Zeke Vandenburgh - Pro Football Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/18/23

July 18th, 2023 at 7:35pm CST by Ben Levine

As teams welcomed in rookies for camp this week, they began to reorganize their rosters. Today’s minor moves:

Miami Dolphins

Placed on NFI: CB Ethan Bonner
Placed on IR: LB Zeke Vandenburgh

New Orleans Saints

Placed on NFI: WR Shaquan Davis, RB Kendre Miller, WR A.T. Perry
Placed on PUP: CB Anthony Johnson, G Nick Saldiveri

New York Giants

Signed: CB Darren Evans
Waived/injured: CB Leonard Johnson

San Francisco 49ers

Placed on PUP: CB Darrell Luter Jr.

Vandenburgh, an undrafted rookie out of Illinois State, suffered an injury while training this offseason, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). His placement on IR means he won’t be able to play for the Dolphins in 2023, but he could work his way onto the field with another squad. Bonner, meanwhile, is dealing with a minor illness and should be good to go later this week.

Miller, a third-round pick by the Saints, is still recovering from a meniscus injury that kept him off the field for TCU’s National Championship game. The Saints were always planning to ease in the running back during training camp, and it sounds like he’s still expected to be a full-go by the time the regular season comes around.

Dolphins Sign 21 UDFAs

May 13th, 2023 at 12:44pm CST by Ely Allen

The Dolphins had to add a large number of undrafted free agents after finishing the 2023 draft with only four selections. Here are the rookies that will join the four-man draft class:

LB Mitchell Agude (Miami)
QB James Blackman (Arkansas State)
CB Ethan Bonner (Stanford)
RB Chris Brooks (BYU)
DE Randy Charlton (Mississippi State)
WR Chris Coleman (Cal Poly)
WR Daewood Davis (Western Kentucky)
TE Julian Hill (Campbell)
OT Jarrett Horst (Michigan State)
OL Alex Jensen (South Dakota)
LB Aubrey Miller (Jackson State)
DT Anthony Montalvo (UCF)
LB Garrett Nelson (Nebraska)
DT Brandon Pili (USC)
OL DJ Scaife (Miami)
S Keidron Smith (Kentucky)
OT James Tunstall (Cincinnati)
P Michael Turk (Oklahoma)
OL Alama Uluave (San Diego State)
LB Zeke Vandenburgh (Illinois State)
S Bennett Williams (Oregon)

The Dolphins added a number of prospects who played in the South Florida area, either in college or high school. Scaife did both, starting 52 games for the Hurricanes at guard and tackle after a high school career at Miami Southridge. His teammate, Agude, only spent one season as a Hurricane after transferring over from UCLA. Charlton was a high school teammate of Scaife’s and spent time at UCF before transferring to Mississippi State.

Additionally, Blackman went to high school just south of Lake Okeechobee in South Bay before making starts at Florida State and Arkansas State. The lanky quarterback comes in as QB4 behind Tua Tagovailoa, Mike White, and Skylar Thompson. Davis went to Deerfield Beach in South Florida before transferring from Oregon to Western Kentucky. Davis brings some interesting versatility, playing cornerback for the Ducks before catching 15 touchdowns over two years as a Hilltopper receiver. Finally, Smith grew up in West Palm Beach before transferring from Ole Miss to Kentucky.

After Thomas Morstead‘s short stint as the team’s punter, Miami signed former Patriot Jake Bailey. Bailey missed some time in New England with both injury and suspension, so perhaps Turk’s signing here is a backup plan to stash on the practice squad in case Bailey misses more time next season.