Dolphins Don't Need a Sieler Standoff

The Miami Dolphins have solved in one way or another pretty much all of their contractual dilemmas of 2025 as they get ready to start training camp, but there's one last big one that remains and there's really only one correct resolution.

That resolution is giving Zach Sieler a new contract.

Unless Sieler's demands, through agent Drew Rosenhaus, are completely outrageous, the Dolphins borderline don't have a choice but to make sure to keep their best defensive player happy and engaged and most importantly in town for the foreseeable future.

The Dolphins have lost a lot of talent in the past two years, which is how they've tumbled from having a roster deemed among the top 10 in the NFL to its ESPN ranking of 24th for this summer.

There's no question that Sieler is vastly underpaid for the production he's given the Dolphins the past two seasons or we can just say he's greatly outperformed his most recent contract extension.

And it's not just that Sieler is scheduled to make $7.3 million in base salary in 2025 with a modest $12.4 million cap number, there's the other issue of him having no guarantees beyond this year.

So it's not unreasonable for him to want more money and more security.

And the Dolphins need to ackowledge that and take care of one of their core players.

While Sieler wasn't a Dolphins draft pick, having instead come over as a waiver claim from the Baltimore Ravens, he's grown and developed in Miami and he can't become the latest such player to leave and follow players like Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt, Brandon Jones or Jevon Holland out the door.

SIELER'S CAMP OUTLOOK

Rosenhaus' statement in his weekly South Florida TV appearance that Sieler would report to camp Tuesday was expect because holdouts just don't happen anymore — the CBA calling for a $50,000 daily fine has made sure of that.

But hold-ins most definitely are a thing, and the only question with Sieler heading into camp is how long he'll take part in team reps without a new contract before he shuts it down.

Just go back two years to the situation involving Sieler's buddy Wilkins, who limited himself to individual and position drills until late in training camp as he waited for a new contract that never came.

Sieler himself was looking for a new contract a couple of years ago but still being a full participant in training camp before he had a knee injury that looked a bit ominous when it happened before it proved to be insignificant.

It would be surprising if Sieler even put himself in position to take that kind of chance again because he's got more at stake now.

Again, it's not like the Dolphins are obligated to give Sieler whatever he's asking, but they do need to make it happen.

If we were in the summer of 2024, chances are Sieler would have his new contract by now because that's now the Dolphins were operating — new deals for Tua, Tyreek, Waddle, Ramsey, Mike McDaniel. They've done a 180 this year because, unless we've missed something, they haven't handed out one contract extension or redone one deal yet.

It needs to happen with Sieler.

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