The Miami Dolphins have some major issues to resolve this offseason. There are a ton of players set to be free agents, or hitting free agency, that the Dolphins need to figure out.
With so many issues all across the roster, and new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan revealing the team won't spend big this offseason, it wouldn't be a surprise if the roster is in an odd spot in 2026.
As ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jaques notes, the Dolphins, despite a quarterback need and the ties to free agent Malik Willis, are not likely to go after the former Green Bay Packers quarterback amid Sullivan's plan and the major roster crunch this offseason.
Dolphins expected to pass on Malik Willis for roster crunch, spending reasons
"Sullivan is not hellbent on finding the Dolphins' next franchise quarterback during this cycle and said the team won't be a big spender when signing players in free agency," Louis-Jacques writes. "With roughly 30 free agents of its own to take care of and dwindling cap space, Miami would opt for structural moves rather than take a swing on Willis."
With limited cap space and the massive $99.2 million dead cap hit expected to hit with Tua Tagovailoa's release, the Dolphins' spending big on Willis doesn't make much sense.
They're not in a window of contention, and with all of the needs across the roster, the Dolphins are almost surely going for a reset season.
More: Tua Tagovailoa is an easy cut decision with Kyler Murray's release
Louis-Jacques noted that the 30 or so free agents are another massive issue for the Dolphins. The roster crunch is going to make it difficult to justify adding Willis.
The Dolphins are already working with limited cap space, and adding Willis, someone set to land a $20-$30 million per-year deal, would be a huge detriment to the cap space.
This is a tricky cap situation, and one that the Dolphins are not easily going to figure out. With such an issue plaguing the roster, Sullivan going out and spending so much on Willis seems hard to believe.
Louis-Jacques doesn't expect the Dolphins to pursue Willis this offseason for cap and roster construction reasons, and it's a very understandable approach for the Dolphins this offseason.
More Dolphins news: