins Draft Outlook Got Real Ugly After Just One Game
The Dolphins season opened with a jolt in Week 1, and the ripple effects have already reached next springs draft board. After the loss to the Raiders, ESPNs Football Power Index has Miami projected with a 97% chance to land a top-10 pick, a staggering early-season turn for a roster that entered the year expecting to compete.
The model does not stop there. ESPNs simulations give Miami a 38% shot at the No. 1 overall pick and an average selection slot of 2.9, while the schedule ahead offers little relief with the 49ers, Chiefs, Vikings and Bengals all looming. Betting markets are already bracing for a long year too, with current odds pointing toward a three-to-five-win finish, which leaves the Dolphins staring at a draft picture that got very real, very fast. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Face A Week 2 Test They Cant Keep Avoiding
Miami's opener against the Raiders offered a reminder that this offense still has to prove it can stay on schedule when the passing game isn't carrying the load. The Dolphins ran the ball only 18 times in Week 1, and the lack of a steadier ground effort put more pressure on De'Von Achane and the interior offensive line than the group could comfortably absorb.
Now comes a San Francisco front that should invite a stronger response in the middle, even if the 49ers remain a difficult test overall. The interior defensive line has been weakened by injuries and some shaky play from its tackles, which makes this a chance for Miami to reset the tone before the schedule turns back toward tougher pass-rush matchups. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Suddenly Have A Chop Robinson Concern They Can't Ignore
A promising early-season storyline took a sudden hit for Miami when edge rusher Chop Robinson was ruled out for Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers after suffering a concussion in practice. The injury comes at a tricky moment for a Dolphins defense that was already hoping to see Robinson build on a strong preseason and settle in after a rough season opener.
Jeff Hafley said the team will have to lean on other defenders in Robinsons absence, with Josh Uche and Zeek Biggers among the players expected to help absorb the workload. It also adds another layer to a season in which Robinsons play matters beyond the week-to-week rotation, since Miami will have to make a decision on his contract option at the end of the year. [Read more 🡒]