Roster Cuts Are Just the Start Of Miami’s Secondary Battle
Credit: Jim Rassol / USA TODAY NETWORK
Black Tuesday is nearly upon us. NFL teams have until August 27 at 4 PM Eastern Time to trim their 90-man rosters down to 53. The Miami Dolphins are no exception, and like any other team, they have a ton of tough decisions to make with cutdown day looming. General manager Chris Grier has wasted no time shaking up Miami’s roster, with the team announcing the release of tight end Jody Fortson Jr. and quarterback Mike White on Sunday afternoon.
The backup QB battle between Skylar Thompson and White was pretty straightforward. All Miami needed to do was choose one player to be the backup, and the controversy would end there. That isn’t the case when it comes to the Dolphins secondary. What makes this position battle so unique is that it will evolve throughout the regular season in ways no one can predict. Some players will exceed expectations relative to their position on the depth chart, while others are bound to disappoint.
At the time of writing this article, there are a whopping 17 players who make up Miami’s secondary. That’s seven cornerbacks, seven safeties, and three designated nickels to be exact. The Dolphins are likely to keep only 10-12 of them on their final roster. Most of those players are already locked in, but there are still a couple of spots up for grabs between about a half-dozen candidates. And the competition doesn’t end there. These roster cuts are just the beginning of Miami’s season-long journey to sort out their secondary.
The Dolphins starters in the secondary are currently well-established at this point. Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller, Kader Kohou, Jordan Poyer, and Jevon Holland make up Miami’s starting defensive backfield. These Five Guys (pun intended) are the meat and potatoes of the Dolphins’ secondary, and there’s very little risk of their jobs being taken. Unless, of course, someone gets hurt. Judging by the Miami Dolphins’ horrid injury luck over the past 5 years, at least one starter is bound to miss games at some point during the regular season.
And that’s where the competition heats up. Anthony Weaver needs to figure out which backups he can trust the most as the next man up. That applies to the outside cornerback, safety, and nickel positions. As these backups spell the starters here and there for players, we’ll see a new round of jockeying for spots. Their roster spots are secure, but a strong performance can help their depth players elbow their way into key roles.
The battle at outside cornerback is a great example. Cam Smith is a second-round pick from the 2023 draft, but his rookie year was littered with injuries and he didn’t quite fit Vic Fangio’s zone-heavy defense. Meanwhile, Ethan Bonner is a speedy undrafted free agent cornerback who has greatly exceeded expectations during training camp. However, in the preseason, Bonner generally hasn’t played that well, leaving the door open for Smith to re-take the inside track for the backup cornerback spot.
Meanwhile, Elijah Campbell is occupying one of the backup spots as the fourth safety on the roster. He’s a former undrafted free agent who is entering his fourth year with the Dolphins. But Miami also signed Marcus Maye, who is generally projected to be the third safety on the depth chart and should see the most snaps out of the backups.
The plot thickens further from here. Seventh-round rookie Patrick McMorris was dominant in the preseason and could mount a challenge to Campbell for that fourth safety spot, giving Campbell a challenge both in front and behind him. The Dolphins also have nickel cornerback Nik Needham, who cross-trained at safety during OTAs and minicamp, so he’s a name to watch as well.
Lastly, Chris Grier needs to consider the logistics of sneaking certain players onto the practice squad. Special teams ace Siran Neal, nickel corner Jason Maitre, and cornerback Storm Duck all showed flashes this preseason. It’ll be Grier’s job over the next 30 hours to calculate the risk factor of cutting some of these preseason standouts and trying to sneak them on the practice squad without being poached by another team.
As always, cutdown day is maybe the premier day for position battles. But while it gives players a finality — you made the roster or you didn’t — the jockeying for spots never really ends. We’ll get a lot of clarity with the Dolphins’ secondary on Tuesday, but it’s going to take several games’ worth of the evolution to see the final picture come together.
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