The Dolphins have a MASSIVE decision to make at starting quarterback in 2026. Deciding what to do with Tua Tagoavailoa will determine whether the Dolphins continue trying to compete now or whether they will plunge into a rebuild. And that choice will trickle down to many other positions as they decide who will be part of the future plans or not.

And, as they just announced today with the release of star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, it's looking like they are going in the rebuild direction. That makes Tua available to other teams as a trade candidate and possibly a cut candidate. So let's begin the speculation as we dive into the cap space, depth chart, and salaries for the Miami Dolphins weapons!

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*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

 

 

 

Miami Dolphins Depth Chart 2026 (Fantasy Football Relevant)

QB

Tua Tagovailoa

Zach Wilson

Quinn Ewers

Cam Miller

 

RB

De'Von Achane

Jaylen Wright

Ollie Gordon

Alexander Mattison

Donovan Edwards

WR

Tyreek Hill

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

D'Wayne Eskridge

  

WR

Jaylen Waddle

Cedrick Wilson

Theo Wease

  

WR

Malik Washington

Tahj Washington

   

TE

Darren Waller

Greg Dulcich

Julian Hill

Jalin Conyers

 

FB

Alec Ingold

    


 

KEY

  • White = free agent
  • Green = role is safe
  • Yellow =  role in flux
  • Orange = likely a depth piece
  • Red = roster spot not guaranteed

Miami Dolphins Free Agency 2026

  • CURRENT PROJECTED 2026 SALARIES: $328M
  • CURRENT ESTIMATED 2026 CAP SPACE: -$23M

Free Agent Types

Unrestricted free agent: Any player with four or more accrued seasons whose contract has expired. They are free to negotiate with any team.

Restricted free agent: A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. The CBA allowed for NFL teams to tender these players to one-year qualifying offers to retain them. Another team can sign them, but would need to provide the tendering team with compensation. In layman’s terms, if a new team signs a player, the current team can match it, or they receive the corresponding pick from the new team. These are the projected RFA tender levels per OverTheCap.com:

  • 1st Round - $7,893,000
  • 2nd Round - $5,658,000
  • Right of First Refusal - $3,453,000

Exclusive rights free agent: Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum, the player cannot negotiate with other teams. If the team wants the player back, these contracts are a no-brainer, as the player either needs to play on the contract or sit out. 

 

 

 

Dolphins Quarterback Depth Chart

Tua Tagovailoa

It’s been widely reported this offseason, notably by reliable sources like Ian Rapoport, that the Dolphins are looking to part ways with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. And, if they can’t find a trade partner, that would come with a bit of a nightmare cap situation. 

No matter what, they would take a hit this year with less cap space than if they just kept him. The move is for the long term, not the short term. With a June 1 designation, they can spread the hit over a couple of years, but would have a $67.4M hit this year with $31.8M applied to 2027. That decision would almost certainly design Miami for a bridge year in 2026.

As far as the fantasy football value, you can’t drop Tua in superflex leagues. Any guy who has a chance to start somewhere should be rostered. In single QB leagues, he doesn’t need to be held as his profile isn’t conducive to upside regardless. Someone like Kyler Murray in a similar position at least has rushing upside. 

Zach Wilson

Wilson is a free agent. And, after the previous regime made the decision to leapfrog him and start Quinn Ewers instead, he likely does not have much loyalty to the franchise. I expect him to test the waters and likely land elsewhere. A former Jet QB, Sam Darnold, just won 14 games in back-to-back years, including the Super Bowl this year, so maybe teams will give him a second chance. Maybe the Vikings would even consider a second Jets QB reclamation product. 

Quinn Ewers

We obviously only got a three-game sample size from Ewers. And it was a mixed bag. But we did see a win, we saw a 260-yard passing game, and a game with 2 TDs, no interceptions. Unless the Dolphins make a massive splash in free agency, I think that warrants enough for Ewers to be in the mix to potentially start in training camp. If they are doing a bridge year, it’s actually in their best interest to lose games this year, so it’s not out of the question for the Dolphins to throw him out there either. Then it’s up to him to win to protect his job from an early QB draft pick in 2027.

Cam Miller

The Dolphins signed Cam Miller off the Raiders' practice squad, who opted not to protect him. As the Raiders themselves are a QB-needy team, that typically doesn’t bode well. He has zero dead cap tied to him, so he will need to battle for his roster spot. 

  • Reserves/Futures: N/A

DOLPHINS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: Naturally, there’s been a lot of speculation about the Dolphins quarterback position. Folks have begun to connect the dots on Malik Willis, who worked with new head coach Jeff Hafley in Green Bay. He looked good in his limited starts and also has mobile upside for fantasy football.

