Miami signs linebacker after injury
Ex-Redskin Martrell Spaight added for depth
The Miami Dolphins will add former Washington Redskins linebacker Martell Spaight to address the unit’s depth after Chase Allen suffered a foot injury in Sunday’s win over Oakland, according to a league source.
Spaight, who started seven of the 30 games he played in the past three seasons in Washington, has contributed 104 tackles and one interception during his NFL career.
The former Arkansas standout, who is 6-foot, 238 pounds, was selected by the Redskins in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He’s better at playing the run than the pass, and has a reputation as a strong special teams contributor.
That will come in handy for the Dolphins the next couple of weeks while Allen is sidelined by an injury that requires his foot to be in a walking boot.
Allen, who has started four games for the Dolphins the past two seasons, shared the outside linebacker workload with rookie Jerome Baker, primarily coming onto the field in packages designed to stop the run.
However, it’s more likely that Stephone Anthony will move into that role now that Allen is slowed by his foot injury.
The Dolphins placed defensive lineman William Hayes on injured reserve because of the season-ending knee injury he suffered in Sunday’s 28-20 win over the Raiders, and released receiver Tanner McEvoy. McEvoy’s release means Miami has one vacancy on the 53-man roster.
The Dolphins worked out a handful of defensive linemen on Tuesday, including former Carolina Panthers and New York Jets starter Kony Ealy, who has recorded 90 tackles and 15 sacks the past four seasons and Robert Ayers, a nineyear veteran who has recorded 35 career sacks during his career with the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but didn’t sign any of them as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Dolphins need another defensive lineman because of Hayes’ injury, and the left knee injury Andre Branch suffered, which will reportedly keep him sidelined for a couple of weeks.
Without Hayes and Branch the Dolphins only have three defensive ends — Cameron Wake, Robert Quinn and Charles Harris — on their 53-man roster. But former Central Arkansas standout Johnathan Woodard is on Miami’s practice squad, and could be called up before Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.