The Miami Dolphins roster has a lot of new faces this year, and it figures to be the same thing next season as they continue the rebuilding project that began with the regime change.
The Dolphins have 22 players currently on their roster who are scheduled to become free agents in 2026 and the questions is how many of them will be back for another go-around.
The breakdown of free agents includes 12 UFAs free to sign with any other team barring the Dolphins using the franchise tag, which we already can tell you is highly unlikely given the financial commitment to a single player; five RFAs, who require a qualifying tender for the right to match an offer they might receive from another team; and and five ERFAs, who the Dolphins basically will keep if they want because any qualifying tender gives them exclusive rights to those players.
The 13 pending UFAs are T Austin Jackson, TE Greg Dulcich, CB JuJu Brents, P Bradley Pinion, CB Darrell Baker Jr., WR Jalen Tolbert, EDGE Joshua Uche, LB Willie Gay Jr., S Zayne Anderson, LB Ronnie Harrison Jr., EDGE Malik Herring and EDGE Robert Beal Jr.
The five pending RFAs are OL Jarrett Kingston, LB Shaka Heyward, TE Cole Turner (who's on IR), WR Jared Wayne and C Andrew Meyer.
The five pending ERFAs are LS Tucker Addington, LB Jackson Woodard, T Chukwuebuka Godrick, CB Reese Taylor and QB Kyle McCord.
As we evaluate the outlook for those players and their status with the team, we should not it's entirely possible -if not downright probable -that some of them will be gone before the end of this season.
But, for now, here are our best projections as to which players will be back in 2027, understanding that for UFAs it's a two-way street that requires both the team and the player to want to continue working together.
CB JuJu Brents -This is a player the Dolphins should prioritize because he still continues to perform at a high level and plays a premium position. The ability to stay healthy has been the issue so far in Brents' career, but he hasn't missed a game yet (knock on wood) so far in 2026.
TE Greg Dulcich -The Dolphins showed they valued him by giving him considerably more than most of their other free agents when they re-signed him in the offseason, though they did make it a one-year deal. But he's still pretty young, has good upside, and it's not like the Dolphins are swimming in high-end tight ends.
EDGE Joshua Uche -While he's been around a bit, Uche still is only 29 years old and he's been easily the second-best edge defender on the team, if not the best. The biggest question with him is whether the Dolphins will resist the temptation to move him before the trade deadline if a team offers a draft pick in a trade.
P Bradley Pinion -Yes, this might sound weird, particularly since Pinion is 33, but the fact is he's punted well all season -we can forgive him that blip when he dropped the ball proceeding to get into his punting motion -he's not expensive and punters can work in the NFL into their late 30s with no issues.
T Austin Jackson -Despite his poor Pro Football Focus standing (he's dead last among all NFL tackles), Jackson is a solid veteran tackle who's simply off to a bad start. The issue with Jackson is how it would cost to bring him back in what probably wouldn't be a starting role and whether he even would be interested in that idea after being asked to take a pay cut this year.
WR Jalen Tolbert -It's hard to imagine the veteran wide receiver wanting to come back to Miami after he found himself behind not only Malik Washington but the team's three draft picks at the position -Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell and Kevin Coleman Jr.
S Zayne Anderson -The special teams specialist got his big chance when he was in the starting lineup at safety in the opener, but he's now gone back to his previous role of working mostly in the kicking game. He's also 30 years old, which won't make him a priority to bring back.
LB Ronnie Harrison Jr. -Harrison was one of the latest free agent acquisitions in the offseason and he made the 53-man roster after a strong training camp showing. But he's been out since Week 1 because of a hamstring injury and he's also 30 years old.
The lowest qualifying tender for restricted free agents in 2026, which simply gave teams to right to match an outside offer with no compensation if declined, was $3.5 million. None of the pending RFAs signed for more than $1.1 million this year, so it's highly unlikely - if not an outright foregone conclusion -the Dolphins will not be extending any qualifying offers.
That means the Dolphins then would have to decide which to try to bring back, and we've got three we've got pegged as most likely to return.
OL Jarrett Kingston -Kingston, claimed off waivers from the Houston Texans, had a solid outing in relief of Jonah Savaiinaea in the Week 5 game against Cincinnati.
OL Andrew Meyer -The Dolphins have been developing Meyer for three years now and offensive linemen always are a valuable commodity.
TE Cole Turner -That the Dolphins placed Turner on injured reserve in training camp and didn't simply waive him injury suggests they think he's got potential worth investigating.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/onsi as Examining the Pending Dolphins UFAs Who Could Be Playing Their Way to an Extension .
