Breaking Down the Saturday Roster Moves and Other Developments

RB Patrick Laird was signed to the active roster and WR Preston Williams was one of two players ruled out despite not being on the injury report all week

The Miami Dolphins made a series of roster moves early Saturday afternoon, and yet that wasn't even the biggest news some 24 hours before they're set to face the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

No, the more significant developments — and certainly the most interesting — involved wide receiver Preston Williams and new defensive back Sheldrick Redwine.

Neither of them traveled to Buffalo with their teammates Saturday and they both were ruled out for the game against the Bills.

The Dolphins didn't announce any transactions dealing with COVID-19, which means that's not the reason they didn't travel and neither player was on the injury report at all during the week.

It's yet another setback for Williams, who just can't seem to get his NFL career going again after the first significant injury he sustained as a rookie in 2019.

Williams was seen during an open portion of practice this week wearing a red number 14 jersey, an indication he played the role of Stefon Diggs for the scout team and suggesting he'd either be inactive or have a small role against Buffalo.

Williams has played in only three games this season and has five catches on the season, as he's battled injuries on and off.

As for Redwine, he joined the Dolphins just this week after they signed him to the active roster off the Carolina Panthers practice squad. It's debatable whether the former University of Miami player would have played against Buffalo regardless considering the short amount of time he's been with the team, but this potentially could be a troublesome sign.

As for the roster moves, the Dolphins promoted running back Patrick Laird to the active roster and elevated linebacker Vince Biegel and cornerback Jamal Perry. 

Laird becomes the second player promoted from the active roster — to be clear, that means he's now on the 53-man roster and just not brought up for the game — in two weeks as he joined wide receiver Isaiah Ford.

That the Dolphins chose to promote Laird instead of either rookie seventh-round pick Gerrid Doaks or newcomer Duke Johnson speaks to his high reliability factor both on offense and special teams, though he's quite frankly not somebody who's going to produce big plays.

He's the type of player, as we've said before, who likely will never be a star in the NFL but could end up having a 10-year career because he's dependable.

Biegel's elevation certainly would seem to suggest that Jerome Baker won't be available against Buffalo because of the knee injury that had him listed as questionable on the final injury report.

This is the third time this season that Perry has been elevated, and he played all of his 27 snaps in his two appearances on special teams, so this was a move made with the kicking game in mind.

That the Dolphins didn't elevate a wide receiver from the practice squad in light of the Williams news might bode well for DeVante Parker's availability against Buffalo. Miami has four other wide receivers on its active roster with Jaylen Waddle, Mack Hollins, Albert Wilson and Ford.