The Miami Dolphins are in a rebuild, but they have followed through on one of the major promises from general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan.
Ever since the Miami Dolphins hired Jon-Eric Sullivan as general manager, he has promised many things regarding how to turn this organization around. But there is one promise more than others that he has continually chased, which is to build through the draft and get younger.
After bringing in 13 players in the 2026 NFL Draft, the team clearly got far younger. However, a new metric for the average age of rosters has proved that Sullivan has kept to his word in a major way.
Per Ian Hartitz, there is a compilation of ages of rosters, and the Dolphins are now at the top with the average age of the players on the roster being 25.18. Right below are the Kansas City Chiefs at 25.40.
What makes this age gap and data significant is that it sets the team up to follow through on Sullivan's promise of getting younger. Former general manager Chris Grier had a habit of overpaying for big-time free agents, while not being the best talent evaluator, which has put the organization in its current state.
The Dolphins had to pay a record $99 million dead cap to release quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and absorb a total of $179 million with players like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Bradley Chubb being released or traded.
Though the millions lost have forced Sullivan to put together a roster of low-cost free agents, it is what needed to be done. The result of this has now projected the Dolphins to be in a very healthy cap situation in 2027, with a top-three spot, and a reported $145 million available.
Cutting their bloated contracts and aging players has also led to the roster getting significantly younger.
Now, this can work two-fold for the Dolphins. The first aspect of getting younger is that the team can now build the right way through the draft by finding young and hungry players that can be molded and built into the organization's mainstays.
It will also put Miami in a significant decline in experience as well. That is not to say that the Dolphins do not have the proper veterans in place to help guide the next generation.
As it stands, the oldest player on the team is now defensive tackle Zach Sieler and safety Lonnie Johnson Jr., who are both 30 years old. Kicker Zane Gonzalez and punter Brandon Pinion are both 31, but the point of this exercise is players not on special teams.
Johnson has just arrived, but Sieler has been with the Dolphins since 2019, and has become a significant leader in the locker room.
With a younger roster ready to be the next generation of Dolphins playmakers, Sullivan can now hold onto the available cap to make far smarter moves. Should there be a missing piece or a player that the team covets who can put them over the top, maybe the general manager will be more inclined to give said player a shot.
This would also assume that the organization is in a healthier situation and ready to compete for the playoffs. The issue that Miami has had is the consistent nature of paying big money to players and free agents, which has not resulted in much of anything.
It has been over 25 years now since the last Dolphins playoff win, which occurred in the 2000 season. That is too long of a mediocrity, which is what led to the major shakeup in the 2026 offseason.
There could be clearer skies ahead, but at least the Dolphins know that Sullivan is keeping to his word about his grand design. He wanted the team to get younger, bigger, and stronger, and they have done just that.