Dolphins Lose Executive To Eagles
- The Raiders’ Dwayne Joseph hire forced the Eagles to reorganize their pro scouting department. Previous Joseph deputy Brandon Brown will replace Joseph as the team’s pro scouting director, Zach Berman of Philly.com tweets. The Eagles hired Max Gruder to fill Brown’s former job, assistant director of pro scouting. Gruder previously served as a Dolphins scout.
Dolphins Rookie UDFA Left Squad
- One of the Dolphins‘ 18 priority free agent signings hit the waiver wire Tuesday. The Dolphins parted ways with cornerback Tyler Horton (Boise State) via left-squad designation, veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer notes (on Twitter).
NFL Suspends WR Leonte Carroo
Free agent wide receiver Leonte Carroo has been suspended for the first four weeks of the 2019 season, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Carroo, a 2016 third-round pick, was non-tendered by Miami this offseason. 
Carroo had some hype behind him coming out of Rutgers, but never produced at the pro level. After three seasons in South Beach, Carroo has just 12 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns to his credit. More than one-third of those yards came on a 74-yard TD against the Colts last season in which he wrestled a defender to the ground and waltzed into the end zone.
The exact reason for Carroo’s ban is not yet known, but it is likely for a violation of the substance abuse policy or the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/4/19
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: WR Mose Frazier
Chicago Bears
- Waived: OL Tommy Doles
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Nico Siragusa
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: DL Lyndon Johnson
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: CB Tyler Horton
New York Giants
- Signed: OLB Keion Adams
- Waived/Injured: OLB Jeremiah Harris
Dolphins’ Reshad Jones Shows For Minicamp
Dolphins safety Reshad Jones is in limbo, but that didn’t stop him from showing up for work on Tuesday. The veteran reported for the start of the team’s mandatory minicamp, as Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald writes. 
“I’m really looking forward to working with him,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said. “He was excited to get into meetings and practice.”
Flores added that Jones showed up “in really good shape.” Taken at face value, that may be a sign that Jones continues to be in the team’s plans. However, a skeptic might see that as an attempt to boost the safety’s trade value. The Dolphins reportedly would prefer to move on from Jones instead of paying out his sizable contract.
Jones skipped the team’s voluntary offseason conditioning program for unknown reasons, but he has clashed with the team many times in the past. Continuing his absence through this week would have cost him nearly $90K in fines, so showing up was the sensible move.
For now, Jones stands as the team’s highest-paid player with $13MM in base salary ($11MM guaranteed) owed to him for 2019. The Dolphins, who are not in position to win in 2019, would probably prefer to swap him for future draft capital.
Dolphins Interested In Laremy Tunsil Extension
The Dolphins exercised left tackle Laremy Tunsil‘s fifth-year option in April, which keeps the 2016 first-rounder under club control through 2020. However, Miami is apparently interested in working out an extension that would run beyond 2020.
Now that Tunsil has three years of service time, he is eligible for an extension, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that the Fins would like to explore negotiations on a new contract. Miami, of course, is in the early stages of a full rebuild, but Tunsil is young enough that he could be a key part of the club when it returns to competitiveness.
Plus, he plays a critical position and appears to be trending upwards. Pro Football Focus viewed 2018 as Tunsil’s best season, one that ended with the site grading the Ole Miss product as the No. 36 overall tackle. He has started 44 regular-season games in his brief career, moving from left guard to left tackle full-time in 2017. After an infamous pre-draft slide, Tunsil’s career is very much on track.
However, he has yet to make a Pro Bowl, and the Dolphins may want to lock him down now before his price tag continues to grow. Titans OT tackle Taylor Lewan is at the top of the market with a $16MM AAV and $50MM in guarantees, while Dallas’ Tyron Smith currently owns the most valuable contract ($97.2MM).
Tunsil is not at that level just yet, so if he prioritizes long-term security over the biggest payday, the Dolphins may be able to extend him for something like a five-year, $65MM pact with $30-35MM in guarantees.
