Dolphins free agents 2025: Walk, tag, re-sign – Emmanuel Ogbah

Staying on the defensive line for the second day in a row, we look at what the Miami Dolphins should do with edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah.

Things are starting to pick up around the NFL as we reach the end of the franchise tag window and the start of free agency looms in just eight days. Teams are beginning to make roster cuts or rework current contracts to create salary cap space. They are also making the final decisions on who they want to re-sign over the next few days to mitigate the risk of losing him on the open market.

Between now and 4 p.m. Eastern on March 12, teams will have to come to terms with any player with an expiring contract if they hope to keep him for next season. Who will the Miami Dolphins re-sign? Could a surprise franchise tag come down today? Who will be allowed to become a free agent?

We have been working our way through the 32 players the Dolphins have who are scheduled to hit the free agency market and asking you those questions for each. Today, we continue the series with a look at an edge rusher who solidified the Dolphins defensive line after they almost let him walk away last year. What should Miami do with Emmanuel Ogbah?

Last five free agent reviews:

Biography

Emmanuel Ogbah

Position: Edge (linebacker/defensive end)

Age (when season begins): 31

Draft: 2016 second-round pick (32nd overall) by the Cleveland Browns

Experience: 9 years

Previous Teams:

• Cleveland Browns (2016-2018)
• Kansas City Chiefs (2019)
• Miami Dolphins (2020-2024)

Pro Bowl, All-Pro, Awards: None

Expiring Contract

1 year, $3.3 million

2024 Review

16 games started
49 tackles
5.0 sacks
2 passes defensed
1 interception
1 forced fumble

Ogbah was released as a salary cap casualty before the 2024 free agency period. After working as the team’s starting defensive end in 2020 and 2021, Ogbah was relegated to a rotational role in 2022 and 2023, spending more time as a linebacker than as a defensive end – essentially shoving a round peg into a square hole as Miami adjusted their defensive schemes. He never seemed comfortable and it appeared his time in Miami was coming to an end. In July, the Dolphins signed Ogbah to a one-year contract following the surprise retirement of Shaq Barrett, and he quickly settled into a key role with the defense. As injuries occurred around him, Ogbah continued to be a solid edge rusher – back playing with his hand in the dirt as a defensive end more than as a linebacker – starting all 16 games in which he played and recording five sacks. He is probably not the player who tallied nine sacks in each of his first two years with Miami, but he was an important piece for the Dolphins defense in 2024.

2025 Outlook

Ogbah is the veteran who you do not want to have to start, but you are completely comfortable if you do need him in the lineup for the entire season. He will likely fill a rotational role in 2025, filling in as a starter if injuries happen, and he will be a force coming off the bench to bolster the pass rush. If he is back in the four- or five-sack range, it probably was a successful season for Ogbah.

Walk, Tag, Re-Sign?

Projected tag value (Linebacker): $25.5 million (franchise); $20.9 million (transition) (via OvertheCap.com)

Re-sign. What is the health status of linebackers Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips? Will Miami have to release Chubb to create salary cap space (Chubb is scheduled to account for $28.7 million against the cap, with $1.3 million in savings if cut, or $19.6 million in savings if a post-June 1 cut)? Chop Robinson blossomed late in the season, but there are enough question marks surrounding the rest of the pass rushers that bringing back Ogbah on another one-year contract with a modest pay raise from last year could be an important move for the Dolphins.