Dolphins release four veterans, and one is a former draft pick
The Miami Dolphins have released four veterans, seemingly making roster space for the rookies expected to be signed in the coming days so they can participate in this weekend’s rookie camp.
Long snapper Blake Ferguson, a former seventh-round pick who has played 72 games in five seasons for the Dolphins, was the most notable player released Thursday. Last season Ferguson missed the second half of last year because of an undisclosed medical issue. The Dolphins finished the year with practice squad long snappers, and will seemingly either re-sign Ferguson, or find a replacement.
The Dolphins will likely sign Alabama undrafted rookie Kneeland Hibbett on Friday.
Also released was Neil Farrell, a defensive tackle the Dolphins added at midseason last year, Chase Hines, an offensive lineman who spent two seasons on Miami’s practice squad, and cornerback Ryan Cooper Jr., a 2024 undrafted player who was claimed by the Dolphins in February after the Seattle Seahawks waived him.
Farrell, a former LSU standout who has played in 19 career games with Las Vegas (2022), Kansas City (2023) and Miami (2024), was the most surprising of all the releases because the Dolphins re-signed him this offseason. But the selections of defensive linemen Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers in the 2025 NFL Draft added three young nose tackles to the roster, and they’ll likely work with Zach Sieler and Benito Jones in some kind of defensive tackle rotation assuming they are healthy come September.
The Dolphins also signed Matt Dickerson this offseason and the six-year veterans will compete with the rookies for a roster spot and playing time.
Cooper was part of a crowded Dolphins secondary, which is presently filled with plenty of unproven young players and few playmakers, especially after Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey is traded after June 1, which is expected in this mutual parting of ways.
The Dolphins added former University of Florida standout Jason Marshall Jr. and Maryland safety Dante Trader Jr. in the fifth round of the 2025 Draft, and also plans to sign Central Florida cornerback Brandon “BJ” Adams and Ole Miss safety John Saunders once they pass an NFL-mandated physical before Friday’s start of rookie camp.
The rookies will likely compete with Kader Kohou, Artie Burns, Cam Smith, Storm Duck, Ethan Bonner, Isaiah Johnson and Jason Maitre for the five or six cornerback spots on the 53-man roster, and Ifeatu Melifonwu, Ashtyn Davis, Elijah Campbell, Patrick McMorris and Jordan Colbert for the four of five safety spots on the 53-man roster.
Hines, a 2022 sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots, has spent two years in Miami but hasn’t played in a game, despite Miami’s numerous offensive line injuries.
The Dolphins drafted Arizona guard Jonah Savaiinaea in the second round, and plan to sign Western Michigan offensive guard Addison West and Michigan offensive guard Josh Priebe once they pass their physical.
For one minute, or however long it takes you to read this, let’s forget about the perception that the 2025 Miami Dolphins are a finesse team, or needing to beef up the trenches, becoming tougher, more physical.
There’s plenty of truth to that theory, accusation, and evidence of it can be found in how the team’s decision makers altered their approach to roster building this offseason.
The Dolphins will also host a number of tryout players this weekend in rookie camp, and usually sign one or two once the weekend concludes.
This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 11:51 AM.
