Mike Pouncey's Hip Issues Not Career Threatening
- Dolphins three-time Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey reiterated Wednesday that his hip issues are not career threatening, per James Walker of ESPN.com. Moreover, despite having landed on season-ending injured reserve last week, Pouncey won’t require surgery. The 27-year-old is optimistic he’ll be ready for the Dolphins’ spring program. “I feel good now. Obviously talking to my doctor made me feel real confident,” he said.
Mario Williams Not Contemplating Retirement
Though the struggles that plagued him during the latter portion of his Bills career have followed him to Miami, Dolphins defensive end Mario Williams says he has no plans to retire following the season, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “No, no,” Williams said. “I don’t want it to end like this.”
[RELATED: Miami Dolphins Roster Resource]
Williams, 31, has missed several games this season with a nagging ankle injury, but has rejected any thought that he might head to injured reserve (though he did allow that he may require surgery once the season concludes). The ankle ailment and his poor play have led Williams to be demoted off the Dolphins’ starting unit, as he’s been usurped by Andre Branch and has played on less than half the club’s defensive snaps. When he has been able to stay on the field, Williams has posted only 1.5 sacks and graded as the league’s No. 58 edge defender, per Pro Football Focus.
Williams inked a two-year, $17MM deal with Miami this spring, but at this point, it seems unlikely that he’ll see the second season of that contract, a notion that Jackson reported earlier this month. The Dolphins can release Williams next year and save $8.5MM while incurring only $2MM in dead money.
Dolphins Wanted To Re-Sign Zach Vigil
- The Redskins have claimed Zach Vigil off waivers from Miami, per a club announcement. The Dolphins had hoped to re-sign Vigil to their practice squad, according to Barry Jackson on the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Vigil will take the roster spot of fellow LB Houston Bates, who tore his ACL and is now being placed on IR.
Dolphins Audition Joplo Bartu
- Veteran linebacker Joplo Bartu met with the Dolphins today, per Caplan (Twitter link). Bartu has been in the league since 2013, and has 48 games of experience — including 28 starts — under his belt during time with Atlanta and Jacksonville. However, the 26-year-old Bartu hasn’t started a contest since 2014.
Dolphins Sign Trevor Reilly
- The Dolphins signed linebacker Trevor Reilly off the Patriots‘ practice squad and waived fellow LB Zach Vigil, per a club announcement. Vigil, a undrafted rookie, spent the first portion of this season on the NFI list.
Tony Romo May Request Release In 2017
Tony Romo could ask the Cowboys to release him this offseason rather than offer him in trade talks, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. A release would allow Romo the opportunity to scour the free agent market for the right fit as he concludes his career.
[RELATED: Cowboys Activate Darren McFadden]
Releasing Romo could have benefits for the Cowboys as well, especially when it comes to the salary cap. If Dallas trades Romo, the club will absorb $19.6MM in dead money in 2017 and save just $5.1MM, and would realize the same totals if it cuts Romo before June 1. But if the Cowboys designate Romo as a post-June 1 cut, they would only take on $10.7MM in dead money next season while saving $14MM on the cap. In that scenario, Dallas would then see $8.9MM in 2018 dead money, as well.
However, by trading Romo, the Cowboys could theoretically reap some sort of draft pick compensation, and ensure that Romo doesn’t land with a division rival such as the Redskins (assuming Washington doesn’t re-sign Kirk Cousins). By retaining control over his rights, Dallas could ship Romo to another division, or even better, to the AFC, and not have to worry about facing him repeatedly. As Florio notes, though, Romo enjoys a solid relationship with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, so it’s possible the two could work out a gentleman’s agreement that grants Romo his release in exchange for the veteran QB not signing with a rival.
The Broncos and Cardinals have already been mentioned potential landing spots for Romo, and he’s reportedly “keeping tabs” on other clubs, potentially including the Dolphins, per Florio. Miami could be faced with an extended Ryan Tannehill absence, and if his recovery bleeds over into 2017, the Dolphins could have interest in a veteran such as Romo.
Latest On Ryan Tannehill’s Injury
The Dolphins blew the Jets out of the water last night behind a terrific performance from backup quarterback Matt Moore, but the aftermath of the win brought with it some potentially bad news about No. 1 signal-caller Ryan Tannehill.
