Although free agency is a month away, moves are bound to happen, especially with teams getting their cap space ready. One of these teams that will make some massive cap space moves is the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins are currently $17M in the red, but some players on the roster are clear release candidates to free up space. It seems the Dolphins wasted no time moving on from one of them already.
Entering Free Agency, the Miami Dolphins Make a Likely Cap Saving Move
Throughout the Dolphins’ roster, there are different directions that can be taken to at least make the team cap-compliant by the new league year. It’s also important for the Dolphins to free up as much space as possible due to the potential Tua Tagovailoa trade, which would be a massive dead cap hit.
It’s going to be a process for the Dolphins to get through this, but with the rebuild just beginning, they need to get everything right.
One player who seemed like a very likely release candidate was OLB Bradley Chubb, who was under contract for 3 years and $54.9 M. The Dolphins could get some good cap relief with his release, and today they decided to move on from Chubb.
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Looking back at the Dolphins’ trade for Chubb, it hasn’t been a good one. The Dolphins sent a 2023 first-round pick, a fourth-round pick, and RB Chase Edmonds to the Denver Broncos for Chubb. The Broncos used that pick to trade for their current HC Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints.
Sources: The #Dolphins and two-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher Bradley Chubb are parting ways, making the 29-year-old a free agent.
In his two full seasons with the Dolphins (2023 & 2025), Chubb has 20 sacks, 8 FF, and 117 tackles. He should have a nice market. pic.twitter.com/u19NEaBZV9
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) February 16, 2026
As I mentioned, with this move, the Dolphins will get some nice cap relief.
Bradley Chubb had a $31.2M cap number for 2026. Miami will save $7.3M in cap space while taking on $23.8M in dead money by moving on from Chubb, who had 8.5 sacks last year. https://t.co/11Tomesza3
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 16, 2026
Chubb’s first year with the Dolphins (2023) was exactly what they traded for, finishing 12th overall in PFSN’s EDGE Impact Metric.
But the next season, he missed the entire year after a devastating injury at the end of 2023. Then, in 2025, he had a worse year compared to 2023 but still recorded 8.5 sacks.
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At 29, with his contract in mind, this was a no-brainer decision for the Dolphins, but for Chubb, he will now have suitors throughout the NFL.
