Dolphins To Keep Three QBs All Year, Could Bring Back Leonte Carroo
The Dolphins currently have three quarterbacks on the roster, and it looks like it will stay that way. Per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said he anticipates keeping three signal-callers all year, although he would not say whether David Fales or Brock Osweiler would serve as Ryan Tannehill‘s primary backup. Beasley suggests the No. 2 QB could change depending on the week (Twitter links).
- The Dolphins cut former third-round pick Leonte Carroo yesterday, but Beasley tweets that Carroo could find himself on the team’s practice squad if he clears waivers. Although Carroo has disappointed in the pros thus far, other teams with a need at wide receiver may be willing to give him a shot.
Dolphins Cut Roster To 53
The Miami Dolphins are the latest team to cut their roster all the way down to the required 53 players. Here are their latest moves:
Waived:
- CB Johnathon Alston
- G Isaac Asiata
- CB Taveze Calhoun
- WR Leonte Carroo
- LB Cayson Collins
- CB Jalen Davis
- TE Thomas Duarte
- S Trae Elston
- WR Isaiah Ford
- LB Frank Ginda
- LS Lucas Gravelle
- C Connor Hilland
- RB Buddy Howell
- K Greg Joseph
- OT Roubbens Joseph
- RB Jeremy Langford
- WR Malcolm Lewis
- CB Tony Lippett
- DE Cameron Malveaux
- DE Claudy Mathieu
- C Mike Matthews
- WR Drew Morgan
- DT Anthony Moten
- WR Francis Owusu
- DT Jamiyus Pittman
- RB Brandon Radcliff
- OT Eric Smith
- OT David Steinmetz
- DE Jonathan Woodard
Waived/Injured
- QB Bryce Petty
- DE Quincy Redmon
- WR Rashawn Scott
Terminated vested veteran
- TE Gavin Escobar
- LB Terence Garvin
- DL Kendall Langford
Overall, not too many surprises. It looks like the Dolphins will be keeping three quarterbacks, with both Brock Osweiler and David Fales making the team.
Dolphins Waived CB Tony Lippett
The Dolphins are releasing a former starter. ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe reports (via Twitter) that the organization is cutting cornerback Tony Lippett.
Following a so-so rookie year, the 2015 fifth-round pick broke onto the season in 2016. Lippett established himself as a capable cornerback during that campaign, starting 13 of his 16 games with Miami. The Michigan State product finished the year with 67 tackles, 10 passes defended and four interceptions.
However, Lippett suffered a torn Achilles last year, forcing him to sit out the entire season. Wolfe notes that the cornerback still hadn’t full recovered from the injury, perhaps explaining his release.
With the 26-year-old out of the picture, Cordrea Tankersley, Cornell Armstrong, and Taveze Calhoun seemingly have a better chance of making the roster.
Chiefs Acquire S Jordan Lucas From Dolphins
The Chiefs have acquired safety Jordan Lucas from the Dolphins in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick, both clubs announced. Kansas City will send a 2020 seventh-round pick to Miami in exchange for Lucas, tweets Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports.
Kansas City is in desperate need of help in its defensive backfield, as Eric Berry is recovering from a torn Achilles while dealing with another injury. Daniel Sorensen, too, is expected to miss time after suffering a tibial plateau fracture. Eric Murray, Armani Watts, and Leon McQuay represent the other options on the Chiefs’ roster.
Lucas, 25, was a sixth-round draft choice in 2016. While he’ll give Kansas City depth in the secondary, Lucas’ primary role with Miami was on special teams. He played 261 special teams with the Dolphins over the past two seasons, while he saw action on only 25 defensive plays (all in 2017).
Lucas is scheduled to earn $630K for the 2018 campaign. The Chiefs will now inherit that salary, and the Dolphins won’t take on any dead money due to the trade. Lucas will be a restricted free agent next spring.
Leonte Carroo Facing "Mounting Odds" To Make Team
The Dolphins traded three picks for the right to move up and draft receiver Leonte Carroo back in 2016, but his run in Miami may be over after just two seasons. Carroo faces “mounting odds” to make the team, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Dolphins Won't Seek Backup QB Upgrade
- While the pairing of David Fales and Brock Osweiler may be relatively underwhelming, Dolphins coach Adam Gase isn’t expecting to add another backup quarterback behind Ryan Tannehill. While the coach would like to see some improvement from his co-second-stringers, he’s not concerned about their lackluster preseasons. “I think there’s room for improvement for sure,” Gase said (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com), “but it’s hard to put it all on them when you get the ball and you’re not expecting it or we’re not blocking the guys. That’s why it’s hard to evaluate quarterbacks sometimes in preseason games and you have to use all your practice time and what you know about guys’ history, and that’s what makes it tough to evaluate them sometimes.”
[SOURCE LINK]
Eagles Release Corey Nelson
The Eagles have released linebacker Corey Nelson, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (via Twitter). The moves does not come as much of a surprise, as we learned a few days ago that Philadelphia was expected to cut the Oklahoma product, which puts the team on track to pick up a sixth-round compensatory pick in the 2019 draft.
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Nelson spent the first four years of his career with the Broncos, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. He mostly served as a special teams ace in Denver, although he did start six games during the 2016 campaign. As McLane tweets, the Eagles signed Nelson as a free agent this offseason with the purported intention of having him compete for the starting weak-side linebacker job. However, he was never really given time with the first-team defense, and he did not stand out during the reps he did get, which generally came with the third-string unit.