Tannehill, of course, was pulled from last week’s game against the Cardinals with what was initially feared to be a full ACL tear, but which was later reported to be an ACL/MCL sprain (a partial, but incomplete tear of those ligaments). After last night’s game, however, Adam H. Beasley and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald passed along a report from the NBC/NFL Network broadcast team that Tannehill in fact tore the MCL off his knee completely, a report ostensibly substantiated by the fact that he spent the night in a full leg cast and walked with a noticeable limp and the assistance of a crutch.
Tannehill, though, lent some clarity to the situation, observing that his ligaments are not fully torn and that he has a Grade 2 sprain rather than a Grade 3 (link via Salguero). Said Tannehill, “It’s not a Grade 3. A Grade 3 sprain is completely torn. A sprain could be a torn anything. It’s not completely torn all the way off but definitely there’s damage. It’s categorized as a Grade 2 so there’s still some integrity there.”
Cardinals To Extend Zac Dysert Through 2017
After being promoted from the practice squad to the active roster Tuesday, Cardinals quarterback Zac Dysert signed a new contract to remain in Arizona through the 2017 campaign, Dysert told Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). While there’s no word on the financials of the deal, it likely contains little or no guaranteed money.
[RELATED: Arizona Cardinals Depth Chart]
Dysert, 26, has bounced around the league since entering the NFL as a seventh-round draft choice in 2013, and the Cardinals are the sixth club he’s been with during his four-year career. One team that had previously employed Dysert — the Dolphins — were reportedly interested in signing him off Arizona’s practice squad, forcing the Cardinals to either promote him or lose him, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. For his part, Dysert wasn’t interested in heading back to Miami.
“They already cut me once so I was like, ‘I’m not going to go back there when they already cut me,’ ” Dysert said, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. “Most likely, for me, I would have went there for three weeks or until the season ended and they would have cut me. I’ve been here all year, building relationships with all the coaches, all the guys on the team. I just thought this was the best fit for me.”
Dysert may have had a chance to serve as Miami’s No. 2 quarterback over the conclusion of the regular season (the Dolphins have since signed veteran T.J. Yates), and while he’s now third on the depth chart in Arizona, there’s a chance Dysert could factor into the Cards’ long-term plans, especially as starter Carson Palmer‘s career winds down. Head coach Bruce Arians told Urban that Dysert has a “really good chance to be a good player,” while Palmer was also complimentary.
“He’s picked up the offense extremely quick,” Palmer said. “Very bright, throws it really well. He moves around and looks fluid in the pocket. I think [Arians] is spot-on with that comment, I said the same thing. He’s bounced around a little bit but I think he’s found a good spot here.”
Dolphins Won’t Activate Dion Jordan
Today, the Dolphins shut Mike Pouncey down for the season in order to free up a spot for quarterback T.J. Yates. Today was also the deadline for the Dolphins to find a place for embattled defensive end Dion Jordan. That afternoon deadline has come and gone and the team has opted against putting Jordan on the roster, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. 
Teams have three weeks to make a determination on an NFI list player once he begins practicing. Apparently, the former No. 3 overall pick did not show enough in practice to warrant consideration for the final stretch of the season. Jordan and his reps spent the summer telling everyone that he would fulfill his potential in 2016. Now, we’ll have to wait another year to find out if Jordan can put it all together.
Through 26 games in 2013 and 2014, Jordan registered only 46 tackles and three sacks. He has not appeared in an NFL game since December 28, 2014.
Dolphins Sign QB T.J. Yates
The Dolphins found themselves a backup for Matt Moore. Miami is signing T.J. Yates, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
The Dolphins, of course, are down one quarterback as Ryan Tannehill deals with an ACL/MCL sprain. For however long he is out (the Dolphins hope to get him back after two games), Miami will need Yates to hold the clipboard.
Yates, 29, has only started seven games during his regular season career. Interestingly, however, he also has two playoff starts on his resume from his time with the Texans. The Broncos recently worked him out as a possible futures contract candidate, but he has now landed work for the holiday season.
Earlier today, the Dolphins decided to place center Mike Pouncey on IR. They’re also expected to make a determination on Dion Jordan at some point today.