With the Dolphins cutting David Long Jr. and adding Tyrel Dodson, what did they gain?
Tyrel Dodson doesn’t know why the Seattle Seahawks released him.
He led the team in tackles. He had played a team-high 604 defensive snaps. And he is a rare linebacker who can play inside and outside.
“We’re still trying to figure that out,” Dodson said Thursday in the locker room, his first day at Miami Dolphins practice. He later added that “Seattle is losing one cause I’m a baller at the end of the day. So put me on special teams, put me on defense — I’m [gonna] ball.”
The Miami Dolphins claimed Dodson off waivers on Tuesday. A day later, they waived David Long Jr., an inside linebacker who had lost his starting spot to Anthony Walker Jr. after a rather disastrous Week 8 performance against the Arizona Cardinals. And while the Dolphins are excited to have Dodson, Long’s release came as a surprise.
“Very sad,” linebacker Jordyn Brooks said, describing his feelings about Long’s release. “More so caring about the person rather than the player. Any time anybody gets released from their job, it’s not a good thing. For that to happen in our room, it shocked me.”
Long was a captain and started the Dolphins’ first six games of the season. Despite the very clear respect Long had from his teammates, he particularly struggled against the pass. Long had a coverage grade of 39.2, according to Pro Football Focus, and got particularly gashed against the Cardinals, allowing receivers to catch all eight of their targets for 93 yards.
Still, it’s unclear why Long was released.
“That was just a team decision,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Thursday. “Love and respect for Dave. He’s a starting-caliber NFL backer and at this particular time we chose to go with [Walker]. It was probably the best move for just all parties involved. It gives him a chance to continue with his NFL career and go flourish elsewhere, but we’re incredibly grateful for his time here.”
Dodson, conversely, has a coverage grade of 73.3. He also came from a team that has a similar defensive scheme in the Seahawks, whose head coach Mike MacDonald worked with Weaver during their most recent stop with the Baltimore Ravens.
“He has scheme familiarity coming from Seattle with the defense that Mike [MacDonald],” Weaver said Thursday. “He’s a playmaker. You’ve seen it on tape. He flies around, he hunts the football and he can contribute on special teams, too.”
Dodson spent the first four seasons of his career with the Buffalo Bills, where he started 15 of a potential 59 games. The Seahawks signed him in the 2024 offseason and through nine games, the former Texas A&M linebacker accumulated 71 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. He also had five tackles for loss and two pass deflections. With Brooks and Walker the starters at inside linebacker, Dodson will likely initially contribute on special teams.
“Obviously Dodson, when he was in Buffalo early in his career, was a four-phase player and a good special teams player, like you hope for most guys who was able to develop into a starting player and has done a good job as a starting linebacker,” special teams coordinator Danny Crossman said Thursday. “Really excited, fast, physical. So I like to see where he’s going to be.”
Although going from a defensive starter to a special teams player is certainly a demotion, it doesn’t necessarily bother the five-year pro. Dodson might still hold a little resentment for how his tenure in Seattle ended — “I’m very [upset] and I’m going to probably stay [upset] until my career ends years down the road,” he said — but his main focus is acclimating to his new team.
“People would kill to be in my position,” Dodson said. “No matter if I’m a starting linebacker or backing up Anthony Walker Jr., it doesn’t really matter. I’m blessed to be here.”
The biggest help in the acclimation process? Dodson’s former Buffalo Bills teammate Jordan Poyer.
“I’m sleeping over his house tonight,” he quipped, adding that he has still only been in Miami for less than 36 hours. His girlfriend, he said, is still packing up his house in Seattle. “That’s my guy. He’s one of the reasons why I’m here. Not only in Miami but going on my sixth year in the NFL.”
