3 players Dolphins must let walk in free agency during NFL offseason

The Miami Dolphins have serious roster considerations, like trading Minkah Fitzpatrick. Or they might eat Tua Tagovailoa’s cap charge. And here are three players the Dolphins must let walk in free agency during the NFL offseason.

The Dolphins partially salvaged a rough start, winning four in a row in the middle of the 2025 season. But they closed with three losses in four games and finished at 7-10.

They have a new coach in Jeff Hafley and a lot of work to do on the roster. And the toughest choice to let go may be a good defensive back.

Dolphins should let Rasul Douglas walk

To be fair, Douglas could help the Dolphins in 2026. He’s coming off a season where he ranked 19th among 114 cornerbacks with a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 73.5.

However, he will turn 31 before the upcoming season. And he’s listed as a backup on the Dolphins’ depth chart, according to ESPN.

Still, it’s a difficult decision, according to Sports Illustrated. Douglas’ contract demands could be pushed out of the Dolphins’ comfort zone, depending on what other NFL teams do.

“Miami might not want to invest in a player with little to no upside for the future, especially at a position like cornerback,” Dante Collinelli wrote. “Although the team won’t say it publicly, 2026 will likely be a rebuilding year. If the team is on the same page about that, perhaps it would be more beneficial to go young and cheap at cornerback.”

At the end of the discussion, it seems like “let him walk” is the way to go.

“It probably makes more sense to let Douglas at least explore free agency,” Collinelli wrote. “Signing him up front would be super limiting for the rest of the Dolphins’ free agency plans, unless Miami can get him on a dirt-cheap deal.”

And that’s where it lands. Get Douglas to commit to a team-friendly one-year deal, and he’s in. But it’s almost certain a contending team will give him two years. And that pushes the Dolphins out of the market for Douglas.

Dolphins should let TE Darren Waller go

Cutting to the chase, Waller has the same issue that Douglas has. But worse. Waller is 33 years old with nine NFL seasons under his belt. Plus, he already retired once.

Sure, he scored six touchdowns this season and provided glimpses of hype. But that’s all he can offer at this stage of his career. And it should be noted that the six scores were his highest since 2020.

Waller signed a reasonable one-year, $2 million contract in 2025. He probably would be willing to do something similar in 2026. But the Dolphins need to develop young players. Waller doesn’t fit their long-term plans. He’s probably better suited for a contending team with a need.

But the first-and-foremost issue is health, according to Sports Illustrated.

“There are many reasons it makes sense to let Waller leave this offseason,” Collinelli wrote. “For starters, Waller’s injury history seems unavoiable at this point. As mentioned above, he played in just nine games last season, continuing the consistent injury issues that contributed to his retirement.”

It doesn’t make sense for the new regime, under Hafley, to have a guy like Waller on the roster. He just doesn’t move the needle as a guy who can be a rah-rah team guy in a rebuilding situation. It’s a bad fit. And it makes more sense to sign a 10-year-younger free agent. Or they could get a tight end in the draft.

Dolphins should let OG Daniel Brunskill walk

He’s 32 years old despite having only seven years in the league. And guys who never perform at a Pro Bowl rarely stay effective at that age.

Brunskill performed an important role for the Dolphins in 2025. He played in their jumbo packages and helped running back De’Von Achane have an impressive season.

But he’s just not on the field enough to justify committing resources to him. As mentioned with Douglas and Waller, the Dolphins want to get young. And Brunskill is just another older player with no real long-term potential at this point in his career.

He’s not expensive, but the Dolphins would be wiser putting that money into a younger player.

Overall, the Dolphins will have to walk a fine line. They need to give Hafley enough players to compete in 2026. They don’t want to saddle him with a talent-poor 3-14 season.

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