South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Osweiler, Fales survive cuts
Ex-draft picks Carro, Lippett waived; Dolphins keep five WRs
For the first time since 2008, the Miami Dolphins will begin a season with three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.
Instead of picking between Brock Osweiler and David Fales to serve as Ryan Tannehill’s backup, Dolphins management decided to keep both veterans on the pareddown roster, at least for now.
The Dolphins have carried three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster twice during Adam Gase’s tenure as the team’s head coach the past two seasons. But injuries during the season to Tannehill in 2016 and Jay Cutler in 2017 prompted both those situations.
Osweiler’s strong performance in Miam- i’s 34-7 preseason win over the Atlanta Falcons, where he completed 16 of 25 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns, allowed him to close the gap David Fales had on him all training camp. That performance apparently convinced Miami’s coaches they needed three veteran quarterbacks on the team.
Chad Pennington, Chad Henne and John Beck were the last trio of quarterbacks to begin a season on Miami’s 53-man roster, and Pennington led that Dolphins team to its last AFC East championship.
While Osweiler and Fales survived cut day, nearly two dozen veterans, and a handful of Miami’s draftees didn’t.
Receivers Leonte Carroo, Rashawn Scott
(who was waived injured), Isaiah Ford and Drew Morgan, who were all on the roster last season, were released, leaving the Dolphins with five receivers on the 53-man roster. However, two of those receivers — DeVante Parker (broken finger) and Jakeem Grant (concussion) — are nursing injuries and are questionable for the Sept. 9 season opener against the Tennessee Titans, so, unless Parker or Grant return to practice next week, the Dolphins might find themselves calling on rookie tight end Mike Gesicki to line up as a receiver.
Cornerback Tony Lippett, defensive tackle Kendall Langford, guard Isaac Asiata, tackle Eric Smith, tight ends Gavin Escobar and Thomas Duarte, linebackers Terrence Garvin and Quentin Poling, safety Trae Elston and rookie kicker Greg Joseph were other notable players released.
Lip pet t’ s departure means Torry McTyer, Cordrea Tankersley and rookie Cornell Armstrong will serve as the primary backups at cornerback.
Lippett, a 2015 fifthround pick who became a starter in 2016, struggled most of training camp and played sparingly in the preseason because of an ankle injury he suffered early in camp.
Lippett, who was expected to compete for the starting spot opposite Xavien Howard in the boundary, didn’t appear fully recovered from the Achilles tendon injury he suffered a year ago during a training camp practice.
Lippett was one of five former Dolphins draft picks waived on Sunday. Carroo, a 2016 third-round pick, Duarte, a 2016 seventhround pick, Asiata, a 2017 fifth-round pick, Ford, a 2017 seventh-round pick, and Poling, a 2018 seventhrounder, can be claimed by another NFL team by Sunday’s noon deadline.
Ford, Duarte and Asiata are eligible for Miami’s practice squad, which is a 10-player developmental unit used to groom young players. Duarte has spent the past two seasons on Miami’s practice squad.
Every NFL team will begin assembling their practice squad at noon on Sunday, making offers to waived players who are eligible once the NFL announces which released players got claimed off the waiver wire. The waiver wire works in the same order as the NFL draft, so the Dolphins own the 12th pick in that process.
The Dolphins must make another cut for every player they receive in a claim.
Asiata’s departure means Miami needs re-enforcements at the interior offensive line spots until Jake Brendel, who has missed all but one practice during training camp because of a calf injury, becomes healthy enough to practice and play.
Outside of Brendel, Ted Larsen is the only backup on the interior of the offensive line, and he’s nursing a leg injury he suffered last week. Offensive linemen Zach Sterup and Sam Young will serve as the backup tackles.
Joseph’s release means Jason Sanders, the Dolphins’ other seventh-round pick this year, will begin the season as Miami’s kicker.
Veteran linebacker Mike Hull also made the initial 53-man roster despite the left knee injury he suffered in Miami’s first preseason game, which has kept him sidelined for the past three weeks. The Dolphins could be carrying Hull on the 53-man roster with the intent of eventually placing him on injured reserve.
Quarterback Bryce Petty (oblique), Scott (ankle) and rookie defensive end Quincy Redmon were waived injured, which means they could receive an injury settlement from the team.
As constructed on Saturday, the Dolphins have 25 defenders (nine defensive linemen, six linebacker and 10 defensive backs) and 25 offensive players (nine offensive linemen, four tight ends, five receivers, four tailbacks and three quarterbacks) on the 53-man roster, which will likely remain fluid for the next few days.