Cam Smith and Other Updates for the Dolphins-Colts Game

The 2023 second-round pick has yet to make his debut this season

Miami Dolphins cornerback Cam Smith (24) works out during mandatory minicamp at Baptist Health Training Complex. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Perhaps lost in the flurry of moves the Miami Dolphins made Saturday was what they did with cornerback Cam Smith.

The team's top pick in the 2023 NFL draft was downgraded to OUT on the official injury report for the Week 7 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, further delaying his season debut.

Smith was a full participant in practice all week, just as he was ahead of the Week 5 game against the New England Patriots, but the Dolphins decided against activating him off injured reserve, where he was placed Aug. 27 with a designation to return.

Smith now has completed his allotted three weeks of practice, which means that before next Wednesday (Oct. 23), the Dolphins will have to move him to the 53-man roster or he'll be shelved for the entire season.

If the Dolphins do move Smith to the active roster, they'll have to make a corresponding move to make room for him.

Regardless of what they wind up doing with Smith, he'll count against the team's limit of eight return designations off IR because he was designated at the time he was placed on IR — part of the new IR rules this season. Likewise, River Cracraft also will count against the eight-return limit regardless of whether he plays a down in 2024 because he also was designated for return August 27.

Players who return from PUP, such as Odell Beckham Jr., do NOT count against the eight-return limit, but those placed on Non-Football Injury or Non-Football Illness (such as Blake Ferguson) do count against the limit.

Smith, of course, is looking for an opportunity to make an impact in his second season after a forgettable rookie season when he played a total of only 20 defensive snaps.

The Dolphins roster currently includes six cornerbacks — Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller, Kader Kohou, Storm Duck, Siran Neal and Ethan Bonner — and it may be that the Dolphins ultimately will have to choose between Smith and Bonner. Carrying seven cornerbacks is a possibility, but that's an unusually high number for the position.

COLTS UPDATES

The Colts also had an injury update for Saturday, and it involved starting linebacker E.J. Speed being downgraded from questionable to doubtful.

The sixth-year linebacker from Tarleton State, who leads the entire NFL in initial tackles with 44, has been dealing with a knee injury.

Also on Saturday, the Colts elevated CB Kelvin Joseph and LB Liam Anderson from the practice to the active roster. Joseph was the player the Dolphins acquired in August 2023 when they traded 2020 first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene to the Dallas Cowboys.