What to Expect from the Dolphins This March

The calendar turned to March on Sunday, and thus arrived the month where most of the biggest decisions of the offseason for the Miami Dolphins will be made.

But this will be a very different March for the Dolphins, who aren't looking for immediate improvement but rather getting their business affairs in order and setting a foundation that will help them become consistent winners.

If it weren't already crystal clear, the "go for it" chapter of the Dolphins that began in 2022 with the trade acqusition of Tyreek Hill and the signing of star tackle Terron Armstead is over.

There's a new regime in place with GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley replacing Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel, Armstead is a yaer into retirement, Hill has been cut, and there could be other big names following him out the door.

THE MARCH MADNESS

The March highlight for the NFL, as it is every year, will be the free agency period, which will kick off with the start of the new league year March 11 after two days after legal negotiating with impending free agents from other teams.

March 11 also is the day when trades officially can be consummated, even if they can be agreed upon beforehand — such as the New York Jets sending former first-round pick Jermaine Johnson II to the Tennessee Titans for massive nose tackle T'Vondre Sweat.

The first big date on the March calendar comes Tuesday (March 3) with the deadline for teams to apply the franchise or transition tag on one of their players.

The Dolphins, barring an insane surprise, will not be involved in this exercise because they don't have a pending unrestricted free agent who merits a tag beyond their nasty cap situation.

But there will be moves made, and we try our best here to decipher our crystal ball.

CLEARING CAP SPACE

This normally isn't the biggest headliner at this time of year, but it is a unique year for Miami.

The 2026 salary cap officially has come in at $301.2 million, which was disappointing for Miami because that was the absolute lowest range that has been predicted a week or two before.

Because their cap commitments, which are heavy with dead money (cap hits on players who won't be on the roster), the Dolphins find themselves barely below the threshold, about $775,000 below, according to Over The Cap.

That's good enough for the Dolphins to be cap-compliant, which every team must be with their top 51 cap numbers, but the Dolphins also have 52 players on the roster when that number is going to grow to 90 by the time training camp starts (though it's only the top 51 who count until the regular season).

The Dolphins will gain an additional $23 million when they officially release Bradley Chubb, but that's expected to be a post-June 1 cut, meaning that additional cap space won't show up until then.

At this time, the Dolphins have some obvious cut candidates to gain cap space, such as kicker Jason Sanders and fullback Alec Ingold, and the Dolphins also could save some $5 million by trading safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, as has been reported they'll explore.

The other way to create cap space is by restructuring some contracts, but understand the practicing of converting base salary into signing bonus simply pushes the cap commitment to future years.

It's not a practice a rebuilding team normally would embrace, but the Dolphins might not have a choice to have the ability to make moves in the offseason, particularly when it will come time to sign their 2026 draft class.

THE TUA DECISION

What to do with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been the biggest personnel decision hanging over the franchise since the start of the offlseason — and it's been the way actually since he was benched last December — and we may or may not get an answer with the start of the league year.

It has been just about unanimous from national insiders that the Dolphins will be moving on from Tagovailoa one way or another, which isn't a complete slam dunk only because of the cap mess his departure will leave behind.

The other way of looking at it, though, is the Dolphins are going to have to carry an unhealthy cap number for a quarterback who was benched, and is there a massive difference between a $56 million cap hit or one of $67 million. That's what it would be if the Dolphins make Tagovailoa a post-June 1 cut, something that could not be done or announced before March 11.

The only question at this point remains whether the Dolphins can convince another team to make a trade for Tagovailoa, something that likely would entail Miami have to fork over some sort of a sweetener, whether in the form of a draft pick or two or paying off some of Tua's salary, which then would only increase the dead cap hit.

Because Tagovailoa's cap hit will go up June 1 with a post-June 1 cut and not down, the Dolphins aren't in a hurry to simply cut him, although one would think they'd like the situation resolved before they start their offseason program April 6.

RE-SIGNING FREE AGENTS

Before the March 11 signing period begins, the Dolphins have the ability to re-sign any of their pending free agents before they hit the market.

The Dolphins have 29 pending UFAs and it's probably fair to expect only inexpensive players will be brought back, simply because the Dolphins don't have any must-signs and they're tight against the cap.

The list of those pending UFAs consists of QB Zach Wilson, CB Kader Kohou, CB Ifeatu Melifonwu, T Larry Borom, S Ashtyn Davis, C Liam Eichenberg, P Jake Bailey, TE Darren Waller, IDL Benito Jones, CB Elijah Campbell, CB Rasul Douglas, T Kendall Lamm, LS Joe Cardona, CB Artie Burns, LB Willie Gay Jr. RB Alexander Mattison, LB K.J. Britt, WR Dee Eskridge, T Germain Ifedi, K Riley Patterson, LB Caleb Johnson, G Daniel Brunskill, WR Cedrick Wilson Jr., CB Jack Jones, LB Quinton Bell, G Cole Strange, CB A.J. Green, T Yodny Cajuste and TE Greg Dulcich.

The best guess from here is that the most likely candidates to re-sign early would include Dulcich, Patterson and Kohou, who doesn't figure to have a big market after missing the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL.

SIGNING FREE AGENTS FROM OTHER TEAMS

The free agency period is an exciting time for NFL fans, who always look for their team to make that big splash in March.

But the Dolphins simply are not in a place, financially or with their roster, to go chasing expensive free agents, which is where the Malik Willis speculation maybe was overblown from the start.

If the Dolphins make the sacrifices that would be necessary to bring in Willis, then know that Sullivan and Hafley are huge believers in him.

The reality, though, is the Dolphins likely will make few free agent signings, and they will be pretty modest.

It's going to look a lot like 2019 after Brian Flores arrived as head coach and the Dolphins began their rebuilding project and they signed only two UFAs that offseason, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and defensive back Eric Rowe.

THE NFL MARCH CALENDAR

March 3 — Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

March 9-11 — During the period beginning at 12:00 noon, New York time, on March 9 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 11, clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2025 player contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 11.

-- A prospective UFA who is not represented by an NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor (“Unrepresented Player”) is permitted to communicate directly with a new club’s front office officials (excluding the head coach and other members of the club’s coaching staff) regarding contract negotiations. The club is responsible for confirming the player’s status as an unrepresented player.

-- No prospective unrestricted free agent is permitted to execute a contract with a new club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 11.

March 11 — The 2026 League Year and Free Agency signing period begin at 4:00 p.m., New York time.

-- Trading period for 2026 begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time, after expiration of all 2025 contracts. 

-- The first day of the 2026 League Year will end at 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 11. Clubs will receive a Personnel Notice that will include all transactions submitted to the League office during the period between 4:00 p.m., New York time, and 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 11.

March 29-April 1 — Annual League Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona