Dolphins free agents 2025: Walk, tag, re-sign – Jevon Holland

Continuing our annual review of the Miami Dolphins’ soon-to-be free agents with a closer look at defensive back Elijah Campbell.

The next edition of our annual look at the Miami Dolphins’ soon-to-be free agents is here, and today’s discussion may be a fun one. The first three players we have discussed were special teams and depth options for the team. Today, we turn to a defensive starter who looked like he was headed toward elite status in the league in 2023, but maybe regressed in 2024. What should the Dolphins do with safety Jevon Holland?

Miami has 32 players who may become free agents on March 12 when the new league year begins and 2024 contracts roll over to 2025. We are working our way through the list of players with contracts set to expire, breaking down how they played in 2024, what could be on the horizon in 2025, and giving you a chance to weigh in on whether Miami should re-sign the player, use the franchise or transition tag on him, or let him leave in free agency.

Holland entered 2024 with a lot of hype and pretty high expectations. He now heads into the 2025 offseason with a lot of questions surrounding his play and if he even still has a role with the team.

Previous free agent reviews:

Biography

Jevon Holland

Position: Safety

Age (when season begins): 25

Draft: 2021 second-round (36th overall) pick by the Miami Dolphins

Experience: 4 years

Previous Teams:

• Miami Dolphins (2021-2024)

Pro Bowls/All-Pro: None

Awards: 2021 Pro-Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team

Expiring Contract

4-year, $8.7 million ($10.2 million with earned bonuses)

2024 Review

15 games played (15 starts)
62 tackles
1 sack
4 passes defensed
1 forced fumble

Holland was a Pro Bowl snub after the 2023 season, but in 2024, he just never seemed to flash to the same level. He was asked to play more of a deep, free safety type of role more often, which could account for some of the change in his play – losing some of the blitzing and in-box support he had previously played. He was the savior for the team in Week 1, punching the ball loose from Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne at the goal line to force the turnover and secure the Dolphins’ win. But, that really proved to be Holland’s highlight of the year. Holland has all the potential to become one of the best safeties in the league, but 2024 may have hurt his chances of returning to the Dolphins.

2025 Outlook

Holland, if he hits the open market, should draw a lot of interest. He is a starting safety, likely entering the prime of his career, and he could quickly return to a Pro Bowl level of play. The 2024 season could be an aberration, and teams will be betting on that. Pro Football Focus has Holland listed as their third-ranked free agent in 2025 and projects him to be around $20 million per year on a new contract. SB Nation’s Matt Warren put together a consensus list of free agent rankings this season, polling team sites and national writers, with Holland unanimously listed as the top safety on the market. Warren wrote:

The unanimous top spot on everyone’s ballot, Holland is entering free agency for the first time after being a second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2021. He had a sack and four passes defended in 2024 along with 62 tackles. He’s going to be looking for a deal at the top of the safety market.

The Dolphins know Holland better than every other team in the league. Can they afford to pay him like an elite safety in a year where they are projected to be above the salary cap? Can they afford to let him leave in free agency, creating another hole on a roster that has to be retooled for 2205?

Walk, Tag, Re-Sign?

Projected tag value (Safety): $19.6 million (franchise); $15.6 million (transition) (via OvertheCap.com)

Re-sign. This one will be an interesting debate in the comments and in the results for the poll. There is a lot of belief that Holland is headed out the door in Miami, and he very well could be. His 2024 play, resulting in the lowest Pro Football Focus grade of his career, does not warrant the giant contract he may be able to get in free agency. But, at some point, Miami has to keep their drafted talent, and this may be a place to make a stand. The potential is there, but it did not show in 2024. Was that a case of the new defensive system not working well for Holland? Was he asked to play in a role that cut off some of his strengths? The Dolphins should know the answers to those questions, and if they can get him back to playing like the 2023 version of himself, re-signing him makes sense.

If you choose to allow him to walk, I cannot really argue against you. Holland did not feel like a $20 million safety in 2024, and the team does need to improve in 2025. But the team could create a hole on the roster where they may not need one. This might just come down to a money decision.

I think re-signing Holland makes sense, keeping your drafted and developed talent on your team, but this feels like a coin-toss option.