Why a Dolphins Roster Move Likely Is Coming

The Miami Dolphins find themselves short at a couple of positions

Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller | Alain Poupart/Miami Dolphins On SI

The Miami Dolphins were back at practice Thursday, and again there was no sighting of tight end Darren Waller during the portion open to the media.

We're now at the point where expecting Waller to be able to play in the opener against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium is a crazy notion given how he hasn't had one full practice yet and is dealing with what we found out just Wednesday was a hip injury.

And if that assumption is correct, that will leave the Dolphins with a dilemma when it comes to putting together the game-day roster for that Week 1 matchup.

More specifically and more likely, it will leave the Dolphins with having to make a roster move to avoid being left too short at a couple of positions.

NFL rules stipulate that teams are allowed to elevate two players from their practice squad for every game, but the Dolphins are looking at a shortage at three spots.

The Dolphins' current roster includes three halfbacks, but one of them is Jaylen Wright and he's recovering from knee surgery and has a target return date of "Septemberish," per Mike McDaniel.

The roster also includes only three tight ends, which would leave only Julian Hill and Tanner Conner for the Indy game if Waller indeed is not available.

And last, but definitely not least, the Dolphins don't have a kicker on their 53-man roster and obviously will have to elevate Riley Patterson from the practice squad for the game against the Colts.

But the Dolphins also will need a running back, whether it be Jeff Wilson Jr. or JaMycal Hasty, and a tight end, whether it be Hayden Rucci or newcomer Greg Dulcich.

So, through the process of simple math where three is greater than two, the Dolphins can't fill all their immediate needs through practice squad elevations

POSSIBLE MOVES COMING?

What this means is the Dolphins — barring unforeseen circumstances — will have to make a move beyond the practice squad, which means the active roster.

So what could that move entail?

One obvious place to look is to the other injured players beyond Waller, namely Wright and cornerback Ethan Bonner. Wright was spotted at practice Thursday working with a trainer on the side, while Bonner was not seen during the portion open to the media.

Bonner is dealing with a hamstring injury he sustained in the preseason game at Detroit, after which McDaniel said his timeline was "weeks." While he was coming on at the time of his injury, Bonner is not an essential member of the defense and arguably stands as the sixth cornerback on the roster behind Storm Duck, Jack Jones, Rasul Douglas, rookie fifth-round pick Jason Marshall Jr. and waiver wire pick-up JuJu Brents.

The Dolphins could put Bonner on IR, which would sideline him for after four games, and then decide later whether to designate him for return. The Dolphins have used two of their allotted eight return designations on kicker Jason Sanders and offensive lineman Andrew Meyer.

Wright also could go on IR depending on how his recovery is coming along.

Another route the Dolphins could use is by waiving or releasing a player, and the two positions where the team has a surplus is wide receiver and the defensive line.

Using that method, though, could cost the Dolphins a player. As a reminder, players with less than four years of NFL experience have to go through waivers, while veterans are free to sign with any team of their choosing, including the team that just released them.

From this standpoint, the IR route seems like the most logical move and, given the surplus of cornerbacks, doing it with Bonner seems to make the most sense.

One way or another, the Dolphins likely are going to be forced to make a move.