The Dolphins have a ton of roster holes to fill. Their first chance comes Monday
It’s the time that Dolfans have waited patiently for since Jan. 5.
It’s when fans young and old can see how the Miami Dolphins top brass feels about last season. It’s when their favorite team begins to take shape. When Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel’s vision for 2025 becomes a bit clearer.
Free agency doesn’t begin until Wednesday but as of noon Monday, the legal tampering period will be underway, meaning that players can agree in principal to deals before they actually put pen to paper on Wednesday. The holes the Dolphins need to fill are clear. With more than $30 million in cap space recently created and the possibility of even more coming available if they choose, it seems the Dolphins could actually put together a contending team.
Let’s start on offense. The Dolphins need to fill both guard spots with quality players to protect quarterback Tua Tagovailoa who was limited to just 11 games in 2024 with a concussion and hip injury. Lower on the totem pole will be a third running back — preferably a power guy that can help Miami in short-yardage situations — as well as a third receiver and another tight end. Last but certainly not least, the Dolphins needed a quality backup quarterback as Tagovailoa has completed a full season only once in his career.
“That’s a position we will always focus on, and it will be a position that we will focus on this offseason,” Grier, the general manager said Jan. 7. “I will tell you that every stone will be unturned at that position including the draft.”
Added head coach McDaniel: “All things are on the table. There’s some guys that we’re pretty interested in in free agency, and there’s guys in the draft, as well. So I think both avenues afford us an opportunity to improve the room at that position, which I think was pretty obvious, it’s on everybody’s tip of the tongue that needs to be a focus of ours and it is.”
While the Dolphins don’t necessarily need another offensive tackle, two-time Pro Bowler Terron Armstead’s impending retirement decision also clouds things along the offensive line.
“ I think we have to operate as though he won’t play — just because you have to prepare for things that you can’t control,” McDaniel said Feb. 25. “But I think he’s going to take his time with his family and loved ones and make that decision because it is not an easy one.”
Defensively, the Dolphins desperately require help in the secondary. As of Sunday afternoon, Miami has just one starter in cornerback Jalen Ramsey following the Feb. 14 release of Kendall Fuller and the right of refusal tender placed on nickel Kader Kohou, a restricted free agent. The Dolphins will likely need two safeties as well; Jordan Poyer didn’t do enough in 2024 to warrant a return while Jevon Holland, an unrestricted free agent, is expected to go elsewhere.
“Jevon has earned the right to go out and test his market,” McDaniel said, “and that’s something that I don’t look at as a negative because what I don’t want is players being here and wishing they were somewhere else.”
Then comes the question of what to do with the inside linebacker spot opposite of Jordyn Brooks. The same goes for the defensive tackle and Zach Sieler. Unlike 2024, however, the Dolphins should have a nice rotation of edge rushers as Chop Robinson enters his second seasons as well as veterans Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb.
Money, however, will be the ultimate decider as to who does or doesn’t don the aqua and orange when the regular season kicks off. The Dolphins created more than $30 million in cap room after the franchise restructured the deals of Armstead and Chubb in recent weeks. Even more money could be obtained if they decide to do the same with Tagovailoa, Brooks or Sieler.
The next 10 days will be crucial. Times like these can make or break franchises. Of course, the Dolphins will have another opportunity to shape the team when NFL Draft rolls around April 24, however, as of right now, free agency will be all that matters.
