Dolphins claim ex-Jets QB Petty off waivers

Petty joins Fales, Osweiler in bid to back up Tannehill.

With no quarterback in the draft, the Dolphins were searching to add one more before the start of organized team activities this month and did so Friday by claiming Bryce Petty off waivers from the Jets.

Petty, who turns 27 soon, joins David Fales and Brock Osweiler in the competition to earn the backup job behind Ryan Tannehill.

The Jets drafted him out of Baylor in the fourth round in 2015, making him the fifth quarterback selected that year. He appeared in 10 games, including seven starts, and posted a passer rating of 57.7. He completed 53.1 percent of his attempts, averaged 135.3 yards per game and threw four touchdown passes against 10 interceptions. He was also sacked 21 times.

Petty became particularly expendable once New York drafted Sam Darnold at No. 3 overall last week.

In South Florida, Petty is best known for a play in 2016 when Dolphins defensive linemen Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh converged on him in the backfield for an incredibly violent sack. The Dolphins had a photo of that hit on the wall of their auditorium.

Special teams coach weighs in on kickoffs: The Dolphins have one of the most respected special teams coaches in the NFL, Darren Rizzi, and so it was no surprise that he was among those invited to a league meeting about kickoff safety in New York on Wednesday.

Among the changes recommended by a panel including owners, head coaches, position coaches, medical experts and a current player and union official:

■ No running start or prekick motion by cover teams;

■ No wedge blocks by return squads;

■ A 15-yard, non-contact zone from the spot of the kick, with the return team required to have a minimum of eight players lined up 15 yards from the ball.

The NFL is trying to make the kickoff play more similar to a punt play, which is generally considered safer. A vote could soon put the rules in place for the 2018 season.

According to a report by Jim Trotter of NFL.com, Packers president Mark Murphy said the kickoff is on a “short leash.”

Rizzi was also quoted in the NFL.com report.

“Sometimes there’s a perception that special teams coaches are only concerned about keeping the kickoff to keep our job,” Rizzi said. “This wasn’t about that. It was about making the game safer, making the play safer and not taking the foot out of football. It’s easy for the coaches to be stubborn and say, ‘Oh, keep it the way it is.’ In my opinion those days are over. We have to keep moving forward, not just this year but every year. We have to keep asking, ‘What can we tweak this year? What can we improve?’ ”

DT McClain visits: As the Dolphins try to stitch together their defensive line following the release of superstar Ndamukong Suh this offseason, they hosted a veteran defensive tackle at the team facility in Davie on Friday. Miami is in talks with Terrell McClain, a journeyman who was let go by Washington after the draft. McClain, 28, signed a fouryear deal with the Redskins a little over a year ago, but slipped on the depth chart and fell out of their future plans for good when the they drafted Da’Ron Payne last week.

McClain, 6-foot-2, 302 pounds, is looking for his sixth team since entering the league as a third-round pick with the Panthers in 2011.