Isaiah Ford

Dolphins To Cut OT Jermaine Eluemunor

The Dolphins will cap Jermaine Eluemunor‘s Miami stay at less than three months. After signing the veteran tackle in June, the team opted to cut him on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Miami is also placing wide receiver Lynn Bowden on IR, per Pelissero (on Twitter).

Eluemunor, who spent the past two seasons with the Patriots, was vying for a backup tackle gig in Miami. The Dolphins have done some shuffling on their offensive line, but they will move on without the four-year veteran ahead of the deadline for teams to cut their rosters down to 80 players.

This move comes days after the team acquired third-year tackle Greg Little from the Panthers. The Dolphins have now parted ways with multiple veteran O-linemen since the start of training camp. They placed D.J. Fluker on IR and reached an injury settlement to jettison the guard.

Eluemunor started eight games for the Pats last season, filling in for a team that again was down Isaiah Wynn for a stretch and one that lost Marcus Cannon to an opt-out choice. Pro Football Focus graded Eluemunor as a middle-of-the-road tackle, slotting him 47th at the position in 419 snaps. Eluemunor visited the Broncos earlier this year, but Denver opted to sign Bobby Massie and Cameron Fleming to fill its Ja’Wuan James-created void at right tackle.

The Dolphins acquired Bowden from the Raiders last summer, marking a strange NFL path for the 2020 third-round pick. Bowden contributed in a few Fins games, catching 28 passes for 211 yards for a receiver-deficient team. Miami expanded its wideout group this year, signing Will Fuller and drafting Jaylen Waddle in Round 1. Albert Wilson‘s return gave the Dolphins more depth, and Bowden was battling for a roster spot.

While the Dolphins could keep Bowden on IR all season and develop him, players who land on IR at this time of the year are often subsequently released from teams’ injury lists via injury-settlement payments. It is unclear if the Dolphins play to remove Bowden from IR via that transaction, but Tuesday’s move ensures he cannot play for the team in 2021.

The Dolphins also waived wideouts Robert Foster and Isaiah Ford, cutting the former with an injury designation.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/21

Teams have until March 17 to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents. Some teams are already making their calls in advance of March 17. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:

RFAs

Non-Tendered: 

Both of these guys will now be hitting unrestricted free agency. Yelder signed with the Saints as an UDFA in 2018, and was added to the Chiefs’ practice squad later that year. He got meaningful playing time in 2020, mostly as a blocker, playing around 18 percent of the offensive snaps for Kansas City last season. He had only seven catches for 36 yards.

Ford was drafted by the Dolphins in the seventh-round back in 2017, then was traded to the Patriots this past November but quickly re-signed by Miami after New England cut him a month later. This one is mildly surprising since Ford played a real role on offense for the Dolphins the past two years, catching 51 passes for 520 yards in 18 games between 2019-20.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/30/20

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: K Sam Koch

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: C Ryan Groy; Groy remains on IR

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/22/20

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dolphins Promote WR Isaiah Ford

With multiple wide receivers’ statuses uncertain heading into a pivotal Week 15 game against the Patriots, the Dolphins promoted Isaiah Ford from their practice squad.

This will complete an interesting journey for the former seventh-round pick. The Dolphins traded Ford to the Patriots for a seventh-round pick ahead of the deadline, but the Pats waived him a month later without having deployed him in a game. The Dolphins signed the fourth-year wideout to their practice squad shortly after but have not used him in a game since the trade.

DeVante Parker and Jakeem Grant‘s questionable designations going into Sunday’s Dolphins-Pats rematch, however, point to Sunday’s hosts needing insurance at this position. With Preston Williams on IR and Mike Gesicki suffering an injury, the Dolphins were down to a Lynn Bowden-led skeleton crew at the end of their Week 14 loss to the Chiefs.

Gesicki, Parker and Grant getting in multiple limited practice each, however, points to Tua Tagovailoa having more help when he makes his Patriots debut. Ford, who has 18 catches this season, will be available in case. The Dolphins also promoted tight end Chris Myarick on Saturday.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/14/20

The latest practice squad moves from around the NFL:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: TE Issac Nauta

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed: TE Bug Howard, LB Aaron Patrick

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: P Lachlan Edwards
  • Released: WR Manasseh Bailey

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: RB Khalfani Muhammad

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/8/20

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves. There are many.

