Dolphins Make Roster Moves Ahead of Rookie Minicamp

The Miami Dolphins waived/released four player

Miami Dolphins long snapper Blake Ferguson (44) walks on the field prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Hard Rock Stadium in 2022. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins trimmed their roster ahead of their annual rookie minicamp this weekend, letting go of four players.

The team announced Thursday it waived cornerback Ryan Cooper Jr., defensive tackle Neil Farrell and offensive lineman Chase Hines, along with releasing long-snapper Blake Ferguson.

The moves left the Dolphins with 78 players on the roster, not counting the rookie free agents whose signings likely won't be officially announced until Friday.

That number includes tackle Terron Armstead, who announced his retirement a few weeks ago, but does count Dominican tackle Bayron Matos because of his roster exemption as an international player.

BREAKING DOWN THE MOVES

The most significant news here was the move with Ferguson, who had been the team's long-snapper for five-plus seasons before he was placed on the Non-Football Injury list early last season.

Ferguson never returned last season and no details ever emerged about what caused him to be placed on NFI.

Ferguson joined the Dolphins as a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft. His brother Reid is the longtime long-snapper for the Buffalo Bills.

With Ferguson have a cap number of a little more than $1.1 million in 2025, there won't be a significant cap savings involved with this move. And perhaps we should have seen it coming with the Dolphins reportedly agreeing to terms with long-snapper Kneeland Hibbett from Alabama as a rookie free agent.

The three players who were waived who were going have to fight to simply make the roster.

The move with Cooper is interesting, though, considering the Dolphins claimed him off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason.

Farrell was one of only four defensive linemen on the roster this offseason, but the Dolphins took three players at his position in the draft, starting with first-round pick Kenneth Grant followed by Jordan Phillips on Round 5 and Zeek Biggers in Round 7.

Hines spent the past two seasons on the Dolphins practice squad. He never appeared in a regular season game, though he was elevated to the game-day roster one time in 2023.

The Dolphins rookie minicamp is schedule for Friday-Sunday.