Dolphins Salary Cap Outlook Entering Training Camp

Veterans report to training camp Tuesday, marking the final stretch of a busy offseason for the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins traded All-Pro players, restructured some of their most expensive contracts, and kept free-agent spending to a minimum, but they’re now nearly out of salary cap space. Miami’s $1,244,642 in available salary cap space is the league’s second-lowest behind the Buffalo Bills, who are currently $800,000 over the cap, according to Spotrac. 

While the Dolphins found a team to take on Jalen Ramsey’s multi-year contract, they will carry a dead cap hit of nearly $15 million after trading him (and they paid $3 million to move Ramsey). Miami is longer on the hook for a big-money deal that turned into a four-year, $84.7 million contract, but it needed to have enough room to absorb Minkah Fitzpatrick’s $15.5 million contract to make it happen.

There’s no guaranteed money remaining on the final two years of Fitzpatrick’s deal, but he does slide in as Miami’s third-most expensive contract, taking up 5.55 percent of the salary cap. Tua Tagovailoa’s nearly $40 million cap hit takes up 14 percent of the cap, followed by Tyreek Hill at 9.92 percent of the $279.2 million cap for 2025. 

Following the Ramsey deal, the Dolphins managed to fit Darren Waller on the books with a $2 million deal, and also agreed to a four-year contract with second-round rookie Jonah Savaiinaea on Friday. The fully guaranteed contract is worth $11.3 million and includes a $4.9 million signing bonus.

With the rookie class signed and Ramsey dealt, the Dolphins can now turn their attention to training camp. That said, the front office will likely need to create additional space before the start of the regular season. 

Other Salary Cap Considerations

Cornerback remains the obvious roster need, as Miami could use an experienced vet to compete with Storm Duck and Cam Smith for a starting role opposite Kader Kohou. 

Former Buffalo Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas remains unsigned after reportedly turning down a contract offer from the Dolphins earlier this offseason. Asante Samuel Jr. was another corner linked to Miami, but his father recently shared some strong opinions about Mike McDaniel and the front office that could’ve derailed that option. 

Stephon Gilmore, who won Defensive Player of the Year while with the New England Patriots in 2019, and former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton are some of the other options available in free agency. 

Improving the roster is one thing, but the front office also needs to preserve enough cap space for injuries or other unexpected needs between September and January.

One Player Due for a Raise

For most of Miami’s returning players, this season is a prove-it year. However, one player worthy of a contract extension is defensive tackle Zach Sieler. 

Sieler has two years left on a three-year, $31.75 million contract extension he signed in August, 2023. As the anchor of Miami’s defense, his $12.5 million cap hit for 2025 ranks 20th among interior defensive linemen, according to Over The Cap. 

Ryan Fitzpatrick, who spent two seasons in Miami as Sieler’s teammate, believes he’s due for a raise.

“Great dude, great player, severely underrated and underpaid his entire career,” Fitzpatrick wrote on social media on Tuesday. “If he was a first-round draft pick or if he was paid based on his production, he would be making over $20M/yr.” 

A seventh-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, Sieler, the only interior lineman with at least 10 sacks in each of the last two seasons, landed with the Dolphins in 2019 and has been a defensive staple since.

Sieler wasn’t included in the big-money extensions Miami handed out last offseason, and Fitzpatrick’s not wrong, considering he’s one of the league’s most reliable defensive tackles. He’s missed just two games since the start of the 2020 season, both because of an eye injury suffered in practice last year.

Sieler hasn’t made any public comments about his contract, but he’d have every right to speak up. As one of the Dolphins’ most consistent and productive players, he’s outperformed the value of his deal. 

Miami spent the offseason pinching pennies to stay under the cap. But with just over $1.2 million in space to last through 2025, more moves are likely, and keeping a key player like Sieler happy should be part of that plan.