As cost-cutting season continues around the NFL, the Dolphins are moving on from Keion Crossen. The veteran corner and special teamer is being released, as first reported by Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.
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One more year remained on Crossen’s deal, but none of his compensation was guaranteed. As a result, Miami will see $2.99MM in savings without incurring any dead money charges. Considering the financial constraints the team is facing on both sides of the ball, this move comes as no surprise.
Crossen joined the Dolphins on a three-year, $10.5MM pact. That agreement gave him multi-year security after he previously bounced around with the Patriots, Texans and Giants in a four-year span. He played out the 2022 campaign while seeing rotational defensive usage and a heavy special teams workload. Crossen was placed on injured reserve during 2023 roster cutdowns, however, and as a result he was sidelined for all of last season.
The 27-year-old will now once again be on the move in free agency, and his missed time will no doubt hinder his market value. Still, third phase specialists are often able to find an opportunity on low-cost deals, and Crossen’s experience on defense (which includes 884 snaps) could allow him to compete for a depth CB spot on his next team. Meanwhile, today’s move adds further uncertainty in the secondary for the Dolphins, a team which will at least temporarily part ways with Xavien Howard at the start of free agency.
Miami is still roughly $28MM over the cap when taking Crossen’s release into account. Further cost-shedding moves will be needed in the coming days as a result, as they and all other teams will need to be cap compliant by March 13.