Greg Cote: Dolphins' major rebuild is on. And it's about damned time.

Greg Cote, Miami Herald on Feb 16, 2026

Published in Football

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MIAMI — Miami Dolphins fans who thought the new regime might come in with a tinker and a tweak learned otherwise with a sudden jolt on Monday. This is going to be a full-on roster upheaval led by new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley — a complete franchise reset.

And the rebuild has begun.

Good. About time. The Dolphins have needed this reboot to varying degrees for a quarter century, since scoring a last playoff victory in 2000 and not winning one since — longest such drought in the NFL. No franchise in football, and few in sports, have begged more patience from fans with so little payback across so much time.

The Dolphins needed a splash not a ripple from Sullivan and Hafley, so call this a good start.

Eight-time Pro Bowl receiver Tyreek Hill, star outside linebacker Bradley Chubb as well as guard James Daniels and receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine all are being released, the news came Monday, and the sense is this is the first major wave of what could be a football tsunami.

The biggest move of all is now pending, it’s fair to say of the status of Tua Tagovailoa, the six-year starting quarterback who was benched late last season and is on the trade market, being shopped.

From a macro view, all of this is about making the Dolphins matter again, making them consistent winners, lifting them back onto the national stage from the regional team they have lapsed into.

For a micro view, this first wave of moves signals money-saving and salary-cap management as the club gets younger and increases financial options moving forward.

I like the moves thus far, and I like the Sullivan/Hafley regime’s willingness to make them.

Hill will be 32 next month and is coming off a torn ACL and dislocated knee that limited him to four games last season. (The team released him with a “failed physical” designation.) Even before, his 2024 production showed a sharp decline from his sensational 2022-23. There is a reason he will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time; it’s because Miami could not find a trade partner. There may be a very slight chance the Fins could re-sign him at a bargain rate. More likely, they will divest, move on, and save $22.8 million against the salary cap.

The Hill chapter is one of the more fascinating in Dolphins history. They paid big to acquire him from Kansas City. He had two terrific seasons, a reason we all loved Mike McDaniel and that offense for a minute. Then the decline happened. The step lost on that speed. Then the off-field stuff. And then the injury. In the end, the release was not a shock.

Chubb, who will be 30 in June, is coming off a team-leading 8 1/2-sack season after missing all of ‘24 injured. He has had ACL surgery on both knees. The club’s cap saving in ‘26 would increase to $20.2 million if it designated his formal release until after June 1. While the WR room is better-stocked to absorb losing Hill, Chubb’s departure leaves only Chop Robinson as a reliable OLB.

Daniels, 28, has had injury issues and started only one game last year before missing the rest of the season. Westbrook-Ikhine didn’t live up. All four moves save Miami $56 million in cap space.

Trading Tagovailoa seems somewhat inevitable but would become even more certain if Miami gets Malik Willis in free agency, as appears likely. Willis, 26, has started only six games in four pro seasons but has shown flashes of QB 1 quality. He spent the past two seasons as Jordan Love’s understudy in Green Bay — where both Sullivan and Hafley came from.

The Tua salary mess in part is why Miami is a bit forced to get rid of the likes of Hill and Chubb to save money. Tagovailoa is guaranteed $54 million in ‘26. And Miami would suffer a salary cap hit of $99.2 by releasing him before June 1. If that move were designated post-June 1 that hit would be split over the next two years. Even if Tua is traded, the Fins still would have to eat $45.2 million in dead cap money.

Bottom line? Still cheaper to trade him — so much so Miami will be willing to absorb some cost if it finds a trade partner. Reported possibilities have included the Vikings, Colts, Cardinals. Panthers and Rams.

With Tagovailoa’s status the biggest remaining question, Monday’s news on the departure of Hill, Chubb and Daniels delivered a clear early answer if there was any remaining doubt:

The big changes have started. They have only just begun.

And it’s about damned time.

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