‘A tough day.’ Dolphins cut several players en route to finalizing 53-man roster
And then there were 53.
The Miami Dolphins cut a number of players Tuesday to trim the roster to 53 ahead of the 4 p.m. deadline. Some of the players waived included receiver Theo Wease Jr., defensive tackle Matt Dickerson as well as a quartet of edge rushers in Quinton Bell, Derrick McLendon, Mo Kamara and Grayson Murphy.
“Emotionally, personally, it’s a tough day in the building,” fullback Alec Ingold said Tuesday.
Others released Tuesday included defensive lineman Alex Huntley, tight end Hayden Rucci, linebackers Eugene Asante and Channing Tindall, safeties John Saunders Jr. and Patrick McMorris, a pair of receivers in Andrew Armstrong and Erik Ezukanma, three cornerbacks in Cornell Armstrong, Kendall Sheffield and BJ Adams as well as offensive linemen Ryan Hayes, Braeden Daniels, Bayron Matos and Josh Priebe.
Dickerson’s release was arguably the most surprising, considering that the Dolphins opted to keep Matthew Butler. At times during training camp, Dickerson looked like the second coming of Zach Sieler as he tore through the offensive line to make a play in the backfield.
The release of Wease was also a bit of a shock due to the chemistry he had established with third-string quarterback Quinn Ewers. That connection came alive against the Detroit Lions when Wease caught six passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns.
When it came to the edge rushers, the Dolphins had quite the difficult decision considering each has shown promise. Bell, for one, was one of the standouts of the 2024 training camp, earning himself a spot on the 53-man roster en route to 17 appearances and even three starts. He racked up a 27 total tackles as well as a sack in 2024.
Similar to Bell in 2024, McLendon was one of the biggest stars of the 2025 training camp. He consistently wrecked backfields in practice and finished preseason with five total tackles as well as two sacks.
“I felt amazing,” McLendon said Saturday after he recorded a sack in the Dolphins’ 14-6 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. “Just this game being the last game and all of us embracing that 90-man roster. So just to understand that and laying it all on the line and letting the cards fall where they’re falling. I had so much fun today.”
Murphy also had an impressive training camp as a pass rusher. In fact, Murphy posted an identical stat line to McLendon during the preseason with five total tackles and two sacks.
Evaluate Kamara solely by his training camp and his release makes sense. Still, the edge rusher was a fifth-round draft pick in 2024 who made the roster last year. What likely hurt Kamara’s opportunities, however, was the concussion that prevented him from going on the 11-day road trip and limited him to just one preseason appearance vs. the Jaguars.
While Tuesday will likely be a solemn day for many of those cut not just on the Dolphins but across the league, it doesn’t have to be the end. Just look at Sieler, for example. The Baltimore Ravens cut the future star defensive tackle twice before the Dolphins snagged him off of waivers in 2020.
Now, Sieler will make more money than ever after he signed a three-year, $64 million extension with $44 million guaranteed. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anybody.
“It’s the same thing I tell guys every year: they’re going to come for me again, too,” Sieler said Thursday. “It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. I’m in a great spot now, but if I take a day off, there’s somebody coming for your job every day. It’s an incredible experience to be here with the Dolphins for another day. It’s a privilege.”
“I tell these young kids, ‘look if they did get you or if it’s a bad day for you all, you got to look at it on the bright side,’” Sieler continued. “If you have a negative mind-set, and you try to just boohoo or whatever, you’re not going to get anywhere. That’s the way you have to look at it: I got some great advice, some great tips — this where I need to improve, this is where I need to get better – and then you have to focus on that and get better.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2025 at 4:41 PM.
