Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks is in search of a raise as he heads right into a contract 12 months, though the reigning first-team All-Pro has expressed uncertainty about whether an extension will come together. Odds are Brooks will land a long-term take care of the Dolphins, per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, who writes that an extension is “likely.”
With the Dolphins within the early stages of a significant rebuild and Brooks’ team control running out, the 28-year-old has drawn trade interest. Nonetheless, since he shipped star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos in March, recent general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has publicly identified Brooks as a core player he would really like to retain. Sullivan did the identical with running back De’Von Achane and center Aaron Brewer. He has since given lucrative extensions to Achane and Brewer, which seems to bode well for Brooks.
Brooks, a 2020 first-round pick, spent the primary 4 years of his profession in Seattle. Playing alongside Bobby Wagner, Brooks developed right into a full-time starter and a tackling machine by Yr 2 of his profession. The Texas Tech product amassed a career-high and league-leading 184 tackles in 2021, the primary of 5 straight seasons with 100-plus. After Brooks notched a personal-best 4.5 sacks in 2023, he left the Seahawks for the Dolphins’ three-year, $26.25MM offer in free agency.
The Dolphins were coming off a playoff campaign after they signed Brooks, however the team has fallen off the list of AFC contenders since then. Brooks isn’t in charge, because the 6-foot, 240-pounder has continued to function one in every of the league’s most prolific linebackers since he moved to Miami. He piled up 143 tackles, 11 TFL, six passes defensed and three sacks over 17 starts in 2024. Brooks made one other 17 starts last 12 months, during which he paced all Dolphins defenders in snap share for the second straight season. More impressively, Brooks led the league in total tackles (183) for the second time. While also ending atop the league in solo tackles (99), he chipped in 13 TFL, three sacks and a forced fumble.
Between his outstanding combination of durability and productivity, Brooks is inside reason to want extra money. Off-ball linebacker isn’t considered a premium position, though, as there are only three (the 49ers’ Fred Warner, the Lions’ Jack Campbell and the Ravens’ Roquan Smith) averaging $20MM-plus per 12 months. The Eagles’ Zack Baun ($17MM) and the Jets’ Jamien Sherwood ($15MM) are next. Brooks at the very least has a case to get into the second tier, especially with the salary cap continuing to go up.
For his or her part, the Dolphins have loads of long-term financial wiggle room to maintain Brooks around on a high-paying pact. The departures of Waddle, Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Bradley Chubb and Terron Armstead have left an unlimited amount of dead money on the Dolphins’ books this 12 months, but that won’t be the case in future seasons. OverTheCap projects the Dolphins to have the league’s third-most spending space in each 2027 and ’28. Like Achane and Brewer, Brooks could find yourself among the many beneficiaries of an improved cap situation in Miami.