Breaking Down the Dolphins' Latest Roster Moves

The Miami Dolphins waived two players for a second consecutive day, but again hung on to their rookie free agents

Alain Poupart | Jul 26, 2020

Bob DeChiara-USA Today Sports

For the second consecutive day, the Dolphins have waived two players, and this time it was defensive end Avery Moss and linebacker Trent Harris. They followed WR Ricardo Louis and QB Jake Rudock, who were waived Saturday.

The moves left the Dolphins with 83 players on their roster, not counting Brazilian lineman Durval Queiroz Neto, for whom they have a roster exemption.

Keep in mind that NFL teams have the option of having 80 or 90 players at the start of training camp, though they have to be down to 80 players regardless by Aug. 16.

While some may view it as surprising that the Dolphins have waived four veterans this weekend instead of one of their rookie free agents, especially considering Moss (8) and Harris (3) combined to make 11 starts last season, this could be seen as a statement on what the organization thought of their personnel in 2019.

In short, the Dolphins may be just believe the upside of their rookie free agents is greater than that of the players they have let go.

The one rookie free agent no longer on the roster is defensive tackle Ray Lima, but he actually retired.

The Dolphins still have nine rookie free agents: WR Kirk Merritt, WR Matt Cole, TE Bryce Sterk, C Donell Stanley, T Nick Kaltmayer, DL Tyshun Render, DT Benito Jones, LB Kylan Johnson and T Jonathan Hubbard.

Published Jul 26, 2020

ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.