The Five Biggest Takeaways from the Dolphins Roster Moves

The Dolphins got down to the NFL-mandated limited of 53 players Tuesday ... here's what stood out from how they got there

Miami Dolphins LB Channing Tindall (41) recovers this Dee Eskridge fumble on a punt return during the preseason game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins joined the rest of the NFL in getting down to the league-mandated 53-player roster limit Tuesday, and did so without much in terms of headline-making moves.

To get down from the 91 players on their roster (tackle Bayron Matos had an exemption as a native of the Dominican Republic and a member of the International Pathway Program), the team released 10 players, waived another 25 (one injured and one with an injury settlement), placed two players on IR with a designation to return and moved another to the Reserve/PUP list.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from the series of moves the Dolphins made this week to reach the 53-player limit:

1. BAD DAY FOR THE 2022 DRAFT

The Dolphins' 2022 draft always was going to be limited in what it could provide because of the sacrifices the team made in acquiring Tyreek Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs, but it's been disappointed from the start and the disappointment reached another level this year.

This was the year where Channing Tindall, the team's top pick that year after being selected in the third round out of Georgia, failed to hang on to his roster spot. In doing so, he joined Erik Ezukanma, the second pick that year, who failed to make the initial 53 for a second consecutive year.

At it stood out at 5 p.m. ET, linebacker Cameron Goode remained the only one of the team's four picks from that 2022 draft still on the Dolphins roster.

This is not ideal.

2. SHOULDN'T HAVE COUNTED OUT CAM

After all the stories and negative attention throw in Cam Smith's direction, the team's top pick in the 2023 draft wound up making the initial roster.

This seemed like a long shot when GM Chris Grier called him out in the offseason and an even longer shot when head coach Mike McDaniel expressed his frustration when Smith had to miss some time with an injury in training camp.

Miami Dolphins cornerback Cam Smith (24) looks on during training camp at Baptist Health Training Complex. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

But Smith looked solid after he returned from the injury and maybe injuries to Ethan Bonner and Kendall Sheffield wound up making the difference for him. Ironically, Smith wasn't spotted at practice Tuesday, which led to the idea that maybe he wasn't making the 53-man roster, but now we're left to thinking that he might be dealing with an injury again.

Veteran Rasul Douglas will officially be added to the active roster this week, at which time a move will have to be made, but this is where we're thinking it's more likely to be Bonner getting placed on IR with a return designation.

The goal now is for Smith to get the job done when called upon.

3. NO BAILING ON BUTLER

The Dolphins keeping six interior defensive linemen certainly is interesting because Anthony Weaver will have three of them on the field at the same time, often only two and four only in short-yardage or goal-line situations.

And it might be just as interesting that the sixth D-linemen kept — along with Zach Sieler, Benito Jones and the three rookie draft picks — wasn't Matt Dickerson, but Matthew Butler.

Dickerson had himself a pretty noticeable showing in training camp, but Butler also made his share of plays and he clearly caught the attention of his coaches.

It was impressive work for a player who pretty much was an afterthought when the Dolphins claimed him off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason.

4. WILD ON WIDE RECEIVERS

All along, the biggest question at wide receiver was whether the Dolphins would keep five or six, and in the end they decided they wanted to hang on to the two who were battling for the final spot, Dee Eskridge and Tahj Washington.

Miami Dolphins WR Dee Eskridge | Alain Poupart - Miami Dolphins On SI

This is quite the contrast from this time last year when the Dolphins kept only four wide receivers, which frankly is a very low number.

The typical number is five, which is why it shouldn't shock anyone if the Dolphins have some point have to make a move there if they become short-handed at another spot.

For now, though, the Dolphins had no desire to part with either Eskridge or Tahj Washington.

5. SOME INJURY ANSWERS

Because of the moves they made Tuesday with Liam Eichenberg and Andrew Meyer, we now know the Dolphins will be without those two interior offensive linemen for at least the first four weeks of the regular season, with Eichenberg going to Reserve/PUP and Meyer joining Jason Sanders as the players starters on IR with a designation to return.

This will put the onus on veteran Daniel Brunskill and guard/tackle Kion Smith to provide the backup help in the middle of the offensive line while Larry Borom does the same at right tackle and maybe left tackle as well.

It also should be noted that Eichenberg being eligible to return in 2025 doesn't mean we necessarily should count on it because the Dolphins were in the same situation with Bradley Chubb at this time last year and he never was moved to the active roster, even after going through his three-week practice window.