The other ends of the spectrum are a little more bleak. As we mentioned, the Dolphins could go full tank mode while they eat the dead cap from Tua’s contract, in which case they’ll have no interest in winning games or having competitive QBs. On the other end, they could chase an older retread like Kirk Cousins or Russell Wilson. Then you are potentially trying to compete now despite the salary cap disadvantages. 

Dolphins Runningback Depth Chart

De'Von Achane

We were a little nervous about De'Von Achane when Mike McDaniel was let go. His scheme is great for running backs as they get heavy carries when winning and, when losing, they run a lot of routes from a WR spot and catch passes. Achane has led the league in that category two years in a row now.

But those concerns for us were short-lived as they opted to elevate Bobby Slowik to OC, another Kyle Shanahan disciple. That basically tells us that they like the scheme but wanted a change of leadership. In Slowik’s one stint as OC with the Houston Texans, he deployed the fullback and multiple tight end sets just like McDaniel. So we’re willing to buy Achane if anyone is selling low on the superstar.

Jaylen Wright

Jaylen Wright and his fantasy owners expected him to be more involved in year two with Raheem Mostert out. But that wasn’t really the case. In fact, he was a healthy scratch at times, and rookie Ollie Gordon was used as the bruiser over him. The silver lining was that, when Achane did get nicked up, Wright was involved more in space and outplayed Gordon. But Gordon is still looming as the bigger body if Achane does go down. 

Ollie Gordon

If Achane were to go down, the Dolphins would have a decent one-two punch with Gordon and Wright. Though being in a split backfield as the bruiser back really only works in fantasy football if it’s a prolific offense. And we don’t know if/when the Dolphins offense will be prolific again. That doesn’t make Gordon a super appealing handcuff play for 2026. 

Alexander Mattison

Mattison suffered a fairly serious injury in the preseason last year that actually resulted in a broken neck. Despite that, he expects to play again in 2026. As an older unrestricted free agent, I don’t expect that to be in Miami. 

Donovan Edwards

The rookie out of Michigan was released by the Jets in August, bounced around Washington’s practice squad, and was then signed to the Dolphins' practice squad. He was elevated in the final week of the season, which technically puts him under contract for 2026, but he did not play a snap. So he’ll need to battle for a roster spot.

Alec Ingold

Alec Ingold is the fullback, and as they are elevating Bobby Slowik to offensive coordinator, I expect him to be back in that capacity. He’s under contract for 2026, then becomes a free agent.

  • Reserves/Futures: N/A

DOLPHINS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: As the Dolphins have pretty much the same crew as last year under contract, they are pretty set at running back. Anyone they sign would likely be more for special teams, so I don’t expect them to make a major splash at running back in 2026.

  • POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: N/A

 

 

 

Dolphins Wide Receiver Depth Chart

Tyreek Hill

With a $16M roster bonus looming in early March, the Dolphins decided to get ahead of things and announce that troubled wide receiver Tyreek Hill will be released. The formal announcement allows him to start talking to teams now and the speculation has begun.

The fact of the matter is that Tyreek Hill WILL be signed. There are only so many humans that can do what this guy does - if that was not the case, he wouldn't have gotten as many “second chances” as he has. Even if he's more of a field stretcher than a truly dynamic player at this stage, that's a valuable piece. But, in the right spot, he could be back to putting up WR1 fantasy numbers.

On competitive teams like the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots, he would immediately be the WR1, for instance. There are a lot of teams that could use a WR2 to stretch the field where it could change the entire dynamic of the offense, like the Washington Commanders or New York Giants. Maybe a reunion with the Kansas City Chiefs is on the table if they feel they need an additional spark. There is no shortage for specultive landing spots here.

Jaylen Waddle

At 27 years old, Jaylen Waddle is still in the age apex for wide receiver. So far, his injury history, as well as the injury history of his quarterback, has prevented him from hitting his hypothetical ceiling. He signed an extension through his age 30 season, so now he is likely stuck in Miami during a period of additional quarterback turmoil. 

I think Waddle could eventually have a resurgence with the right quarterback, just like Terry McLaurin did at age 29. And he should have a decent enough floor on volume alone. That makes Waddle a guy I’m willing to hold onto for now in dynasty with hopes that things change for the better over the next year or two. 

