Sizing Up the Specialist Swaps

The Miami Dolphins continued rebuilding their roster with the addition of a pair of special teams contributors Friday, signing punter Seth Vernon and long-snapper Tucker Addington.

While Miami signed a pair of kickers earlier this week, Vernon steps in as the only punter currently under contract. He spent time on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad in 2024 before playing for the Michigan Panthers of the UFL in 2025.

Vernon appeared in nine games for the Panthers, averaging 45.4 yards per punt on 23 attempts, eight of which landed inside the 20-yard line. He went undrafted in 2022 after averaging 44.6 yards per punt over three seasons with the Portland State Vikings.

The addition comes days after former Dolphins punter Jake Bailey signed a three-year, $9 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons. He reunited with Falcons special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman, who held the same role in Miami last season.

Bailey, a 2020 All-Pro while with the New England Patriots, netted 47.7 yards per kick with a long of 64 last season for the Dolphins. He landed 21 kicks inside the 20-yard line with only three touchbacks over 17 games.

Addington has spent time with seven NFL franchises —including a stint with the Dolphins. He signed to Miami’s practice squad on Nov. 5, 2024, and was elevated to the active roster for three games before being released on Nov. 25.

To avoid carrying a long-snapper on the active roster, the Dolphins cycled through a handful of them on the practice squad after Blake Ferguson was placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Illness list in October. Practice squad players can be elevated three times before having to be signed to the 53-man roster to play again.

After his release from Miami, Addington spent time on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad before signing a reserve/futures contract with the Houston Texans on Feb. 17, 2025. He spent training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers last summer but was released in early August.

Addington entered the NFL as a UDFA with the Dallas Cowboys and has appeared in 10 games throughout his career. He made his NFL debut in Week 16, 2022, for the Patriots after Joe Cardona — Miami’s long-snapper last season — was placed on injured reserve because of a foot injury.

Cardona, who started all 17 games for the Dolphins in 2025, signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday.

If Gonzalez ends up beating out Patterson for the placekicker job, the Dolphins could have a whole new set of specialists in 2026, with all three players at or near the veteran minimum.

It would mark the first time in the millennium (since at least 2000) the Dolphins would have a whole new set of specialists.

The arrivals of Addington and Vernon came as the Dolphins lost special teams mainstay Elijah Campbell in free agency as he signed with the New York Giants.

The Dolphins earlier in the week signed special teams core player Zayne Anderson from the Green Bay Packers.