Brian Flores Making Strong First Impression; Dolphins To Take Wait-And-See Approach With 2020 FAs
- Brian Flores is making a strong first impression with the Dolphins, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. A number of players are less than keen on the old-school mentality and the demanding nature of the new coaching staff, but others are enjoying it, and Flores himself has drawn rave reviews. Players have lauded the rookie head coach both publicly and privately, which is a bit more meaningful for Flores than it might be for another HC. The Dolphins are in full rebuild mode, so Flores will be judged not necessarily on wins and losses — at least not for a year or two — but on how his players respond to him and compete for him.
- In the same piece linked above, Jackson notes that the Dolphins are taking a wait-and-see approach with several players entering the final years of their contracts like RB Kenyan Drake and WR Jakeem Grant.
Brian Flores Encouraged By Charles Harris' Offseason Performance
- Dolphins 2017 first-rounder Charles Harris finds himself at the top of the team’s edge rusher depth chart despite his disappointing performance over his first two years in the league. But as Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com writes, new head coach Brian Flores is encouraged by what he has seen thus far. This offseason, Harris has spent more time upright as an OLB instead of with his hand in the dirt as a traditional 4-3 DE, and that may better suit his strengths. Flores said, “I can’t say enough good things about [Harris]. … Honestly, I don’t care about his past. I care about right now. … He’s smart. He’s hard-working. He’s got a lot of ability.” If Harris does not begin to live up to his potential, he may not be in Miami in 2020.
- We wrote earlier today that the Dolphins hope to trade Reshad Jones.
Dolphins Want To Trade Reshad Jones
Dolphins GM Chris Grier said back in April that he expected safety Reshad Jones to be a part of the club in 2019, but there have been rumblings that Miami intends to shop Jones, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that the Fins would indeed prefer to trade the two-time Pro Bowler if they get an offer to their liking.
Jones has been absent from OTAs thus far, though head coach Brian Flores expects him to show up for this week’s mandatory minicamp. Jones, 31, is not a part of the Dolphins’ long-term future and carries significant yearly cap hits over the rest of his contract — which runs through 2021 — so it makes sense that Miami would want to make a trade.
Releasing Jones is not feasible because of the dead money that the team would incur, but if the Dolphins are able to deal him, they would carry just $4MM in dead money in 2019 while creating $13MM of cap space. Of course, another club would need to be willing to assume Jones’ contract, and given his age and the fact that he is coming off shoulder surgery, it is unclear if Miami will be able to drum up much interest.
As Jackson notes, the team won’t just give Jones away. If Miami can get a decent draft pick in return, it may be willing to pay part of his salary. If not, then the Fins will just hang onto him and cut him next spring, when the dead cap hit would be more palatable.
Because they don’t want to hurt his trade value, the Dolphins are not making a big deal about Jones’ absence from OTAs or the fact that he refused to go back in the team’s game against the Jets last November after being told earlier in the week that he would be used in a rotation. But the team internally believes those decisions run counter to Flores’ team-first mentality, which further underscores the desire to trade Jones.
If a deal is consummated, the club could shift 2018 first-rounder Minkah Fitzpatrick to safety, or if it feels Fitzpatrick is more valuable as a slot corner, then CB Bobby McCain would likely be asked to fill the void.
Latest On Dolphins' Mark Walton
- Mark Walton is facing three pending legal cases but remains in contention for a Dolphins backup job. Two of the running back’s hearings will occur this week. In one of those, a Wednesday matter that overlaps with Dolphins minicamp, his attorney will be making a court appearance for him to allow the embattled ex-Bengal to practice with his new team, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald notes. Walton is trying to secure Miami’s No. 3 running back job, behind Kenyan Drake and Kalen Ballage. Miami drafted Washington alum Myles Gaskin in Round 7 and picked up former Chargers back Kenneth Farrow earlier this year.