Jordyn Brooks is getting the kind of payday that usually confirms a player has become a centerpiece, and the Miami Dolphins made sure he got it before training camp.
The former Seattle Seahawks linebacker signed a three-year extension worth as much as $51.3 million, giving him an average of $17 million a year. Before the new deal, his biggest cap hit was set to come this season at $10,862,166. Miami chose to lock him in rather than keep him in trade talk, which had followed him this offseason.
Brooks’ rise in Miami has been steady and then loud. He was solid in 2024 and then took off in 2025, when he earned First-Team All-Pro honors at inside linebacker after leading the league in combined and solo tackles. For a player who once looked like a possible fit-and-forget piece in Seattle, that’s a major turn.
His departure from the Seahawks after the 2023 season still stings a little for some fans, especially because the fit in Mike Macdonald’s new scheme never looked clean on paper. Brooks’ coverage ability was viewed as a question mark, and Seattle moved on by signing Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker to fill the spot. That didn’t work out the way the Seahawks hoped.
It’s easy to look back now and imagine what Seattle’s linebacker room might have looked like with Ernest Jones IV and Brooks together. That pairing won’t happen, but the thought lingers because Brooks has clearly kept climbing since leaving. None of that is meant as a shot at Drake Thomas or Tyrice Knight, but Brooks has proven to be elite.
There’s also a bigger picture to his Seattle years. Brooks was drafted in the first round in 2020 and spent his early seasons in the shadow of Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright.
Wright left the following year, and Wagner departed a year after that, but by then the team was declining at the same time. The inside linebacker spot could have become Brooks’ stage, but the timing never lined up.
Miami, meanwhile, has taken a different approach this offseason. Rather than tear everything down, the Dolphins have identified players they see as foundational and paid them.
De’Von Achane got extended. Center Aaron Brewer got extended.
Now Brooks is part of that group.
For Seattle fans, the story lands with a little bit of mixed emotion. Brooks was a hard worker and a good person off the field, and plenty of 12s probably still wish he were making plays at home games in the Pacific Northwest. Instead, he’s getting rewarded in Miami, and the Dolphins are happy to keep collecting the benefits.
In Other News...
Seahawks Fans Just Got Their First Real Read On Mike Macdonald
HBOs first trailer for the upcoming Hard Knocks training camp edition centered on the Seahawks offers the clearest public look yet at Mike Macdonald, and it comes with the kind of stage only this franchise has not had before. The coach is front and center throughout the preview, which also includes glimpses of Sam Darnold, Devon Witherspoon, AJ Barner and others as the show starts to sketch out what Seattles camp atmosphere might look like heading into the season.
For Seahawks fans, the appeal is less about secret football intel than about getting a feel for the people and the tone around the building. After years of one very recognizable coaching identity, this is a chance to see how Macdonald presents himself when the cameras are rolling and how the roster responds to him in a setting built to reveal personalities as much as preparation. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Add Brandon Johnson As Harrison Bryant Becomes First Camp Cut
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The timing suggests the addition is at least partly about coverage and competition while Nick Emmanwori works through a minor injury. For a team in the middle of camp, these are the kinds of transactions that rarely dominate the conversation but can matter a lot in the short term, especially when the Seahawks are looking for healthy bodies and enough flexibility to keep practices moving. [Read more 🡒]
Another Seahawks Assistant Is Suddenly Drawing Outside Attention
The Seahawks have already seen one assistant climb the ladder this offseason, with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak leaving for a head coaching job with the Raiders. Now another member of Mike Macdonalds staff is getting a fresh look from the outside, as Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic pointed to defensive coordinator Aden Durde as one of the leagues more intriguing coaching names after the work he has done in Seattle.
Durde still has not drawn the kind of head coaching buzz his reputation might suggest, even after a season that has put him on the radar of evaluators around the league. Rodrigue also noted special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh as another promising assistant with a strong coaching background and recent success in Seattle, a reminder that the Seahawks may be building more than just a good staff for the moment. [Read more 🡒]