Miami Dolphins release familiar name, bring in familiar names. And Flores talks Rosen, Tua
NFL teams must cut their rosters to 53 by 4 p.m. on Saturday, and for the first time in modern history, the Dolphins head coach spoke with reporters hours before the deadline.
Beyond the ESPN-reported and subsequently confirmed waiving of quarterback Josh Rosen (more on him in a minute), The Miami Herald on Friday learned of 16 other Dolphins cuts, which we reported here.
And on Saturday morning, we can add three more to the Dolphins’ cut list, per league sources: receivers Gary Jennings and Andy Jones and former UM defensive end/linebacker Trent Harris, who had 1.5 sacks over the final two Dolphins games last season. Linebacker Kylan Johnson was not at practice and there’s reason to believe he was cut.
Jennings, selected in the fourth round by Seattle last year, was claimed by Miami off waivers in November but was injured in his first game and didn’t stand out in training camp.
Harris played in 11 games and started three for Miami last season and finished the year with 22 tackles. There’s a good chance he will be signed to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
The Dolphins signed Jones two weeks ago, his second stint with the team. He played in the NFL with the Detroit Lions but never appeared in a regular season game for Miami.
Johnson is an undrafted rookie from Pittsburgh who started his career at UF.
With those 20 cuts (none of which have been announced by the team), The Miami Herald has the Dolphins at 55 players at the moment.
The Dolphins, as of 11:45 a.m., had not announced any of those cuts and were preparing for a mid-morning practice.
Here’s what Flores was saying Saturday morning, highlighted by the release of Rosen:
▪ Asked why the Dolphins parted ways with Rosen, Flores said: “Josh worked hard, he competed. He did everything we asked. At the end of the day, we felt moving on was the best thing for the Miami Dolphins. He’s a hard-working kid and competed. He fought through [things].
“Last year was a difficult year [not starting and then starting and then not starting]. He competed this training camp. I don’t have any bad things to say about him. It didn’t work out and we felt it was best to move on. I wish him all the best. He’s immensely talented.”
▪ Does he regret giving a second- and fifth-round pick for Rosen, who spent just one season for Miami, with three starts?
“You don’t hit on every trade, every draft,” Flores said. “Show me a team that’s hit on every one, and I’ll applaud that team. I’m not saying there’s any regrets. In the moment, we felt that was the best move for the Dolphins. We moved on from Josh and we’ll leave it at that.”
▪ On his confidence in Tagovailoa: “Tua had a good camp. If we had to go on, he would prepare himself and do the best he could. Obviously, he’s showing improvement. Right now, he’s shown a lot of improvement. If he had to go in and play, that’s how it would be.
“From a health standpoint, we feel good about where Tua is. At the same time, we’re not saying Tua is No. 2 or No. 1. We’re still looking at every possible scenario. We have a bunch of guys who are going to be released this evening. We feel good about where Tua is. Same about Fitz [Ryan Fitzpatrick]. We’re going to move forward with those two guys and could potentially add another quarterback.”
▪ He said a quarterback could be added but declined to say whether it would be Jake Rudock, who visited team headquarters on Friday. He said options would be considered when other players are released around the league.
▪ Will the Dolphins be aggressive on the waiver wire after all the cuts around the league are made?
“We’ve got to see what’s out there,” Flores said. “If there are players we feel improve our roster, we will have conversations about it. Tonight is going to be a long night from that standpoint across the league.”
PRACTICE NEWS
DeVante Parker, who has not practiced in nine days, worked on a bicycle. Mike Gesicki was not at practice for undisclsoed reasons... .. Jerome Baker was working on the side but in uniform... Among bubble players at practice: fullback Chandler Cox, offensive tackle Adam Pankey, guard Durval Queiroz-Neto and cornerback Tae Hayes.
PLAYER TRYOUTS
▪ The Dolphins brought in several familiar names for workouts this weekend, including Rudock, former South Plantation High and Arkansas running back Alex Collins and ex-UF receiver Antonio Callaway.
Collins took two COVID-19 tests the past two days and will work out for Miami on Saturday. The former Arkansas standout has averaged 4.2 yards on 357 NFL career carries, for Seattle and Baltimore.
Last October, Collins pleaded guilty to possession of more than 10 grams of marijuana and possession of a handgun in a vehicle, and received a sentence of 18 months of unsupervised probation. He was suspended three weeks by the NFL on Nov. 1 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy and was reinstated from suspension on Nov. 19 and is now free to sign with any team.
Callaway was a standout at Miami Booker T. Washington. He started 13 games and appeared in 20 for the Browns over the 2018 and 2019 seasons and had 51 catches for 675 yards and five touchdowns.
But he was suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy after he was issued a citation in Strongsville, Ohio, for possession of marijuana, and driving with a suspended license.
The NFL suspended him for another 10 games even though he was released by Cleveland in November. He lost the appeal and was suspended for the final seven weeks of the 2019 season, and the first three weeks of the 2020 regular season.
Callaway joined the XFL team in Tampa this spring but was placed on injured reserve in late January with a lower-leg injury.
Rudock, meanwhile, could end up on the Dolphins practice squad. Miami needs a third quarterback with the impending departure of Rosen.
Others who auditioned for Miami over the past two days:
Auburn defensive end Nick Coe (visited Dolphins two weeks ago), Auburn defensive back Javaris Davis (was on Miami’s roster earlier in camp), Mississippi State cornerback Brian Cole, Toledo and former Lions/Dolphins tight end Michael Roberts (was waived by Miami with a non-football injury before camp) and Rutgers receivers Janarion Grant.
This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 9:10 AM.