Malik Washington

Malik Washington was the “next man up,” though he never really got past 70% of the snaps at any point, as they still opted to rotate. I don’t really see a world where the Dolphins just sit tight with Waddle and Washington as their top two WRs, but there could be a world where they do a bridge year, allowing you to flip him for something if he flashes at all. Obviously, the Dolphins' signing or drafting a WR this offseason would impact Washington the most. He’ll almost certainly be on the team as he returned virtually all the kicks and punts in 2025.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

The signing of Nick Westbrook-Ikhine never really made sense to me. This is a big-bodied split end for a team that doesn’t usually use that. He fits best on a team that uses three WR sets, while the Dolphins primarily use two WR sets with either two tight ends or a fullback. So he went from being a full-time player with the Titans to a part-time one with the Dolphins. 

They could save ~$1.6M in cap with ~$1.6M in dead cap by releasing him - I’m not sure they do it, but that would probably be best for his career.  He does play a good chunk of special teams, though, so he could hang around.

Cedrick Wilson

Cedrick Wilson was familiar with this type of scheme from his time with Klint Kubiak and the Saints, but missed his chance to really compete for a spot as he was hurt to start the year. He came back in a part-time capacity but played more due to injury down the stretch. He’s an unrestricted free agent here and not a priority to bring back. 

Tahj Washington

Tahj Washington pretty much just appeared on special teams, and even then, he didn’t play much - he appeared for under 50 total snaps on the season. He’s not a roster lock in 2026. 

D'Wayne Eskridge

I was a little surprised that the Dolphins brought Eskridge back in 2025 as a depth and special teams guy. He’s an unrestricted free agent, so he would need another contract if he’s to return in that capacity in 2026.

Theo Wease Jr

Theo Wease was elevated down the stretch due to injuries. He’s technically under contract but is a release candidate with no dead money tied to his contract.

DOLPHINS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Dolphins are entering a rebuild phase here and will be eating a lot of dead cap regardless of how things play out. They are playing for the future and, ideally, losing this year to get good picks. The move here is to bring in reclamation projects via free agency that won't upset the comp pick formula, just to kick the tires on some guys and see if you can get lucky. Here are the names I like for that. 

 

 

 

Dolphins Tight End Depth Chart

Darren Waller

When he was in Miami, Jonnu Smith was running ~70% of his routes from a wide receiver spot. So, after trading him away, the Dolphins figured they might as well bring someone who operates that way. Enter Darren Waller, who Mike McDaniel recruited personally.

Darren Waller then had a fairly Darren Waller-esque season. He looked dominant at times, including a 7-catch game as well as two different games with two touchdowns. And he also got hurt multiple times. Interestingly, Waller claims that he was in his exit interview when Stephen Ross said he’d like him back then, asked him to leave before firing Mike McDaniel.

Waller is a guy you hold for now in dynasty because of the upside. It would not be good for him for fantasy to follow McDaniel, as they have Oronde Gadsden. Staying in MIA is probably the best spot, as other teams might not use him as a full-time player.

Julian Hill

Hill occupied the inline blocking tight end role that was previously held by Durham Smythe. He blocked on 31.7% of his pass plays, which is well over the 15% or under that we like to see for fantasy football relevance. He’s a restricted free agent, but I doubt they use the tender on him - if they do, it would be the $3.45M level. But, if he’s back, I’d expected it to be a cheaper deal, maybe more in the 2-year, ~$5M range that guys like Hunter Long and Johnny Mundt got.

Greg Dulcich

Dulcich is cut from the same “big wide receiver” cloth as Waller, which made him a good addition. He never quite played a full snap share, even when Waller was hurt, maxing out at 58% of the snaps. Dulcich might be the better fit for their long-term plans, as Waller is 33 years old and Dulcich is 25.

Jalin Conyers

We never got to see the rookie Jalin Conyers as his season ended early with a foot injury. He’s on a cheap rookie deal, so maybe he’ll get some work in 2026. 

DOLPHINS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: Mike McDaniel has actually run a slightly altered version of the Kyle Shanahan scheme as of late. Shanahan uses an athletic, two-way tight end as an inline player who can block and run routes (George Kittle). While McDaniel used more of a “big slot” tight end in a wide receiver role. We could see Bobby Slowik revert to more of the basic scheme since he has an option to pick from the free agents or draft prospects.

Guys like Kyle Pitts, Travis Kelce, and Chig Okonkwo operate more like how McDaniel was doing things, if Slowik wants to continue in that direction. The best option for what Shanahan does, as well as what Slowik did in Houston, would be David Njoku. Here are the guys that fit that profile. Now that it's rebuild time, I probably would not go for someone like Goedert.

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