The Dolphins cut seven players on Monday.
The team announced it has released long snapper Taybor Pepper. It also waived cornerback Isaiah Johnson (failed physical), tight end Zack Kuntz, cornerback Jason Maitre (failed physical), edge Derrick McLendon, inside linebacker K.C. Ossai and punter Seth Vernon.
Johnson has appeared in four career games with Miami, all last season, and totaled three special teams tackles. He entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with the Dolphins in 2024 and spent two seasons on the practice squad (2024-25).
Kuntz has appeared in two career games in two seasons with the Jets (2023-24). He entered the NFL as a seventh-round selection of the Jets in the 2023 draft.
Maitre entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with Miami in 2024 and spent time on the practice squad.
McLendon has appeared in one career game with Miami, where he spent two seasons on the practice squad (2024-25). He entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with Carolina in 2024.
Ossai spent time on the practice squad with Miami in 2025. He entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with Houston in 2025 and had a brief stint on the Texans’ practice squad.
Pepper has appeared in 100 career games in seven seasons with Green Bay (2017), Miami (2019) and San Francisco (2020-24). He has also appeared in nine postseason games with San Francisco.
Vernon entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with Atlanta in 2022. He spent the offseason and training camp with Minnesota before spending time on Tampa Bay’s practice squad in 2024. He spent the 2025 season with the Michigan Panthers of the UFL, appearing in nine games and recording 23 punts for a 45.4 average, with eight punts pinned inside the 20.
The reduction of the round one selection window from 10 minutes to eight minutes made things move more quickly in the 2026 NFL draft. It also made things very interesting in Dallas.
The new documentary, The Pick Is In, shows the internal machinations within the Cowboys’ draft room regarding the effort to trade up from No. 12 to No. 11, with the Dolphins.
Initially, the Dolphins rejected an offer of a fifth-round pick “plus something” from Cowboys executive Stephen Jones. As Miami’s eight minutes continued to tick away, the Cowboys tried again.
This time, the “plus something” was another fifth-round pick. Miami accepted.
So the deal was done. But there was one detail remaining. The Cowboys needed to get the pick in, or the Dolphins would have been able to take a player before the Cowboys could.
Jones communicated the terms to the league. When he hung up, Jones pointed to the clock and said, “We got ten seconds!”
The Cowboys made the pick without incident, selecting Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. But it wouldn’t have been the first time there was an incident.
In 2003, the Vikings let the clock expire at No. 7 (they apparently thought they had a trade with the Ravens, at No. 10). The Jaguars (who were at No. 8) and the Panthers (who were at No. 9) made their picks before the Vikings selected defensive tackle Kevin Williams at No. 9.
It would have been odd, to say the least, if the Cowboys had blown the window and the Dolphins would have picked before the Cowboys, despite getting two fifth-round picks to let the Cowboys go first.
Obviously, that didn’t happen. But The Pick Is In gives everyone a look behind the curtain into the sausage-making process. And the Cowboys nearly ended up with something in the sausage that was definitely not a caper.
He was the eleventh overall pick in the draft. As of Friday, however, Cowboys safety Caleb Downs had the top-selling jersey among all rookies.
Fanatics has announced, via Fox Sports, the ten best-selling rookie jerseys in the wake of the 2026 draft. Downs leads the way.
Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, lands at No. 5. That’s one spot behind Steelers rookie quarterback Drew Allar, a third-round pick, who sits at No. 4.
Here’s the full top ten: (1) Downs; (2) Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez; (3) Cowboys linebacker Malachi Lawrence; (4) Allar; (5) Mendoza; (6) Dolphins cornerback Chris Johnson; (7) Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love; (8) Patriots offensive lineman Caleb Lomu; (9) Bears safety Dillon Thieneman; (10) Jets linebacker David Bailey.
