MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Defensive lineman Zach Sieler and the Miami Dolphins on Sunday agreed on a three-year contract extension worth up to $67.75 million, including $44 million guaranteed.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed the deal, which was first reported by ESPN.
Sieler, a leader of Miami's defense, seemed likely to get a raise after consecutive 10-sack seasons with two interceptions — one returned for a touchdown in 2023 — 118 total tackles, 24 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
A seventh-round pick by Baltimore in 2018, Sieler was waived by the Ravens in his second season and claimed off waivers by the Dolphins in 2019. During his six years in Miami, Sieler has become one of the league's most productive defensive tackles with 30 sacks in 65 starts.
Sieler, who turns 30 in September, had two years left on a deal that he signed in 2023, which paid him $10.25 million annually. He's now signed through the 2029 season.
Sieler has been a full participant in Dolphins training camp despite ongoing contract talks.
“I hope the message that it puts out is at the end of the day, we’re going to play football,” he said earlier in camp. "Now, obviously that stuff is very important. That stuff is very important to me; the respect and the money that my family gets and makes from this game, we give it all on the line every single day.
"I’m going to continue to do that every day, but to be able to go out there and work despite everything, I think I’m trying to show that you can go out there and play your best ball and still work through stuff without having to compartmentalize things.”
It didn't go unnoticed by the Dolphins, especially as Miami hopes to establish a new culture of accountability this upcoming season.
“I think you define yourself by your actions, most of all in life," coach Mike McDaniel said Friday. "I’m very aware that all players have a choice in what they do on a day-to-day basis. ... I think his teammates very much recognize how Zach Sieler plays football and contributes to the building every day. And I think Zach has a vision of a team that I share, and he understands as a leader, he’s trying to show guys how he wants teammates to play football. I’m excited every time I see Zach Sieler.”
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Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler (92) runs onto the field during practice at the NFL football team's training camp, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers in the Minneapolis-area participating in its largest recent U.S. immigration enforcement operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren't obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents, a judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez's ruling addresses a case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists. The six are among the thousands who have been observing the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since last month.
Federal agents and demonstrators have repeatedly clashed since the crackdown began. The confrontations escalated after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away from a scene in Minneapolis, an incident that was captured on video from several angles. Agents have arrested or briefly detained many people in the Twin Cities.
The activists in the case are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, which says government officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.
Government attorneys argued that the officers have been acting within their legal authority to enforce immigration laws and protect themselves. They said Homeland Security officers have been subject to violence across the country and in Minnesota, and that they have responded lawfully and appropriately.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the ACLU didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Friday night.
The ruling prohibits the officers from detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles when there is no reasonable suspicion they are obstructing or interfering with the officers.
Safely following agents “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the ruling said.
Menendez said the agents would not be allowed to arrest people without probable cause or reasonable suspicion the person has committed a crime or was obstructing or interfering with the activities of officers.
Menendez is also presiding over a lawsuit filed Monday by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seeking to suspend the enforcement crackdown, and some of the legal issues are similar. She declined at a hearing Wednesday to grant the state’s request for an immediate temporary restraining order in that case.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered,” state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter told her.
Menendez said the issues raised by the state and cities in that case are “enormously important.” But she said it raises high-level constitutional and other legal issues, and for some of those issues there are few on-point precedents. So she ordered both sides to file more briefs next week.
McAvoy reported from Honolulu. Associated Press writer Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People cover tear gas deployed by federal immigration officers outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal immigration officers stand outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as tear gas is deployed Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
An FBI officer works the scene during operations on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
