Dolphins Work Out Former First-Round Cornerback

The Dolphins had tryout for six players before signing two of them Thursday

Houston Texans wide receiver Will Fuller (15) pulls in a sideline pass while in front of the Jaguars bench while being defended by Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback C.J. Henderson (23) during third-quarter action in 2020. | Bob Self/Florida Times-Union via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Miami Dolphins' two roster additions Thursday came after the team had tryouts for half a dozen players, one of them a former first-round pick.

That would be cornerback C.J. Henderson, who was the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft but was traded away by the Jacksonville Jaguars during his second season.

The other players who got tryouts Thursday before the Dolphins signed cornerback Cornell Armstrong and offensive lineman Obinna Eze were CBs Duke Shelley and Jordan Taylor, and offensive lineman Spencer Brown.

Brown, not to be confused with the starting right tackle of the Buffalo Bills with the same name, went undrafted in 2025 out of Oklahoma.

Shelley is a seven-year NFL veteran with 53 games and 11 career starts while playing for four teams — the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams and most recently the New York Giants. Like Brown, Taylor is an undrafted rookie free agent — he played at James Madison and is a Miami native.

Given the pedigree of the corners who worked out, it's significant that Henderson couldn't win the tryout battle at cornerback and further indicates just how far he's fallen after arriving into the NFL as a hotshot prospect out of the University of Florida.

Like Taylor, Henderson was born in Miami, where he played his high school football at Columbus.

Henderson has made 27 NFL career starts, 10 with Jacksonville and 17 with the Carolina Panthers after he came over in a trade. The Panthers declined to pick up his fifth-year option for 2024 and he failed to stick after signing with the Houston Texans. He wound up on the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad instead but didn't appear in a game in 2024.

Henderson has three career interceptions but his opponent passer rating when targeted is an unsightly 109.8, according to Pro Football Reference.