More good COVID-19 news for Dolphins, who make eye-opening cut ahead of padded practice
On Monday, the Miami Dolphins will finally open their doors to the media for the first time since December.
And they’ll do so with basically their whole team eligible to practice.
The only exception: Xavien Howard, who remains both on the physically unable to perform and reserve/COVID-19 lists.
But they should have everyone else, as defensive tackle Brandin Bryant on Sunday became the latest to clear the COVID-19 protocol.
He spent just one day on the newly created IR. That’s a continuation of a theme for the Dolphins, who have briefly lost more than a dozen players over coronavirus concerns, only to see them quickly cleared by Miami’s medical staff.
Bryant’s return combined with Sunday’s release of safety Adrian Colbert and tackle Nick Kaltmayer give the Dolphins 81 players on their active roster heading into Monday’s padded practice, their first of the year. They’ve spent the better part of the past week working in helmets and shorts following two weeks of testing and conditioning.
Cutting Colbert is the most surprising of the Dolphins’ many roster moves of the last month. He played 361 defensive snaps for the Dolphins last year in six games with the team, including five starts. The Dolphins saw enough in him to offer him a one-year, $1.2 million contract in March, with $450,000 fully guaranteed.
That guaranteed money will count against the Dolphins’ 2020 salary cap. Before Colbert’s release, the Dolphins had $17.7 million in cap space this season, according to the NFLPA’s public report.
