Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan knew what they were getting into when they signed up with the Miami Dolphins. And immediately, they wanted everyone else to understand that it was going to get worse before it got better.
When new head coaches and general managers are introduced to the media, there’s usually an unrelenting stream of optimism. And there was some of that in late January from Hafley and Sullivan, the new coach and GM of the Dolphins. But they also tried to temper expectations, at least for the 2026 season. You don’t find that often in introductory media conferences.
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Hafley admitted “it’s going to take time.” Sullivan spoke of a challenging journey ahead, though with a sunny conclusion.
“It’s not going to be an easy road, but I think the journey is well worth going on, and we will do it together, and we will achieve together,” he said. “When we get to the end of this thing and we hoist that trophy, we’ll realize that we started at the bottom, we fought our way to the top, and it will be one of the more special moments of all of our lives. I have no doubt that we will get there.”
Starting at the bottom is accurate for this Dolphins team. Miami was in such bad salary-cap shape that after cleaning house, it will be paying more to players not on the roster than the players currently on the team. A staggering $179.2 million is allocated to dead cap hits, according to Spotrac. That is 58% of the adjusted salary cap. And next year, the Dolphins will still be on the books for $56.7 million in dead cap hits from Tua Tagovailoa and Bradley Chubb.
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Miami traded safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and safety Jaylen Waddle, arguably the two best players who remained on the roster. Among the Dolphins’ free agents, 15 signed elsewhere, and expensive players such as Tyreek Hill and James Daniels were still available after the NFL Draft. Every outside free agent the Dolphins added except one was signed to a one-year deal, and the team signed only one outside free agent who will make more than $1.49 million, which is practically nothing in the NFL.
The term “Year Zero” has been used by college football writer Bill Connelly, referring to a new coach who takes over a total and complete rebuild and is given the grace to survive a brutal season in which a win or two with some progress shown by the end is the only reasonable expectation. This is Year Zero for Hafley and Sullivan. They understood the assignment. They’re in for a rough season, but with hopes of better days down the road.
At least there’s one reason to watch. The lone free agent the Dolphins splurged on was quarterback Malik Willis. Miami cut Tua Tagovailoa two years into what turned out to be a devastating, four-year, $212.4 million contract extension. Tagovailoa was never the same player after his latest concussion in Week 2 of the 2024 season. The Dolphins are carrying an NFL record dead-cap hit on Tagovailoa of $99.2 million, spread over two years, for him to not be their quarterback anymore. Hafley and Sullivan were familiar with Willis from their time with the Green Bay Packers and signed him to a three-year, $67.5 million deal. It’s far from a guarantee that Willis will work out. He has six career starts. But it was a reasonable gamble for the best quarterback on the free-agent market.
The problem for Willis is that other than running back De’Von Achane, who was singled out by the Dolphins as someone they refused to trade, there’s nothing around him. The receiver room is stunningly thin. The offensive line could be one of the worst in the NFL again. Miami spent a good amount on Willis, but it will be very hard to evaluate him, given the lack of help he’ll have.
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But it’s something. There would be no reason to be excited for this Dolphins season otherwise. This is what the bottom looks like. There’s a lot of work to be done.
Don’t say Hafley and Sullivan didn’t warn you.
Offseason grade
The Dolphins need to be graded on a curve. New GM Jon-Eric Sullivan wasn’t responsible for the mess he inherited. He had to clean everything up, from salary cap and culture standpoints. Trading Jaylen Waddle and Minkah Fitzpatrick and cutting Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb couldn’t have been fun, but the Dolphins didn’t have much choice. Finding enough cap space to sign Willis was impressive. There were surprising reports that Willis would get more than $30 million per season, a narrative likely being pushed by his agent, so to get him for three years and $67.5 million seemed reasonable. It’s risky, but that’s fine for a team in a complete rebuild. The three highest paid free agents to join Miami other than Willis were kicker Zane Gonzalez, punter Bradley Pinion and safety Lonnie Johnson, each at $1.49 million.
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The draft was fine, with Miami getting big offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor at No. 12, cornerback Chris Johnson at No. 27 and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez in the second round. Proctor could start his career at guard while Austin Jackson and Patrick Paul man the tackle spots. Miami took shots on receivers Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell (who is coming off a torn ACL) and tight end Will Kacmarek in the third round.
It’s hard to be too critical of Miami when a new regime practically started $179.2 million in the hole on the salary cap due to dead cap hits.
Grade: C
Quarterback report
Malik Willis turned six career starts into the fifth-highest contract, in terms of annual value, of any free agent who switched teams this offseason. Miami is betting on potential, and his skills are exciting.
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Willis was bad to start his career with the Titans, but with the Packers, he played well off the bench when needed. He made a lot of money in Week 17 last season, when he passed for 288 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns against the Ravens.
Willis could flop as a full-time starter, but it’s not like the Dolphins are pinning any 2026 playoff hopes on him. And they should be in position to have a high pick in a quarterback-rich 2027 NFL Draft, whether or not Willis works out.
