Report: Dolphins Saying Goodbye to Ballage

Running back Kalen Ballage's tenure in Miami apparently has come to an end.

The Dolphins are going to release the third-year player, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Source: The #Dolphins have informed RB Kalen Ballage that they are releasing him. A 2018 fourth round pick, he had 74 rushes and just 135 yards last season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 27, 2020

Ballage was the longest-tenured running back on the roster, but his release isn't exactly shocking considering the poor season he had in 2019.

Before he went down with a torn Achilles tendon in December, Ballage averaged a paltry 1.8 yards per rushing attempt on his 74 carries.

Advanced stats credited him with only one broken tackle in 2019, the lowest total for any NFL running back with at least 55 carries. He also struggled in the passing game, with 14 catches but four drops.

Ballage's release reportedly comes after the Dolphins claimed rookie free agent Salvon Ahmed off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday.

The other running backs on the Dolphins roster are veteran newcomers Jordan Howard and Matt Breida, along with second-year players Patrick Laird and Myles Gaskin, Ahmed's former teammate at the University of Washington.

Ballage was a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL out of Arizona State.

He played mostly special teams as a rookie, but had a 75-yard touchdown run in a December game at Minnesota.

Ballage looked impressive in training camp last summer and started the first two games of the 2019 regular season. After two rough outings against Baltimore and New England, Ballage gave way to Kenyan Drake and then Mark Walton.

Ballage returned to the starting lineup after Miami's backfield emptied. Drake was traded to the Arizona Cardinals and Walton was suspended by the NFL related to offseason arrests before he was again arrested on charges of aggravated battery of a pregnant person, which led to Walton's release. But the results didn't get any better in Ballage's final four starts before he was injured against Philadelphia.

As the Dolphins began the 2020 training camp, it was clear that Ballage's spot on the roster was far from secure. In fact, we identified him as the most vulnerable veteran on the team this summer.

Ballage is the fourth member of the Dolphins' eight-player 2018 draft class no longer with the team. First-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers last September, and both sixth-round pick Cornell Armstrong and seventh-round selection Quentin Poling were waived.