In many ways, new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan needs to be at the forefront of fundamental changes from how the Dolphins did business under his predecessor.
Without ever mentioning Chris Grier, Sullivan already has spoken of several approaches that seem to differ from Grier’s later years with the Dolphins: Money won’t be thrown around recklessly on average players in free agency; draft picks will be treasured; the team will construct its roster primarily through the draft; and the franchise will prioritize keeping good players coming off their rookie contracts.
Here’s another philosophy that must change, and Sullivan sounded like he’s cognizant of it:
Stop acquiring players with a history of injuries.
Grier downplayed criticism about his penchant for signing injury-prone players, famously noting that “the injury rate is 100%” in football.
Asked how risk-averse he is to signing injured players, Sullivan said: “Anytime if you see a pattern of any kind, whether it’s behavioral, dips in performance, you are being irresponsible if you don’t look at that for what it is. You always have to look at patterns…
“A lot of times the wiring of the player comes into play. Is the guy looking for an exit door? Is he missing games for minor stuff? Is it a legitimate injury? You always have to acknowledge patterns.”
Sullivan said trainer Kyle Johnston is “one of the best in the business, one of the best respected. I have tremendous faith in him.”
Grier’s gamble on injured players repeatedly failed. Despite the quarterback’s history of injuries as a college player and as a pro, Grier drafted Tua Tagovailoa and then gave him a $212 million extension that has shackled the franchise.
Grier signed a bunch of players with significant injury histories, including but not limited to Terron Armstead, James Daniels, Bradley Chubb, Will Fuller, Odell Beckham Jr. and Isaiah Wynn. Predictably, all missed substantial time as Dolphins.
Remember that the Dolphins pursued Dre Greenlaw, who tore his Achilles before the February 2024 Super Bowl and played in just two games the season after Miami failed in efforts to sign him.
This and that
▪ No surprise here: Sullivan said “we’re not going to be big shoppers in free agency. We will have an opportunity to add a role player or two who will have an opportunity to help us win.”
The Dolphins have less than $4 million in cap space and need to create more to operate functionally in free agency.
Keep in mind that the Packers signed only 11 free agents to contracts topping $2 million in annual value over the past five years. That’s the fewest in the league, per Jason Fitzgerald of overthecap.com.
▪ After meeting with South Florida media and then all media at the NFL Scouting Combine, Sullivan reiterated his commitment to De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle in multiple interviews later in the day.
“They’re difference-makers, good guys in the locker room,” he told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. “Those are guys I envision being here in the long-term future. They’re guys you can build around and help you win games.”
But understandably, he always adds “never say never” about a trade involving any player.
▪ When a GM hires a coach with whom he has worked before, the intellectually lazy response sometimes is “well, he hired his buddy.”
So it was notable that Hafley, speaking of Sullivan, told reporters in Indianapolis on Tuesday that “some people think we did this because we’re friends. Like, I hate to say we’re not friends, we kind of are — but we’ve never hung out outside the office. I’ve never been to his house. We’ve never went out to dinner.
“I think it was a mutual working relationship and mutual respect where we could have honest conversations, where he could tell me something about what he thought how we played on defense, and I could honestly tell him if I didn’t like a prospect he did. I think it just brought us closer together and that was a huge decision for me. As well as ownership – their vision, my vision, a joint vision there.”
On The Rich Eisen Show this week, Sullivan and Hafley revealed they didn’t know each other before Hafley joined the Packers as defensive coordinator in 2024.
Soon after that, they began watching draft tape together.
Hafley explained it this way: “So this year after almost every game I’d send him a text, ‘What’d you think, what’d you see, did we play hard enough?’ And he was brutally honest with me, and it was awesome. I said to myself, ‘If I ever do this, this is the guy I want to do this with.’ ”
This story was originally published February 25, 2026 at 11:54 AM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
