Breaking Down the Addition of Former High First-Round Pick Clelin Ferrell

The Miami Dolphins likely are going to be tweaking the back end of their roster throughout the 2026 season, and we saw the latest example Monday.

The team announced it had signed edge defender Clelin Ferrell on the day before veterans are scheduled to report for training camp, waiving rookie free agent defensive tackle Khalil Saunders to make room on the roster.

Ferrell is a seven-year veteran who first entered the league as the fourth overall selection in the 2019 NFL draft and does have 57 starts among his 98 career games, though he never has lived up to his draft status.

Ferrell split time between the Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers in 2025, appearing in nine games without a start.

The 49ers brought in Ferrell last season when they were desperate after losing Nick Bosa for the season with a torn ACL. Ferrell also played for the 49ers in 2023, so he was familiar with their system and their coaches and was able to contribute right away.

In eight regular season games, he recorded four sacks. No one else on the 49ers had more sacks than Ferrell last season. Bryce Huff had four sacks as well, and he appeared in 15 games.

Ferrell's work in 2025 wasn't viewed kindly by Pro Football Focus, which gave him a season grade of 53.1, ranking him 107th out of 119 edge defenders around the NFL. Interestingly, his pass-rushing grade was worse than those for run defense or coverage.

Ferrell did rank 10th among edge defenders in 2020, his second year in the league.

For his career, Ferrell has recorded 21 sacks, including a career-high 4.5 in his rookie season with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Ferrell also has played for the Washington Commanders, for whom he made 10 starts in 2024.

Ferrell was the first of three Clemson defensive linemen taken in the first round of that 2019 draft, preceding former Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and New York Giants pick and Cincinnati Bengals offseason acquisition Dexter Lawrence.

FERRELL'S OUTLOOK WITH MIAMI

While he does have his draft status to his name, Ferrell is like many of the Dolphins newcomers this year, a player looking to establish or re-establish himself as a legitimate NFL contributor.

Ferrell turned 29 on May 17, making him an ideal candidate for the Dolphins to take a shot at what almost assuredly was a very low cost, likely a minimum veteran salary or thereabouts.

Given when he signed and the fact he'll be playing for his fourth different team in three years, Ferrell likely has to be viewed as a long shot to make the Dolphins' 53-man roster.

But working in his favor is the fact the Dolphins don't have a lot of proven players at that position after the November trade of Jaelan Phillips and the release of Bradley Chubb in February.

Chop Robinson logically is a slam dunk to make the 53, and free agent pick-ups Josh Uche and David Ojabo also figure to be on the roster, but it's pretty wide open beyond those three for probably two additional spots.

The other edge defenders on the roster are veteran Cameron Goode, free agent newcomer Robert Beal Jr., rookie seventh-round pick Max Llewelyn, Seth Coleman rookie free agents Rodney McGraw and Mason Reiger, and rookie fourth-round pick Trey Moore, who is listed as an edge/linebacker on the roster.

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