Dolphins claim young cornerback prospect off waivers. And Dolphins family suffers a loss
The Dolphins added another prospect to their collection of young cornerbacks on Monday when they claimed Ryan Cooper Jr. off waivers from Seattle.
Undrafted last April out of Oregon State, Cooper spent much his rookie season on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad and appeared in one game (Oct. 27 against Cleveland) but was released Nov. 19. He joined the Seahawks’ practice squad Nov. 26 and signed a reserves/futures contract with Seattle at the end of last season but was released on Feb. 19.
Cooper, 5-11, began his college career playing two seasons at the College of San Mateo in California. He then played two seasons at Oregon State, where he had 82 tackles, 1.5 sacks, four interceptions and 22 passes defended.
Here’s how NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein evaluated him before last year’s draft:
“The evaluation of Cooper will come down to what a team is willing to live with. He has decent size with good athletic ability to play both inside and outside. He’s a quick responder to route breaks and can be smothering in man coverage underneath. He feels smaller than his listed height and weight and can be exploited by big targets on contested catches. Cooper’s speed at his pro day was very disappointing, and his tape is littered with missed and broken tackles that led to way too many additional yards. The tape has positive flashes, but he might have to make a roster as an undrafted free agent.”
Cooper joins former second-round pick Cam Smith, Ethan Bonner, Storm Duck, Isaiah Johnson and Jason Maitre as Dolphins cornerbacks with less than three years of NFL experience.
Jalen Ramsey and potential restricted free agent Kader Kohou are the two veteran cornerbacks under contract to the Dolphins. Kendall Fuller was recently released and Siran Neal is a free agent.
Former player dies
Running back Eddie Hill, who played for the Dolphins from 1981 through 1984, has died at 67, the team announced. No cause of death was specified.
Hill said in 2017 that he had dealt with brain cancer but was in remission. He also said at the time that he had symptoms of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a brain disease believed to be caused by repeated head trauma but a condition that cannot be diagnosed until after death.
Acquired from the Rams for a fourth-round pick in 1981, Hill appeared in 52 games and started three over four seasons in Miami and had 52 carries for 209 yards (4.0 per carry) and a touchdown as a Dolphin.
He also caught 18 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown during his time with Miami.
A former second round pick out of Memphis, Hill played only for the Rams and Dolphins in a six-year career and did not appear in an NFL game after his final season with Miami.
Hill played in two Super Bowls and had a special teams tackle in each of those games (against Washington and San Francisco).
One of Hill’s four children, Quadtrine, was a running back for the Miami Hurricanes.
This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 5:52 PM.
