Tricky Roster Decisions Coming for Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins will soon get some players back, but they must make room for them on the roster.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley (18) looks for an open teammate during the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins woke up Monday morning with a spot on their 53-man roster available, and it seems safe to assume it will go to wide receiver River Cracraft.

But with other players on the mend and soon ready to return, roster management decisions will become more complicated because, obviously, every player returning to the 53-man roster requires an opening.

Though some decisions will be made for the Dolphins because of subsequent injuries, the team still looks like it's going to have some tricky decisions to make sooner rather than later.

Five positions come to mind.

THE BACKUP QUARTERBACK SPOT

The Dolphins currently have two quarterbacks, Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson, on the 53-man roster and nobody at the position on the practice squad, but Tyler "Snoop" Huntley is two weeks away from returning from injured reserve (IR).

Based on comments made by both head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell last week, carrying three quarterbacks on the 53 once Huntley returns is a definite possibility.

And that's not even getting into the question of who would be the No. 2 after Huntley started the final three games that Tagovailoa missed because of his time on IR.

"That would be something that we just let those guys come in and compete for," Bevell said. "It's not the thing right now. So right now, Skylar is the number two. But when Snoop comes back, then that's a decision we'll make at that time."

Suppose the Dolphins decide to go with two quarterbacks. In that case, the likelihood is that whoever gets cuts will be re-signed to the practice squad once that player clears waivers — we don't anticipate that either Thompson or Huntley will get claimed off waivers, particularly at this stage of the season.

WIDE RECEIVER

The (expected) addition of Cracraft will give the Dolphins six wide receivers on the 53, and that's two more than they carried at the start of the season when they elevated somebody off the practice squad for every game. At the same time, Odell Beckham, Jr. sat on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, recovering from a knee issue.

Do the Dolphins really need six wide receivers on the 53?

The last one added to the group before Cracraft was Dee Eskridge, who missed practice Friday and Saturday because of a personal issue. He didn't travel to L.A. with his teammates but will be available for the game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.

Eskridge, though, now serves as the primary kickoff returner, with Braxton Berrios losing for the season due to a knee injury.

If the Dolphins do decide that six is too many, then the only two logical options to be released at this time would be Eskridge or even Beckham if the team decides he's not playing enough of a role to keep him around — and before you dismiss that idea because of his credentials, remember that he's played 11 offensive snaps in three of his four games and 12 in the other.

SAFETY

The Dolphins clearly like rookie sixth-round pick Patrick McMorris, so they kept him on the original 53 before putting him on IR at the start of the season.

And now his practice window opened last week.

"There's few and far between rookies that are able to transition super quick," McDaniel said. "We thought that he did a real good job of learning the responsibilities and really getting better throughout training camp. So he stood out in that way, and I think that's both because of his ability and his professionalism. I think it might be a hair soon this week, but I look forward to him getting up and being a part of what we're doing because he's about the right stuff and has talent to contribute."

The Dolphins already have four safeties on the 53-man roster, including Jevon Holland, Jordan Poyer, Marcus Maye, Elijah Campbell, and 11 defensive backs.

Making those numbers five and 12 would mean a sacrifice at another spot, and logic would dictate that another DB would be removed to make room for McMorris, who should be ready by the next game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11.

LONG SNAPPER

The Dolphins value Blake Ferguson enough that they signed him to a contract extension last year, and both McDaniel and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman spoke glowingly of him last week, which made it sound almost a certainty he'll be back on the 53 once he sits out one more game on the Reserve/Non-Football Illness list.

"The specifics if it's next week or the week after or the week after, we'll let time tell, but I love Blake," McDaniel said Saturday. "When he's ready, you'll see him because the team is best when he's spinning it."

Crossman added last week that he didn't want to get into a situation where the team simply signs a long snapper to the practice squad every three weeks while using up that player's maximum three elevations.

The Dolphins, though, will have to remove somebody from another position from the 53-man roster once they activate Ferguson because they don't currently have a long snapper on the roster.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER

This isn't quite as definitive as the other four spots we mentioned because Bradley Chubb's status is still uncertain.

The two-time Pro Bowl selection continues to work his way back from his Week 17 ACL injury, and McDaniel regularly provides positive results. Still, we don't know when Chubb could be back — or even if he'll be back at any point in 2024.

If he does return, the Dolphins would then have six edge defenders, with Chubb joining Emmanuel Ogbah, Chop Robinson, Mohamed Kamara, Tyus Bowser, and Quinton Bell. Six edge defenders is an awfully high number on a 53-man roster, but this would be a trick decision — as with all the others.