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

  • Placed on practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Thomas Ives, DT LaCale London, LB Manti Te’o; London and Te’o tested positive for the coronavirus

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/5/20

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Trade Notes: Packers, McKinley, Alexander

We heard earlier today that the Packers were eying Texans wideout Will Fuller, but there were reportedly disagreements among high-level Packers officials on whether they should make a play for a receiver. While head coach Matt LaFleur said he was unsure if “anything ever got that serious,” he was sure that he’s on the same page with general manager Brian Gutekunst.

“I have no idea where anything like that would ever come from,” LaFleur said of the reports (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky). “We’re in constant communication, we’re on the same page and there is no truth to that. I promise you that.”

While receiver Davante Adams expressed confidence in his teammates, he previously acknowledged that he’d welcome some help at the position.

“I wouldn’t say we necessarily need to, because I think we’ve shown what we can do,” Adams said. “When I went down, guys stepped up and did what they had to do. Stepped up big. I wouldn’t say it’s a need. Obviously, I’ve said this before, I don’t think it’s any secret that could help us potentially. I wouldn’t be opposed to it. It could help us. But I definitely got full faith and trust in my guys here to be able to get it done.”

As Demovsky notes, the Packers could be getting some reinforcement at the position, as receiver Allen Lazard could return this weekend. The 24-year-old had eight catches for 146 yards and one score in Week 3, but he’s been sidelined since undergoing core muscle surgery.

Some more trade notes from around the NFL:

  • The Falcons were seeking a fourth-round pick for defensive end Takkarist McKinley, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (via Twitter). We heard last week that the former first-rounder was on the trade block, but the 25-year-old declared last night that he wasn’t going anywhere. McKinley has compiled only eight tackles and one sack in four games this season, and he hasn’t played more than 40-percent of his team’s defensive snaps since Week 1.
  • After acquiring defensive end Yannick Ngakoue in a preseason trade with the Jaguars, the Vikings traded the veteran to the Ravens back in October. ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes that the trade conditions from the conditional fifth-rounder that Minnesota sent Jacksonville still apply. That fifth-rounder will turn into a fourth-rounder if Ngakoue goes to the Pro Bowl (with the Ravens). It’s worth noting that the Vikings received a conditional fifth-rounder in their trade with Baltimore, and there’s a good chance that selection contains many of the same conditions.
  • The pick the Dolphins received in the Isaiah Ford trade with the Patriots is a conditional sixth-rounder, tweets Jeff Howe of The Athletic. Howe adds that the pick could turn into a seventh-rounder if the conditions aren’t met.
  • The conditional fifth-round pick that the Saints sent the 49ers in the Kwon Alexander trade has a bit more intrigue. The MMQB’s Albert Breer tweets that it’s a 2022 pick that’s heading to San Francisco, although that could turn into a 2021 selection based on “play-time markers.”
  • Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup was presumably never on the block, as VP Stephen Jones said last week that the organization wouldn’t be trading the 24-year-old (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota on Twitter). Following a breakout 2019 campaign, Gallup has disappointed a bit in 2020, hauling in 26 receptions for 432 yards and one score through eight games (seven starts).

Dolphins Trade Isaiah Ford To Patriots

The Dolphins have agreed to trade wide receiver Isaiah Ford to the Patriots, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. In exchange, the Patriots will send a 2022 seventh-rounder to Miami. 

[RELATED: Patriots Set High Asking Price For Stephon Gilmore]

The deal will provide Cam Newton with a big-bodied receiver, similar to one-time Panthers teammates Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess. The former seventh-round pick has quietly been a key contributor in Miami this year, catching 18 passes for 184 yards in seven games.

Some have speculated that the Patriots could turn into sellers at the deadline but Bill Belichick has dismissed such talk all week. Instead, the Patriots have swung a small, but still significant, deal to bolster the offense. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, it sounds like star cornerback Stephon Gilmore will be staying put. The Patriots haven’t dismissed inquiries outright, but they have set a sky-high asking price of a first-round pick, plus a player.