“This guy’s got all the traits in the world,” Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan said. “He’s got an elite arm. He’s a very, very good athlete. He’s a big, strong, powerful body. He can take the punishment, make plays with his legs, attack all levels of the field. It’s just a matter of, I think, taking care of the ball and making good decisions and getting more fluid, playing the position down in and down out, week in and week out.”
Quarterback Malik Willis joins the Dolphins after two seasons as the Packers’ backup. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Odds breakdown
From Yahoo’s Ben Fawkes: “The Dolphins are tied with the Arizona Cardinals for the NFL’s lowest win total (4.5) and have the second-worst odds (10-to-1) to make the postseason. Miami will have a new starting QB in Malik Willis, but who is his No. 1 wideout? The Dolphins have made the playoffs only twice since 2018; this season seems very unlikely to be the third. In other words, it’s a rebuilding year in Miami.”
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Yahoo’s fantasy take
From Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski: “Other than De’Von Achane, the Dolphins are essentially a fantasy wasteland. Achane is the only player likely to command a top-100 pick, and the receiver room is lacking impact players. But let’s leave the light on for new QB Malik Willis. Although Willis has just six NFL starts to his name, he averaged a handy 44.8 rushing yards per game in those starts, with six overall rushing touchdowns. In any format in which you need to roster two or three quarterbacks, Willis makes sense as a plausible upside pick in the later rounds, no matter what his passing stats wind up being. Running quarterbacks are a gift from the fantasy gods.”
Stat to remember
The Dolphins’ defense was a bottom-10 unit in just about every category last season. It was 24th in points allowed, 24th in DVOA, 25th in EPA (expected points added) allowed per play, 29th in success rate allowed per play, tied for 26th in yards allowed per pass, tied for 27th in yards allowed per rush and 29th in passer rating allowed.
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Now take that defense and remove safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, a three-time All-Pro, and pass rusher Bradley Chubb, who led the team with 8.5 sacks. New head coach Jeff Hafley is a good defensive coach, and that will help, as will highly drafted rookies Chris Johnson and Jacob Rodriguez. But it’s hard to figure how Miami won’t be a bottom-10 defense again.
Burning question: How much can the Dolphins ride De’Von Achane?
The Dolphins’ current projected starters among pass catchers are Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, Malik Washington and Greg Dulcich. None of them has more than 610 yards in a season, and the four have fewer than 4,000 career yards combined.
It was odd that the Dolphins steadfastly refused to consider trading Achane, but without him, Miami’s offense might look like it belongs in the MAC. Also, the Dolphins might’ve figured out that elite running backs are actually a good value in today’s NFL, as they signed Achane to a four-year, $64 million deal that is cheap compared to some recent receiver contracts.
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There will be the temptation to give Achane as many touches as he can handle, but he’s just 191 pounds, and the Dolphins want him to be a building block for years. It might not be wise to give him 350 or 400 touches when the playoffs are nowhere close to a realistic goal, and they want him to still be in his prime when the rest of the team is ready to contend. But how can the Dolphins resist overworking their only dynamic skill-position player?
Best-case scenario
Last season, the Saints looked miserable on paper. But first-year head coach Kellen Moore had his team playing hard despite a rough start, and it finished well, providing hope. There could be a similar story in Miami. While most of the players currently on the roster probably won’t be around in a few years, if Hafley can have them playing hard all season, that would be a good sign. The Dolphins could find that Willis’ small-sample success translates over a full season, and then they’d have an exciting quarterback who is just 27 years old. Nobody is expecting a miraculous playoff push from the Dolphins. But tangible progress would be nice.
Nightmare scenario
As much as NFL team owners can understand that the roster needed to be torn to bits and a 1-16 or 2-15 season is the most likely outcome, it’s another thing to live through it. If Willis is bad, the Dolphins turning in one of the worst seasons in NFL history is on the table. It doesn’t help that they have the second-toughest schedule in the NFL, based on sportsbooks’ win totals (Miami’s schedule was tied for third-easiest last season, via DVOA).
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Would club owner Stephen Ross understand that Hafley and Sullivan aren’t responsible for this mess and exercise some patience? It’s not like Ross has a great track record as an owner. If the Dolphins end up as one of the worst teams in the NFL, Willis looks overmatched as a full-time starter and Ross gets impulsive, another restart to the rebuild might happen. Try selling that to the fan base.
The crystal ball says …
The Dolphins were smart to hit reset. What would’ve been the point in restructuring a bunch of contracts to finish with five or six wins at most? That would have been ridiculous, especially with a strong 2027 NFL Draft coming up. Tanking never takes the form of telling players to not do their best. It looks like this, with a roster straight out of “Major League” and some lineups that will look like the second half of preseason games.
The Dolphins will likely have to figure out if they want to take a quarterback with a top-three (possibly first overall) pick in the 2027 draft, trade that pick for a massive haul or use it on a great non-quarterback prospect such as receiver Jeremiah Smith. That decision will depend largely on Willis’ performance. But nothing he does this season is going to help the Dolphins all that much.
At least they get to face the Jets twice.
NFL offseason power rankings: No. 32 Miami Dolphins start over in Year Zero, but at least with Malik Willis aboard Top World News Today.
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