Lineman Douglas among those cut
No big surprises in trims to reach 53-player limit
Offensive lineman Jamil Douglas, a fourth round pick last year, was waived by the Dolphins on Saturday, one of 22 roster moves the team made to get down to the league-mandated 53 players.
There weren’t any big surprises among the Dolphins’ cuts as they head toward the Sept. 11 opener at Seattle. They waived 16 players: Douglas, linebackers James Burgess and Tyler Gray, defensive tackles Chris Jones and Deandre Coleman, tight end Thomas Duarte, quarterback Zac Dysert, safeties Shamiel Gary and A.J. Hendy, offensive tackle Ulrick John, defensive ends Cedric Reed, Jordan Williams and Cleyon Laing, cornerbacks Rashaan Melvin and Lafayette Pitts, and wide receiver Rashawn Scott.
The Dolphins also released five players: linebacker James Michael-Johnson, cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, tight end Dominqiue Jones, running back Daniel Thomas and offensive tackle Sam Young, a seven-year veteran who attended St. Thomas Aquinas.
In their final roster move, the Dolphins placed cornerback Chris Culliver (knee) on the physically-unable-to-perform list, meaning he must miss the first six games.
Coach Adam Gase said after Thursday’s preseason finale that he feels good about his squad.
“I think we’ve grown a lot,” Gase said after the 21-10 loss to Tennessee. “I know from the spring, just thinking back to where we were when we started that first voluntary minicamp, the growth that we had through the spring and through training camp ... sometimes you had ups and downs where one guy dominated the other side and I feel like we’re leveling out some.”
Players with fewer than four years of experience who were waived Saturday can be claimed by another team as part of the NFL’s waiver wire system. The waiver selection process is conducted in the same order as the first
“I feel like we’re leveling out some.” Dolphins coach Adam Gase
round of the 2016 draft, and teams that claim a player inherit his contract.
That means more jockeying could remain before the season.
Fornow, the Dolphins will keep five running backs — Arian Foster, Jay Ajayi, Kenyan Drake, Isaiah Pead and Damien Williams—and part of that consideration could be because each has injury concerns. Foster is coming back from a seasonending Achilles injury, and Ajayi (knee), Drake (hamstring), Pead (hamstring) and Williams (hamstring) have all missed time during training camp and preseason.
“I like our depth, the fact that it seems like we’ve had a lot of guys have success, whether it be in practice or in the preseason games,” Gase said. “I know it hasn’t shown as far as our total group, but it seems like somebody’s flashed a little bit every game.”
The Dolphins also kept six wide receivers — Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, Jakeem Grant, Leonte Carroo and Griff Whalen. Whalen is a mild surprise to make the roster, but he’s a sure-handed veteran slot receiver who also doubles as a punt returner.
Defensive tackle Chris Jones being waived was a bit of an attention-grabber. Jones, who started 22 games for New England from 2013-14, was claimed off waivers in April after missing last season due to a calf injury.
It’s also somewhat surprising that safety Jordan Lucas, the 2016 fifth-round pick from Penn State, made the final 53. Lucas, who gained experience playing nickel/slot DB in college, was tried at nickel and boundary cornerback before settling recently at safety.
On the offensive line Douglas, who started four games last year, wasn’t a surprise cut because he never found a home as a backup.
On the defensive line, end/tackle Julius Warmsley made the team after being a standout in training camp and preseason games. He was among the team’s most active players over the past fewweeks.
At quarterback, Brandon Doughty, the seventh-round pick from Western Kentucky and North Broward Prep, beat Dysert for the No. 3 job. This will mark the first time in years the Dolphins keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.