Live Dolphins updates: Positives amid the personnel losses. Fortson dishes. And Day 5 news

Welcome to Day 5 of free agency and Friday’s installment of The Miami Herald’s Dolphins/NFL free agency live blog.

As of Friday morning, Miami had agreed to terms with 11 players from other teams: tight end Jonnu Smith, linebacker Shaq Barrett, center Aaron Brewer, inside linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Anthony Walker Jr., safety Jordan Poyer, special teams ace Siran Neal, tight end Jody Fortson and defensive tackles Neville Gallimore, Jonathan Harris and Benito Jones.

Miami also retained Elijah Campbell, Jake Bailey, Nik Needham, Rob Jones, Da’Shawn Hand and Salvon Ahmed.

Seven players are on their way out after agreeing to terms with other teams: defensive linemen Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis, right guard Robert Hunt, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. and safeties Brandon Jones and DeShon Elliott.

We will have live updates throughout the day all week, as the Dolphins try to fill more holes. Please keep checking back for updates.

4 p.m.: The Dolphins formally announced the signing of Neville Gallimore, the ex-Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle. He will compete with former Broncos lineman Jonathan Harris - and likely others to be added - for snaps in the position that Christian Wilkins handled the past five seasons. Gallimore also could play nose tackle in a pinch.

Gallimore has known Dolphins defensive line coach Austin Clark for years and has even trained with him.

“He’s a great guy, high intensity guy,” Gallimore said. “Seeing the guys raving on and on with him [was notable]. I’m looking forward for that opportunity grow with him... The Dolphins bring a lot to the table. I’ve seen a team that’s had a lot of success.”

Gallimore played in 52 games and started 14 games for Dallas over the past four seasons. But he made just one start over the past two seasons. Last year, he appeared in all 17 games and played 27 percent of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps.

Growing up in Ottawa, he was the first Canadian-born player to be invited to the U.S. Army All American bowl for top high school prospects.

“It was unheard of, being from where I’m from” to be a top prospect and make the NFL.

3 p.m. update: New Dolphins tight end Jody Fortson, who spent the past five seasons with the Chiefs, transitioned to tight end as a rookie in 2019. He was a receiver at Valdosta State.

“At first, I was like, I don’t really want to be a tight end,” Fortson said on a Zoom session with reporters on Friday.

And now? He’s glad he did.

“I wish I did it earlier.... I conduct everything with my head up.”

Even though he caught just 14 passes with the Chiefs, he said being on a team that won two championships had an immensely positive impact.

“It brings a winner’s attitude, a winner’s mindset,” he said. “I might not have had the role I would like, but I know what it takes to win. The discipline, the sacrifices, the intensity. That’s what I inherited from my time being with Kansas City - the discipline to win, the seriousness behind it of what it takes. You’ve got to constantly chip at it every single day.”

He spent 2019 and 2020 on the practice squad, caught four touchdowns during his appearances in 2021 and 2022 and missed last season with an August shoulder injury.

He relishes playing with Tyreek Hill again.

“Anytime you get to be on the field with Tyreek, it’s a blessing,” Fortson said. “I’m excited to get back to be around him and pick his brain on the game. He’s a goofball [at times, but also] an intelligent player.”

He called tight end Travis Kelce “my favorite teammate of all time, not only because he took his time to teach me the role of being a tight end but also because of the great person he is. It set me forward light years of where I would have been” without him. “I used to be rushing my routes.

He said, ‘You can slow it down. Every route doesn’t have to be 100 miles per hour.’” He said Kelce taught him things “I’’ll be forever grateful for.’”

He said playing for Mike McDaniel is something that appealed to him.

“Anyone wants to play with someone they feel they can relate to,” he said. “Everybody wants to be in a comfortable environment where you can learn and excel.”

2:55 p.m.: The Dolphins are formally announcing the signings of linebacker Anthony Walker Jr., center Aaron Brewer and tight end Jody Fortson.

11 a.m. update: The details on Terron Armstead’s restructure are in, and the Dolphins ended up saving $10 million in cap space this season, with his cap number shrinking from $20.8 million to $10.6 million, per overthecap.com.

Armstead agreed to a $4.25 million pay cut for 2024. His restructured agreement includes a $7.3 million signing bonus and $10 million in guarantees. His $13.3 million and $12.3 million salaries in 2025 and 2026 aren’t guaranteed.

10:45 a.m. update: After visiting with the Tennessee Titans, former Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker is due to visit with Seattle, per ESPN. If he signs with the Seahawks, he would be flipping places with new Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks.

10 a.m. update: While losing key free agents has been painful, there have been two benefits:

1). Miami now has more future cap flexibility to keep Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips and Jevon Holland. The Dolphins also created room to fill four or five needs in the salary slot that Raiders-bound Christian Wilkins would have otherwise consumed.

2). The Dolphins are positioned to snag several compensatory draft picks.

Per overthecap.com’s Nick Korte, Miami should be receiving a third-round 2025 compensatory pick for losing Wilkins to Las Vegas and another 2025 third-round compensatory pick for losing Robert Hunt to Carolina.

Korte also projects that the Dolphins should receive a seventh-round 2025 compensatory pick for losing DeShon Elliott to Pittsburgh.

The Dolphins were poised to land a 2025 sixth-round compensatory pick for losing Brandon Jones to Denver, but Korte said that was canceled out by the signing of cornerback Kendall Fuller (a small price to pay for a starting cornerback).

Though the Dolphins’ decisions aren’t being fueled primarily by the compensatory pick dynamic, they have capitalized on the rules.

They’ve signed several ‘street’ free agents – meaning players who were cut and did not become free agents simply because their contracts expired. Those street free agents don’t count against the team signing them.

Tight end Jonnu Smith and safety Jordan Poyer are among the Dolphins’ street free agent pickups.

Also, restricted free agents who weren’t tendered by their former teams also don’t count in the NFL’s compensatory pick formula. So Miami wasn’t penalized for its signing of Denver defensive end Jonathan Harris on Thursday night.

Also keep this in mind: Veteran free agents signed after May 1 do not count against the compensatory pick formula. Miami likely will be active in free agency this summer, because the $18.5 million in space cleared by Xavien Howard’s release will become available to the Dolphins on June 1.

Barring an unforeseen and unlikely free agent spending splurge, the Dolphins are now poised to have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 Draft. The Dolphins have their own first, second and third round picks next year.

In next month’s draft, Miami has its own first and second round picks but doesn’t have third or fourth round picks. The Dolphins have no compensatory picks in the 2024 draft.