The Eagles will save about $1MM in cap space by releasing Nelson, though they will also take on $600K in dead money (the amount of Nelson’s signing bonus). Mike Klis of 9News tweets that he would not be surprised if the Broncos are interested in bringing Nelson back into the fold, while Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com suggests that the Dolphins could also be a fit (Twitter link).
The Eagles signed Jaboree Williams to take Nelson’s place on the 90-man roster.
Free Agent TE Julius Thomas To Retire
Julius Thomas will step away from the NFL after seven seasons. The free agent tight end announced, via The Players’ Tribune, he intends to pursue a career in psychology and will be returning to school to pursue a doctorate degree.
The Dolphins released Thomas earlier this year, and the 30-year-old pass-catcher will move on from the sport. He spent four seasons with the Broncos, two with the Jaguars and played his final year in Miami.
“While making the decision to no longer play the game is difficult, I’m also incredibly excited about what’s next: Studying therapy and becoming well trained in it so that I can help people heal from their emotional and mental pain,” Thomas wrote.
One of the best basketball-to-football conversion stories, the former fourth-round pick out of Portland State was one of the most sought-after free agents in the game in 2015. He signed a five-year deal worth more than $46MM with Jacksonville, doing so after two dominant seasons in Denver.
Stationed as one of Peyton Manning‘s top targets, the former Division I-FCS talent caught 24 touchdown passes between the 2013 and ’14 seasons. He made the Pro Bowl both years and started in Super Bowl XLVIII. Thomas eclipsed Shannon Sharpe‘s franchise record for most touchdown grabs in a season by a tight end, hauling in 12 in back-to-back slates. While Thomas couldn’t replicate that production away from the future Hall of Fame passer, he totaled two more 40-reception seasons and played three years on that lucrative 2015 contract.
However, injuries played a significant role in Thomas’ career. He missed 28 games during his four Broncos seasons and 11 during his two Jags campaigns. While Thomas surmounted his early-career maladies at the right time, just as Manning set NFL records on explosive offenses, the 6-foot-5 tight end was hobbled for much of his career.
He intends to study the effects of CTE.
“Football has serious cognitive risks, but there’s still a lot to learn about the extent of them and ways they can be mitigated,” Thomas wrote. “The ability to assist with the latest research being done on brain trauma and the pursuit to better understand CTE. To study it not just from the perspective of a psychologist or a clinician, but also as a person who has played for several years at the highest level, is something that excites me. It fills me with a sense of purpose.”
Dolphins Rumors: Fales, Osweiler, DBs, LBs
David Fales completed just 1 of 6 passes in the Dolphins’ second preseason game, and although Brock Osweiler is the bigger name, the team’s internal preference is believed to be for the incumbent to back up Ryan Tannehill, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. As for Bryce Petty, he’s still behind both aforementioned backups, Jackson adds. Osweiler signed for the league minimum, making the Dolphins’ 2018 quarterback depth chart much cheaper than last year’s setup of Tannehill, Jay Cutler and Matt Moore — which represented more than $30MM against the 2017 team’s cap. A former sixth-round Bears pick in 2014, Fales has 48 career pass attempts — 43 of those coming last season with Miami.
Here’s the latest out of south Florida.
- Minkah Fitzpatrick is primarily working as a slot defender for the Dolphins, Roy Cummings of FloridaFootballInsiders.com passes along. The first-round pick out of Alabama was billed as a versatile performer entering the draft, with safety or cornerback potential. It looks like, for now, the Dolphins are taking advantage of that. Previous slot bastion Bobby McCain has moved to the outside, and that looks to have been done to give Fitzpatrick a role. Prior to the move, the Dolphins didn’t have a place for Fitzpatrick, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald writes. Fitzpatrick, though, also played sparingly as a pure safety in Miami’s initial two preseason games.
- Mike Hull may begin the season on IR, Jackson notes. The Dolphins would carry their fourth-year veteran linebacker onto the 53-man roster before placing him on IR, which would allow him to return during the season once he recovers from the sprained MCL he sustained earlier this month. Hull started three games last season. Raekwon McMillan is Miami’s middle linebacker starter.
- Second-year UDFA Chase Allen looks to have a job as a Dolphins backup linebacker, but former Saints first-round pick Stephone Anthony may not. Jackson writes the 2015 first-rounder’s put together a poor preseason that has him on the bubble. Anthony played in eight Dolphins games upon being traded to Miami last year. He played 130 defensive snaps but did not stand out. However, with Hull out, the Dolphins need bodies to fill out their linebacking corps. UFA addition Terence Garvin isn’t a lock to survive cutdown weekend, either, Jackson adds.
Dolphins Using Bobby McCain At Outside CB
The Dolphins are desperate for cornerback help, so much so that they’re working usual slot corner Bobby McCain on the outside, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. During this week’s practices, Miami used McCain opposite No. 1 corner Xavien Howard, with versatile first-round defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick in the slot. McCain became of the NFL’s highest-paid slot corners after agreeing to a four-year, $27MM extension earlier this year, but if he can stick on the outside, the 25-year-old would become a bargain. The Dolphins could conceivably look to the trade or free agent market in search of a new cornerback, but one of their recent visitors — former Redskins defender Bashaud Breeland — is reportedly unlikely to sign with Miami.