Welcome to Day 2 of our Dolphins free agency live blog.
Here’s a full recap of what the Dolphins did on Day 1, including a look at players who departed and feedback on the team’s new quarterback, Malik Willis.
Please keep checking back all day for updates.
Sanders finds a home
6 p.m. update: Jason Sanders, the most accurate kicker in Dolphins history, agreed to a one-year deal with the Giants, five days after being released by the Dolphins. Sanders missed all of last season with a hip injury.
Earlier in the day, the Dolphins’ agreed to terms with veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez — Miami’s only free agent pickup of the day through early evening on Day 2 of free agency. (More on Gonzalez below.)
Miami so far has agreed to deals with three players since the start of free agency — Gonzalez, quarterback Malik Willis and tight end Greg Dulcich. The Dolphins are at least $2.5 million over the salary cap and must become cap compliant by Wednesday afternoon, when the new league year officially begins at 4 p.m.
More positive Willis feedback
2:45 p.m. update: While some Dolphins fans have been complaining about the Malik Willis acquisition (we explore that in-depth in this Tuesday piece here), national pundits, former players and former front office executives continue to give it high marks.
Longtime ESPN writer/evaluator Seth Walder gave the grade an A, with this analysis:
“Willis represents exactly what the Dolphins need: quarterbacking upside.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way. Miami is betting on a tiny sample — only three starts as a Packer. Those starts came with an elite offensive designer in Matt LaFleur. Willis didn’t even throw that much in those starts, and his first two seasons in Tennessee didn’t go well. Despite all that, I find Willis to be an incredibly compelling option.
“His numbers were outrageous in Green Bay — an 86.3 QBR, 9.2 yards per dropback and a plus-7% completion percentage over expected, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Those stats would all rank first over the past two seasons among QBR qualifiers if Willis kept up that hot pace in a bigger sample.
“And Willis also looked incredible in his Week 17 start against the Ravens, showing off his ability to throw with anticipation and on the run, change his arm angles and, of course, display his exceptional speed.
“It is very hard to find a franchise quarterback in free agency, and I’m not saying that’s what Willis is, or even likely to be. But if it were to happen, it’d be a lot like this: a quarterback with draft status who took time to develop, then showed enough flashes in a sample that was small enough to get him to free agency. There’s a real chance here. And the Willis signing doesn’t even cost that much.
“At $22.5 million per year, the contract is a bargain considering what Willis could become. But even more than for most deals, the most important part of this contract is the $45 million that’s fully guaranteed at signing. Because if Willis fails, that’s how much Miami will have to pay. And if he succeeds, they’ll end up needing to sign him to a new contract right away anyway.
“Even with that guarantee, this is an incredible result relative to the alternatives. There is only one Fernando Mendoza in the draft, and the Dolphins are not going to get him. Instead of trotting out a veteran bridge quarterback, it makes sense to play for the upside. And Willis has tons of it.”
Here’s more from Walder’s analysis of every significant free agent pickup in the league.
Kicker added
1:10 p.m. update: The Dolphins entered the offseason with a difficult choice between kicker Jason Sanders and Riley Patterson. They ultimately chose neither.
Instead, they agreed to terms on Tuesday with veteran Zane Gonzalez, per his agent Mike McCartney.
Gonzalez is 115 for 142 on field goals over a career that has included stints in Cleveland, Carolina, Washington, Arizona and Atlanta.
But he’s very strong from 50-plus yards: 18 of 28 in his career and 7 for 9 last season for Atlanta. He went 19 for 22 overall in nine games for the Falcons last season.
The Dolphins opted for Gonzalez over Jason Sanders (who was cut after declining to take a pay cut) and Riley Patterson, who was 27 for 29 on field goals but lacks Gonzalez’s leg strength.
Gonzalez has made all of but eight of 171 extra points.
After Sanders sustained what proved to be a season-ending hip injury in August, the Dolphins auditioned Gonzalez, Patterson, Eddy Pineiro and Greg Joseph and opted for Patterson after he had the best day of the four.
Salary cap update
12:30 p.m. update: The Dolphins, at the moment, aren’t positioned to add anyone beyond low-money deals.
Per overthecap.com, they entered Tuesday $1.8 million over the salary cap after factoring in the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade (which saved $6 million in space); quarterback Malik Willis’ cap hit of $8.6 million and tight end Greg Dulcich’s cap hit of $3.1 million.
Teams must be cap compliant by Wednesday afternoon. There are several ways to carve out the space, including restructures for several veterans; cutting Tyrel Dodson (which wouldn’t seem ideal); or making Bradley Chubb a pre-June 1, rather than post-June 1 cut.
Miami has more than 20 remaining unrestricted free agents but many are looking elsewhere, as the new regime seeks new players at several spots.
Cornerback Kader Kohou is among those exploring new opportunities.
Stunning Willis data
10 a.m. update: In evaluating Malik Willis’ sterling work in two years as the Packers’ backup quarterback, everything comes with a five-word caveat: “It’s a small sample size.”
But even with that in mind, some of Willis’ numbers are jaw-dropping.
The most mind-blowing is his accuracy on deep passes.
Last season, he attempted seven passes that traveled 20 air yards. Per Pro Football Focus, he completed all seven for 230 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
As a reminder, it’s unusual for quarterbacks to complete even half of those passes.
As perspective, in 2025, Giants rookie Jaxson Dart was 16 for 50 on such passes, Patrick Mahomes 21 for 61 (with one touchdown and three interceptions), Trevor Lawrence 30 for 83, Joe Burrow 11 for 30, C.J. Stroud 19 for 51 with four picks, Kyler Murray 6 for 16, Justin Herbert 27 for 70, Josh Allen 25 for 66 (with five touchdowns and five picks).
Former Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who’s joining the Atlanta Falcons, was 14 for 37 on 20-plus-yard-air-throws last season, with four touchdowns and six picks.
That’s obviously not to suggest that Willis is nearly as good as several on that list. Perhaps he’s not as good as any; that must play out. And yes, the small sample size matters. But it’s impressive nonetheless.
Willis threw only 35 passes for the Packers last season, completing 30 of them.
Of those 35 passes, 13 came in the face of a heavy pass rush. He completed 12 of those passes for 219 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Yes, some were dump-offs, but it still computed to a perfect 158.3 passer rating — best in the league in those circumstances.
When Willis was kept clean, he completed 18 of 22 passes for 203 yards, equal to a 120.3 passer rating. Among quarterbacks who attempted at least 10 throws, that “kept clean” passer rating was third best, behind only Green Bay’s Jordan Love and the Lions’ Jared Goff, per PFF.
And don’t forget the running dynamic. Willis has averaged 5.5 yards on 74 career rushing attempts (405 yards).
Tagovailoa has rushed 173 times for 473 yards, a 2.7 average.
Nobody knows if Willis will take the step from excellent backup to excellent starter. But give the man credit for putting up numbers that are borderline unfathomable, small sample size notwithstanding.
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 10:13 AM.
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.