The presence of two Cowboys defensive players in the top three and two Dolphins defensive players in the top six could be a reflection of the overall optimism the fans of those teams are currently feeling. For Dallas, the offense is among the best in the league; it won’t take much defensive improvement to make the team a contender. As to the Dolphins, it’s a new era with the hiring of G.M. Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley.
It’s somewhat surprising that none of the four receivers taken in the first round made the list. And the absence of Rams quarterback Ty Simpson reflects the reality that he’ll be spending a year (or two, or maybe three) behind Matthew Stafford.
The numbers will surely change once the depth charts are determined for 2026 and, after that, the games are played. The rookies who play and play well will see a spike in jersey sales.
For professional athletes — especially those who use their arms for a living — throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game becomes a no-win proposition. Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis became the latest to learn that undeniable lesson last night before the Phillies-Marlins game in Miami.
If he had climbed the mound (which changes everything about the process) and grooved an effortless George W. Bush post-9/11 semi-fastball down the middle of the plate, no one would have known. For NFL quarterbacks, the effort only becomes newsy if it goes awry.
For Willis, it did.
He exuded plenty of confidence. Windup. Leg kick. It looked great. Until the ball soared very high, and very outside.
This wasn’t 50 Cent. It was a $50 million (over two years) starting NFL quarterback. A man who throws balls for a living, presumably with some degree of accuracy.
It ultimately means nothing, other than to create a small stir on a slow Saturday. Willis has shown that he can play. The Dolphins’ decisive pursuit of the man who is well known by new G.M. Jon-Eric Sullivan and new coach Jeff Hafley shows that they know he’ll perform at a high level.
Still, the experience proves yet again that there’s very little to gain when a professional athlete in a different sport (especially a quarterback) accepts an invitation to throw a first pitch.
Miami has hosted 11 Super Bowls. It will be a while until South Florida makes it to a dozen.
Owner Stephen Ross said this week that Hard Rock Stadium no longer meets the NFL’s requirements for hosting a Super Bowl.
It’s not about the stadium itself, but the area around it, which has changed to accommodate the annual Miami Open and F1 events.
“The one thing that suffered is Miami hasn’t gotten a Super Bowl here, and we normally have one every five years,” Ross said, in comments initially reported by Brian Brandell of South Florida Business Journal (via Mike Oliva of DolphinsTalk.com). “Miami is not really in line for one. It’s always exciting to have the Super Bowl but that was before we had all the other events. Miami has by far the best weather. It’s in their best interest to have one here but at this point they don’t believe we meet all the requirements and the demands.”
Ross hasn’t completely given up on the possibility of bringing the Super Bowl back to Miami for the first time since 2020.
“We are looking at how to make improvements,” Ross said. “I want to make the stadium always feel like a new stadium, we are looking at what the next phase will be and making the fan experience that much better.”
The most recent title game in South Florida — Super Bowl LIV between the Chiefs and 49ers — came after a 10-year break resulting from the need to make significant upgrades to the building itself, including a giant roof to protect fans from the rain that persisted throughout Super Bowl XLI, between the Colts and Bears. Ross tried to finagle public financing for the upgrades before realizing that wouldn’t be happening and paying for them himself.
Ross’s son-in-law, Daniel Sillman, has become more and more involved in running the team as the eventual successor to Ross. Sillman told Brandell that the team believes there’s a solution to satisfying the league’s expectations.
Regardless, Miami won’t be getting a Super Bowl in the foreseeable future. The next three have been awarded to Los Angeles (2027), Atlanta (2028), and Las Vegas (2029). Nashville will open a new stadium, and it will get one as part of the taxpayer money quid pro quo that applies to most new venues. And the league will keep going back to L.A. and Las Vegas on a regular basis.
The deeper message is that, as more and more newer and better stadiums are built in cities suited to host the game, the more pressure will be applied to all cities to fork over the funding needed to ensure that the best facilities will get the biggest game.
Hopefully that will happen in Miami. It should host the game every five years. For now, the record gap of 10 years is destined to be broken, with no end to it currently in sight.
