While new Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley makes the media rounds, his general manager is likely poring over the roster to find money, probably pouring something strong over rocks as well.
Jon-Eric Sullivan knew what he was buying into when he took the Miami Dolphins GM job, but did he really know how much he would have to deal with in his first month on the job? Probably not.
As he goes over the roster, there are some players who have absolutely no business being on the roster come March 11th, when the league’s new year begins.
Jon-Eric Sullivan controls these Miami Dolphins’ futures with a stroke of a pen
Naturally, there are a lot of players who probably shouldn’t be back in 2026. Miami has 34 impending free agents, and Sullivan has acknowledged that he can’t and won’t re-sign all of them. It’s impossible to do so if he wanted to.
Those players are easy to get rid of; he simply doesn’t need to enter into negotiations for a return. These three, however, are currently under contract. Since everyone already knows Tua Tagovailoa is the news waiting to drop, we won’t include that obvious one.
Tyreek Hill absolutely can not return to the Dolphins
Yes, for salary cap reasons, retaining Hill doesn’t make sense, but we are going to forget about the numbers here. In fact, we are not going to consider any of the salary implications for the players on this list. Just performances and what they bring to the team. That is where Hill is a problem.
The Dolphins’ number one WR is incredible when he is healthy. For the most part, his time in Miami has been a healthy one. The problem now isn’t his knee, it’s his attitude and off-field issues that should be the red flags Sullivan can’t ignore.
If Sullivan opts to bring back Hill this year, it sends the wrong kind of message to the rest of the team. It sends the wrong message to fans and the organization. Sullivan said he will change the culture and bring players to the roster that not only want to be in Miami, but also put the team first and foremost. That isn’t Hill.
Austin Jackson is the exact opposite of Tyreek Hill, but still shouldn’t come back
Every report on the Dolphins’ offensive line starts with how much Jackson brings to the team’s locker room. He is an elite leader and a veteran whom the other players admire and look up to. That’s not coachable, and with Jackson, it’s undeniable.
Jackson will give everything to the Dolphins, the exact type of player that Sullivan has said he wants in Miami. There is, however, a problem. Where Jackson excels as a leader, he fails as a player. At his best, Jackson is above average, but it’s rare to see him at his best.
Over the course of his six-year career with the Dolphins, Jackson has spent almost as much time on IR as he has actually on the field. Out of a possible 102 games, Jackson has started 60 and appeared in two others. That is 42 games missed since being drafted. Jackson might be good enough to play right tackle, but if he can’t stay healthy, he won’t help Sullivan or Hafley build this team.
Minkah Fitzpatrick is the Dolphins enigma of 2026
No one doubts for a minute that Fitzpatrick won’t show up and play to the best of his ability, but no one can say that he will become the leader that the Dolphins need him to be. He started to show a lot of that last season despite the losing.
Under Anthony Weaver, Fitzpatrick seemed to be in the process of shedding the negativity he was saddled with in Pittsburgh. The question that needs to be answered now is whether or not he can remain engaged, knowing the Dolphins will be spinning their wheels for another season and likely two.
Fitzpatrick has to know that any window to the Super Bowl will remain closed as long as he is with the Dolphins. Will he ask for a trade? That is a possibility, but Sullivan also needs to consider that Fitzpatrick’s best return to Miami is in the form of draft-pick compensation.
