What's Next for Dolphins Roster?
The heavy lifting is out of the way for the Miami Dolphins when it comes to putting together their 53-man roster, but the work is far from finished.
The Dolphins made some three dozen roster moves the past two days to reach the league-mandated roster limit by the deadline of Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, but the fun will continue Wednesday and in the days ahead.
Among the unfinished items of business, the Dolphins will be moving players who made the initial 53 on injured reserve, will be signing players to fill those roster spots that come open, will put together a practice squad, and also might add some players via the waiver wire.
DOLPHINS PLAYERS POTENTIALLY HEADED FOR INJURED RESERVE
With the current roster rules, only those who made the initial 53 can be placed on injured reserve and designated to return after missing a minimum of four games.
Expect the Dolphins to place a handful of players on post-53 IR, starting obviously with All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who is expected to be out until November, if not December.
Two other players who could be headed for IR from the 53-man roster are offensive lineman Robert Jones and defensive back Elijah Campbell.
Jones sustained a knee injury in the preseason against Houston and the same thing happened with Campbell against the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend, with head coach Mike McDaniel stating in both cases that the players would miss some time.
Another player currently nursing an injury is rookie running back De'Von Achane, but the fact he practiced Tuesday (even though he wore a red jersey) would seem to indicate he'll be ready for game action relatively soon.
WHICH DOLPHINS PLAYERS RELEASED COULD RETURN
The Dolphins cut 18 players Tuesday, and those were divided evenly between younger players waived and vested veterans released.
While the players waived can be claimed by another before Wednesday at noon, the vested veterans are free to sign with any team at any time, and it's entirely possible one or more of them was told by the Dolphins they would be re-signed once roster spots opened because of post-53 IR moves.
The nine veterans released were CB Justin Bethel, WR Robbie Chosen, RB Myles Gaskin, DT Da'Shawn Hand, TE Tyler Kroft, CB Parry Nickerson, T Cedric Ogbuehi, DB Jamal Perry and LB Malik Reed.
Given the numbers at each position on the current 53-man roster, Kroft certainly stands out as a player who could be brought back to join Durham Smythe and rookie free agent Julian Hill at tight end.
It also should be noted that Nickerson was at practice Tuesday before the roster moves were announced, so maybe he returns after Ramsey goes on IR.
Based on training camp performance and the initial 53-man roster make-up, don't be shocked if either Hand or Reed is brought back.
THE WAIVER WIRE
Every team in the NFL has until 12 p.m. Wednesday to put in waiver claims, and multiple teams can claim the same player. In that event, priority is given based on the claiming order, which is the same as the 2023 draft order before trades or pick forfeitures.
For those purposes, the Dolphins are 21st in the claiming order, meaning they could not land a player that any of the 20 teams ahead of them also would want.
The waiver rules change after the third week of the regular season when the priority order turns to the current standings.
It also should be noted that vested veterans have to go through waivers after the NFL trading deadline (Oct. 31 this year) until the end of the season.
For reference, the Dolphins did not get a player off waivers the day after the cuts to 53 last year, but they did get Campbell from the Jets at this same time in 2021.
PRACTICE SQUAD POSSIBILITIES
Once the waiver period ends at noon and every team around the league has received official notification from the league, teams can put together their practice squads.
The practice squad for 2023 again will consist of a maximum of 16 players, six of whom can have unlimited experience in the NFL.
Because it's usually how it happens, expect the Dolphins practice squad to consist mainly of players they just let go.
Over the past two days, the Dolphins either released or waived 28 players, so they'll have to pick and choose which ones to bring back, but from this end the most likely practice squad candidates (assuming they don't get claimed off waivers or sign with another team) would be LB Mitchell Agude, DT Josiah Bronson, LB Aubrey Miller II, LB Garrett Nelson, S Keidron Smith, DT Jaylen Twyman, DB Jamal Perry, TE Tanner Conner, LB Cameron Goode, T Ryan Hayes, TE Elijah Higgins, WR Braylon Sanders, CB Bryce Thompson, OL Alama Uluave and DB Trill Williams, among the young players, and Hand, Chosen, Nickerson and Reed among the veterans (if they're not re-signed or signed by another team).
