Carroo is running out of time

DAVIE — After a rocky rookie year that ended with him being inactive at the end of the season, Dolphins wide receiver Leonte Carroo has fought hard to put himself in the rotation. Time is running out, though, and the effort he’s put forward this month might not be enough to keep him on the roster.

Carroo has been out for a week with a groin injury, and coach Adam Gase is hopeful he’ll be able to play Thursday at Atlanta. But even if he plays well, the makeup of Miami’s roster is going to make it difficult for him to make the cut. With the team likely keeping six receivers and five of those spots certainly filled, the race for the final opening seems to be between Isaiah Ford, Rashawn Scott, Carroo and a few others.

While Gase has never framed it exactly that way, it’s been obvious all offseason that Carroo would be fighting for his job. That pressure went up when Ford, a 2017 seventh-round pick, delivered an impressive training camp. For his part, Carroo has worked like someone who grasps that reality.

“His sense of urgency has been exactly what we want,” Gase said. “The more we can get him on the field and the more opportunities we can give him, that gives him a better chance.”

Carroo would be going into his third season after the Dolphins traded up to take him in the third round in 2016, and the biggest thing working against him is he hasn’t cashed in when he’s gotten big opportunities.

He’s played in 28 of a possible 32 games and has 10 career catches.

“When you end up starting a game, which has happened a few times in the last couple of years, how are you going to impact the game?” Gase said. “It might not be catching the ball. It might be blocking. It might be doing your job right to where you spring somebody else free. Just the little tiny details of being a complete wide receiver.”

After starring at Rutgers, Carroo struggled to adjust to life at the bottom of the depth chart. That requires a player to take many of their practice reps with the backups and to be ready to fill in at a position on a moment’s notice.

He played 14 games as a rookie, starting two, and managed three catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. The team opted for Scott on the active roster the final two weeks of the season and for the playoff game at Pittsburgh.

Carroo came back last season with a better approach, but was hurt here and there and never seemed to get going.

“Some of the injuries have hurt him in critical situations to where he’s competing for a job and he has a little setback,” Gase said.

The Dolphins packaged a third-, fourth- and sixthround pick in a 2016 deal for Minnesota’s third-rounder to take Carroo at No. 86 overall.