Young, and getting younger: Dolphins’ roster moves send clear message of team’s plans
The Dolphins’ youth movement continues.
A year after having the youngest roster in the league, the Dolphins look like they will be in the running for the same honor in 2020.
They cut two more veterans Sunday — defensive lineman Avery Moss and linebacker Trent Harris — and more could be gone soon as they seem determined to whittle their roster down to 81 by Tuesday.
They are currently at 83 players — a number that includes Durval Queiroz Neto, who gets an exemption as a part of the league’s international player program.
The amended CBA stipulates that all teams must get down to 80 players (or 81 in the Dolphins’ case) by Tuesday if they don’t want quarterbacks and rookies to be isolated from rest of team during strength and conditioning work that begins in a week.
And four of the five players the Dolphins have cut — Moss, Harris, wide receiver Ricardo Louis and quarterback Jake Rudock — have been veterans. The only rookie released so far has been defensive lineman Ray Lima, who had notified the Dolphins of his intention to quit the game.
Those moves, along with Saturday’s trade for Bears tight end Adam Shaheen, have made an already young Dolphins roster even younger. Nearly half of the players on their roster are in their first or second seasons.
Moss and Harris played significant roles for the Dolphins in 2019, combining for over 600 defensive snaps.
Harris’ departure isn’t a surprise given how many linebackers the Dolphins added in the draft and free agency. But cutting Moss leaves Miami with just five true defensive ends: Shaq Lawson, Emmanuel Ogbah, Curtis Weaver, Jason Strowbridge and Tyshun Render. Weaver, Strowbridge and Render are all rookies.
Before Sunday’s cuts, the Dolphins were tied with the Browns as the league’s fifth-youngest team (24.98 years), according to Spotrac.
