Dolphins cut Hilton, dozen others. And available options for 6 injured players
The Dolphins began the process of paring their roster by releasing more than a dozen players Monday, including veteran cornerback Mike Hilton and veteran tight end Pharoah Brown.
Hilton joined the Dolphins three days into training camp, with the expectation that he would be their top nickel cornerback. But even though he was listed as a starter on the depth chart, he seldom practiced with the starters and his practice reps were limited. By last week, rookie Jason Marshall Jr. had surpassed Hilton as the first-team nickel cornerback.
Hilton played 739 snaps for the Bengals last season, appearing in 16 games and starting 10. None of his $1.25 million Dolphins salary was guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Brown was released months after being signed to compete for the in-line blocking role handled by Julian Hill (who remains on the team) and Durham Smythe (who signed with Chicago).
But the Dolphins decided to go younger at the position, aside from veteran Darren Waller. Brown, a skilled run blocker, has appeared in 87 NFL games, with 54 starts.
In another notable development, the Dolphins waived running backs Mike Boone and Aaron Shampklin, which leaves rookie Ollie Gordon II as the only healthy running back on the roster, at least for the moment.
Shampklin had six carries for 46 yards and Boone had 10 carries for 40 yards during the preseason. The Dolphins have the option of re-signing either or both players to their practice squad and elevating one or both of them for the regular-season opener.
The Dolphins are expected to add at least one running back via trade or the waiver wire. Among those available: veteran Cam Akers, who was released by New Orleans on Monday.
Miami signed Shampklin and Boone two weeks ago after a season-ending neck injury to Alexander Mattison and during a time that De’Von Achane was battling a calf issue. Achane hasn’t practiced in two weeks, and coach Mike McDaniel said he’s eager to see Achane resume practicing before the Sept. 7 opener against the Colts.
Running back Jaylen Wright is expected to miss multiple weeks because of a lower-body injury sustained in last Thursday’s joint practice with Jacksonville.
Teams must cut their rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The Dolphins had not confirmed any cuts as of 4 p.m. Monday, but here were the other players released, according to league sources:
▪ Cornerbacks Ethan Robinson and Cameron Dantzler.
The Dolphins gave $175,000 guaranteed to a Robinson, an undrafted rookie from Minnesota, and he made an athletic interception to seal Miami’s preseason win at Detroit. But ultimately, it wasn’t enough to earn a roster spot. Dantzler, a former Vikings starter, joined the Dolphins last week after being out of the league for a year.
▪ Offensive linemen Jackson Carman, Addison West, Jalen McKenzie and Mason Brooks. Carman, a center and tackle, played 78 snaps in eight appearances for the Dolphins last season, including a December start in Houston.
West, an undrafted rookie from Western Michigan, has emerged as a candidate for the practice squad. McKenzie, signed midway through training camp, is the son of former Dolphins executive Reggie McKenzie.
Brooks was a United Football League standout signed last week to patch an injury-depleted offensive line.
▪ Defensive lineman Ben Stille. The former Nebraska standout has appeared in 18 NFL games, including one for the Dolphins in 2022.
▪ Wide receiver AJ Henning. The former Michigan and Northwestern receiver had some good moments in camp as a receiver and returner, and receivers coach Robert Prince said he improved the most of anyone in his room from OTAs to training camp.
The Dolphins aren’t sure yet if will have room for him on the practice squad, but he’s remaining in South Florida in case they do.
INJURY UPDATES
Kicker Jason Sanders will be sidelined to begin the season because of an undisclosed injury that forced him to miss Saturday’s preseason finale against Jacksonville.
ESPN reported Sanders has a hip injury and will miss four or five weeks. Mike McDaniel said the injury is not season-ending and will not require surgery. The Dolphins have begun searching for an early season kicker.
▪ Rookie first-round pick Kenneth Grant, who has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury in recent days, will be available for the Sept. 7 opener at the Colts, McDaniel said.
▪ McDaniel stopped short of naming Marshall the team’s top nickel cornerback but said he has done a “phenomenal job.”
▪ Tight end Darren Waller, who came off the physically unable to perform list last week, will do more in practice this week, McDaniel said.
INJURED PLAYER ROSTER OPTIONS
The Dolphins have six injured players who very likely would be on their 53-man roster, if healthy, and are expected to be healthy enough to play at some point this season, based on information stated or implied during coaches’ news conferences.
What the Dolphins do with those half dozen players will be one of many subplots in advance of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline to cut rosters from 90 to 53.
Of those six players, offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg, who has a leg injury, is expected to remain on the physically unable to perform list. Players, such as Eichenberg, who begin training camp on PUP also can begin the regular season on PUP and be eligible to return after four games.
McDaniel has said Eichenberg’s injury is not season-ending but said Monday that he does not have a timetable for his return.
The decisions are more complicated with five other players: kicker Jason Sanders, running back Jaylen Wright, safety Ashtyn Davis, cornerback Ethan Bonner and center Andrew Meyer.
If the Dolphins want to preserve the ability to activate all five of those players this season, there are mechanisms to do it.
League rules permit teams to place two players on injured reserve on Tuesday without counting them on their 53-man roster, while preserving their ability to return as early as Week 5.
League rules also permit teams to place injured players on their 53-man roster, then move them to injured reserve later in the week, with the ability to bring them back as early as Week 5.
Before last season, players were required to be on a team’s initial 53-man roster, and then go on injured reserve, in order to be eligible to return that season. But the NFL amended that rule in 2024, allowing two players to be placed on IR, with a designation to return, without being counted on the initial 53.
Hypothetically, the Dolphins could put Sanders and Wright on injured reserve without counting them toward the initial 53-man roster and be able to activate them as early as Week 5. That seems likely a logical course with Sanders, who will miss four or five weeks with a hip injury, according to ESPN.
It also would be an option for Wright, whose leg injury will keep him sidelined for Week 1 and potentially beyond.
The situation is more complicated with Bonner, Meyer and Davis.
Bonner sustained a hamstring injury in the second preseason game and likely will miss some time, possibly several weeks. Meyer, who had been Miami’s best backup offensive lineman early in training camp, remains out indefinitely; McDaniel said last week that he’s not close to a return.
Also, there’s no timetable for Davis’ return from a training camp leg injury, though he is expected to be able to play at some point this season.
Teams can bring as many as eight players back from IR during the regular season and an additional two during the playoffs. Players placed on IR after the 53-man roster is set do not need to be designated to return until a team chooses to designate them to return.
But the two players who are placed on IR during the cut down to 53 players must be designated to return whether they end up returning or not. So two of the maximum eight-designated-to-return slots will be used on the two players who are placed on IR without being on the initial 53-man roster.
The Dolphins who were placed on injured reserve over the past six weeks - cornerback Kader Kohou, running back Alexander Mattison, cornerback Artie Burns and offensive linemen Germaine Ifedi and Yodny Cajuste - are not eligible to return to play for the Dolphins this season.
If the Dolphins place three or more players on injured reserve on Tuesday, only two of them would be eligible to play this season.
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 4:59 PM.
