The Miami Dolphins' 2024 preseason is in the books after the team's 24-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night in Tampa.
However, the work is about to very quickly begin for general manager Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel, as they work to whittle their roster down from 90 to the required 53-man limit in the coming days. With a number of injured players to be accounted for, the duo has a challenging task ahead in navigating the PUP (physically unable to perform) and Injured Reserve list rules to try and get everything settled.
To clarify, the Dolphins can transfer the current remaining four players listed on active PUP to start training camp (Odell Beckham, Jr., Bradley Chubb, Cameron Goode, Isaiah Wynn) over to reserve/PUP and they can designate two players on cut down day as injured reserve who won't count towards the 53-man roster.
Here's a look at how I think the final 53-man roster will shake out in the coming days.
Quarterbacks (2): Tua Tagovailoa, Skylar Thompson
It looks like, FINALLY, Thompson did enough to earn this spot with solid showing on Friday against the Buccaneers. With two passing touchdowns and being able to move the offense continuously, it was far and away the best performance of the preseason between him and Mike White despite a late interception on Miami's final drive. If preseason performances really mean anything, Thompson should have secured the QB2 job. The Dolphins really have no business carrying both White and Thompson here.
Running Backs (5): Raheem Mostert, De'Von Achane, Jaylen Wright, Chris Brooks, Alec Ingold
A bit of a surprise here at the back end perhaps with Brooks over Jeff Wilson, Jr., but Brooks has simply earned it this preseason. He is a guy who would help this roster right now. I don't think it makes sense to carry five running backs plus Alec Ingold. Too many other roster needs to carry five RBs.
Wide Receivers (5): Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Braxton Berrios, Malik Washington, Erik Ezukanma
PUP: Odell Beckham, Jr.
Injured Reserve: River Cracraft
River Cracraft lands on injured reserve after the news of his upper body injury from Mike McDaniel that will keep him out for "some time". Washington locked up his spot on Friday night with some splash plays.
The question then comes to what the Dolphins do with Erik Ezukanma, who was seen before the final preseason game in a walking boot. With limited spots available to use on injured reserve and one already designated for Cracraft, I see Miami putting Ezukanma on initial 53 and then transferring him to IR so he doesn't count as one of the two cut down day IR spots.
Offensive line (9): Terron Armstead, Kendall Lamm, Patrick Paul, Austin Jackson, Aaron Brewer, Robert Jones, Liam Eichenberg, Lester Cotton, Jake Driscoll
PUP: Isaiah Wynn
It's hard to know what's going on with Wynn right now. I'm going with him on PUP start the year until further word about improvement. Lester Cotton gets the nod here as a result.
The bigger question is whether the Dolphins put Brewer on injured reserve. Not a good sign for him that he's missed weeks with a hand injury, but I'm going to leave him in for now. Miami could still shift him to IR and bring back someone like Andrew Meyer.
Tight ends (3): Jonnu Smith, Durham Smythe, Julian Hill
No one behind this trio stood out enough to make the roster. Simple as that.
Defensive line (5): Zach Sieler, Calais Campbell, Benito Jones, Brandon Pili, Da'Shawn Hand
It's really tough to tell what the Dolphins will do on the back end of this group. There are a number of candidates in play. Pili has made some plays in both preseason games, so I'm giving him a nod here. Jonathan Harris and others could replace Hand easily. Very tight competition there.
Edge rushers (5): Jaelan Phillips, Chop Robinson, Quinton Bell, Emmanuel Ogbah, Mo Kamara
Pup: Bradley Chubb, Cameron Goode
I've got Chubb going on PUP start the year. It just doesn't seem like he's close enough to being ready, such as Jaelan Phillips appears to be. Same for Goode. The rest of the group seems pretty set.
Linebackers (5): Jordyn Brooks, David Long, Jr., Anthony Walker, Jr., Channing Tindall, Duke Riley
Tindall has made some plays in the preseason, particularly rushing the passer, which Miami needs plenty of help with early this season. Walker, Jr. might need IR, but I've got him going on the 53 and then getting shifted to IR if needed. Because of that, I can see Riley, who hasn't had a great preseason, getting the final LB spot. Could see that going either way though.
Cornerbacks (7): Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller, Kader Kohou, Ethan Bonner, Siran Neal, Nik Needham, Storm Duck.
Injured reserve: Cam Smith
Cam Smith might need IR, which would open up a spot for Storm Duck. Given how he looked when he pulled up lame, I'm gonna say that happens.
Safeties (4): Jevon Holland, Jordan Poyer, Marcus Maye, Elijah Campbell
Patrick McMorris, who's had a nice preseason, just misses out here. I don't think Miami would keep five safeties in this scenario, as they have Needham as an option if they needed someone in a pinch. McMorris to the practice squad (unless he gets claimed, which is possible). The lower body injury he's dealing with (was in a boot before game on Friday) didn't help either and could be a factor.
Specialists (3): Jason Sanders, Jake Bailey, Blake Ferguson
No competition for this group. Miami clearly has their guys here.
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