The Miami Dolphins are bolstering their secondary early by signing former New England Patriots cornerback Miles Battle.
NFL free agency is right around the corner, as is the 2026 NFL Draft. With the Miami Dolphins' rebuild mode, they may be looking more towards the draft than landing a big-name free agent.
That said, anytime is a good time to bring in talent, and that has happened for the Dolphins. The team formally announced the signing of cornerback Miles Battle.
Battle comes over from the New England Patriots, where he played during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
During that time, he appeared in six games between those two seasons. Battle secured three passes defended and five total tackles.
The Dolphins' secondary has many questions, which includes what to do with Kader Kohou, Storm Duck, and Artie Burns. All three missed the majority or all of the 2025 season due to injuries.
With the three cornerbacks out, the Dolphins looked to Jack Jones and Rasul Douglas to help patch the secondary for the 2026 season. Both Jones and Douglas are also pending unrestricted free agents.
New Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan indicated a change for the organization, which revolves around building through the draft and rewarding players who are drafted. However, the team still needs to find some cheaper free agents.
Among the corners currently on the team, Douglas might be the player who is most deserving of an extended stay. He experienced a bounce-back season, putting together a 2025 campaign that included 62 tackles, two interceptions, one sack, and 13 passes defended.
Douglas also posted a 54.5 completion percentage and 73.0 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks, which is quite good in coverage. However, he did give up three touchdowns.
If the Dolphins were looking to solidify the secondary, they would bring Douglas back on a potential one-year deal and look towards the draft to build out more.
Adding depth is always a good course of action, and the Battle signing is just that. He could find his way into a prominent role, but he will have to exercise his value during training camp.
As it stands currently, the secondary remains one of the biggest questions for this new Dolphins team under head coach Jeff Hafley. Regardlessof the Battle signing, the team will need to find more help in the coming weeks.
Miami is unlikely to take a big swing during free agency due to their lack of having a lot of cap space, but adding some low-risk potential high-reward players will always be welcomed.