The Dolphins are releasing veteran linebacker Tyrel Dodson, ending his time in Miami after a 2025 season in which he appeared in 16 games and piled up 129 total tackles. He also added 10 tackles for loss, five sacks, one forced fumble, one recovery, one interception and three pass defenses.
Tom Pelissero reported the move, and it comes with Dodson in the final year of a two-year, $8.25 million deal he signed with Miami last year. That makes the decision more striking because this is not a fringe player on a minimum contract. It is a veteran who produced like a starter and finished every week of the season, then still lost his spot.
Miami’s new draft investment helps explain the shift. The Dolphins took linebacker Jacob Rodriguez in the second round, and he was proving hard to keep off the field next to Jordyn Brooks. In a room where one young defender was pushing for snaps, Dodson became the veteran left on the outside.
Dodson’s career also shows why another team could look at him as more than a depth add. He went undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2019, later got a three-year, $1.755 million deal with the Bills, and had a rocky stretch that included a commissioner’s exempt listing and a six-game suspension for domestic violence. He bounced on and off Buffalo’s roster, signed a one-year, $4.26 million deal with the Seahawks in 2024, then was waived after nine games before the Dolphins claimed him and finished the season in Miami.
The friction is simple: Miami is moving on from a linebacker who just produced at a level that should interest someone else. The release opens the door for another team to decide whether Dodson is a starter, a rotation piece or something in between, while the Dolphins bet that their younger linebackers can absorb the loss without a drop in performance.
