Secondary Help Coming for Dolphins?

The Miami Dolphins reportedly had a free agent visit with a veteran free agent familiar with some of their defensive coaches

The Miami Dolphins have been hit hard by injuries at cornerback, which would explain them hosting veteran free agency Bryce Callahan for a free agent visit, according to ESPN's Field Yates.

A veteran of seven NFL seasons, Callahan played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022 before going unsigned as an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

Callahan has extensive history with new Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio after starting his career with four seasons with the Chicago Bears (2015-18) when Fangio was the team's DC and three more seasons with the Denver Broncos (2019-21) after Fangio became head coach there.

For good measure, Callahan's defensive coordinator with the Chargers last season was new Dolphins secondary coach Renaldo Hill, so clearly there is a lot of familiarity for Callahan and the defensive scheme.

Callahan is a very solid slot cornerback who has started 56 of the 81 games he has played, including a career-high 11 starts for the Chargers last season. He has nine career interceptions.

His best season came in 2020 with the Bears when he had two picks, but more importantly held opposing quarterbacks to a 47.8 passer rating when they targeted him (per Pro Football Reference).

HOW BRYCE CALLAHAN COULD HELP

The Dolphins have injury concerns at cornerback after All-Pro Jalen Ramsey went down with a knee injury early in camp that's expected to keep him out until December.

Nik Needham, who has plenty of slot experience for the Dolphins, hasn't practiced all summer as he remains on Active/PUP and his availability for the start of the regular season remains very much up in the air.

Kader Kohou, who started 11 games as a rookie free agent last season, could play the slot or the boundary spot opposite Xavien Howard, but the absence of Needham has complicated things.

Rookie second-round pick Cam Smith was off to a great start in camp before he sustained a shoulder injury in the preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Keion Crossen and Justin Bethel are two other cornerbacks who have been sidelined by injuries.

Adding someone like Callahan would not only add quality veteran depth but also give the Dolphins the option of using Kohou as a boundary cornerback.

Based on his 2022 salary, Callahan shouldn't be overly expensive, either. He played for a little less than $1.3 million last season, including a $1.1 million base salary, per overthecap.com.