Pro Football Rumors
Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks is seeking a raise as he heads into a contract year, 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 deal with the Dolphins, per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, who writes that an extension is “likely.”
With the Dolphins in the early stages of a major rebuild and Brooks’ team control running out, the 28-year-old has drawn trade interest. However, since he shipped star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos in March, new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has publicly identified Brooks as a core player he would like to retain. Sullivan did the same 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 first four years of his career in Seattle. Playing alongside Bobby Wagner, Brooks developed into a full-time starter and a tackling machine by Year 2 of his career. The Texas Tech product amassed a career-high and league-leading 184 tackles in 2021, the first of five 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 when they signed Brooks, but the team has fallen off the list of AFC contenders since then. Brooks isn’t to blame, as the 6-foot, 240-pounder has continued to serve as one 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 another 17 starts last year, 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 finishing 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 within reason to want more 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 year. The Eagles’ Zack Baun ($17MM) and the Jets’ Jamien Sherwood ($15MM) are next. Brooks at least has a case to get into the second tier, especially with the salary cap continuing to go up.
For their part, the Dolphins have plenty of long-term financial wiggle room to keep 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 enormous amount of dead money on the Dolphins’ books this year, but that will not be the case in future seasons. OverTheCap projects the Dolphins to have the league’s third-most spending space in both 2027 and ’28. Like Achane and Brewer,...
