Miami Dolphins make a roster decision on former first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche
Robert Nkemdiche’s Dolphins debut is near.
The Dolphins defensive tackle has been activated to the team’s active active roster from the physically unable to perform list. It’s unclear if he will play Monday night against the Steelers, but if not, he’s obviously in the team’s plans going forward.
UPDATE: Nkemdiche will play Monday night. He was not among the Dolphins’ seven inactives. The following Dolphins will not play: safety Reshad Jones, running back Myles Gaskin, center Daniel Kilgore, center/guard Keaton Sutherland, tackle Andrew Donnal, wide receiver Isaiah Ford and defensive end Avery Moss.
Nkemdiche has been deemed medically cleared to play football less than 11 months after tearing his ACL, which needed season-ending knee surgery. The former first-round pick will take the roster spot that opened up when the Dolphins traded Kenyan Drake to Nkemdiche’s old team, the Arizona Cardinals, earlier Monday.
Nkemdiche tore up his knee last December and his conditioning wasn’t great over the summer, prompting the Cardinals to cut the former first-round pick after three largely disappointing seasons in Arizona. He signed with the Dolphins a short time later, and has spent the last few months healing up and getting in shape.
Dolphins coach Brian Flores was asked Friday about both Nkemdiche and Dolphins cornerback Cordrea Tankersley, who has also spent the season’s first seven weeks on the PUP list.
“They’re getting more familiar with their teammates, with their communication, with their fundamentals,” Flores said. “I think that’s the one thing for a guy – or two guys in this case – coming back off of a long, long layoff. It’s getting back into the footwork, hand placement, the bare bones technique from a football standpoint. They both need a lot of work there.”
When asked if they are in playing shape, Flores responded: “Well, there’s a few tiers to that. They’re in good shape. Are they in true football shape and can play 60 plays? That takes a little bit longer. The intensity — you can never really simulate the intensity of a game in practice. You do everything you can possible but to go out there and play specifically this week on a Monday night when emotions will be high and the atmosphere, there are a lot of other things that go into from a conditioning standpoint. Nerves, anxiety — all of those things play a part. Are they in football shape? Yeah, I think they’re in good football shape. Are they in actual playing condition? You’ve got to play to get into that condition.”
Whether he plays Monday or not, Nkemdiche will have the rest of the season to try to impress both the Dolphins and a league that has largely soured on him.
An undeniable talent when he played at Mississippi, Nkemdiche’s motivation and judgment have both been lacking since he’s entered the league. He appeared in just 27 games with the Cardinals, and wore out his welcome there for good after being arrested for speeding and driving with a suspended license in early June and then showing up to camp weeks later “not in shape,” according to coach Kliff Kingsbury.
He cleared waivers — meaning none of the 31 other NFL teams wanted him on his existing contract — and signed a league-minimum deal with the Dolphins a couple weeks later.
This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 3:54 PM.
