Dolphins place rookie S Patrick McMorris on IR, re-sign Blake Ferguson

Miami Dolphins rookie safety Patrick McMorris was placed on the injured reserve Thursday morning.

McMorris, 22, is now slated to miss at least four games in his rookie year, but — barring injuries in the secondary — it may make sense for the Dolphins to keep the sixth-round pick on the IR.

For one, the Dolphins are allowed to bring a maximum of eight players back from the IR in a season. Two of those designations are expected to be used to bring back wide receiver River Cracraft and cornerback Cam Smith, who landed on the IR on Tuesday. Additionally, the Dolphins can only carry 48 active players on game days and there’s not a significant need for McMorris with four veteran safeties on the roster.

McMorris impressed in the Dolphins’ preseason debut, receiving a 73.2 grade from PFF against the Atlanta Falcons. On four targets, McMorris was credited with allowing only nine receiving yards.

The Dolphins used the roster spot freed up by the McMorris transaction to bring back long snapper Blake Ferguson. An expected move, the fifth-year specialist was released Tuesday as a procedural to move to open an additional roster space for two days.