Dolphins lose another cornerback, add two defensive backs. And injury news
Already depleted in their secondary, the Dolphins placed cornerback Cornell Armstrong on injured reserve on Wednesday and promoted safety Jordan Colbert to their 53-man roster.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins signed veteran cornerback Kendall Sheffield to their practice squad. He spent the offseason program and most of preseason with the team.
The upshot of all these moves: Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will continue to be needed to play nickel corner. He said he’s fine playing both safety and nickel corner.
The Dolphins opted not to sign any of the cornerbacks they auditioned on Tuesday: undrafted rookie Ethan Robinson (who was released by the Dolphins in late August), 2024 Bills sixth-round pick Daequan Hardy and Myles Purchase, who went undrafted out of Iowa State this past April and spent five months with the Chargers before being released from their practice squad Sept. 30.
Miami now has two cornerbacks on its practice squad: Sheffield and Isaiah Johnson, who are both better suited to play boundary cornerback than in the slot.
Armstrong, who sustained a hamstring injury in Sunday’s loss to Carolina, is the team’s third nickel cornerback on IR, joining Jason Marshall Jr., who also is recovering from a hamstring injury, and Artie Burns, who was injured the first day of training camp.
Armstrong and Marshall are eligible to return after missing four games; Burns, who sustained a major knee injury, is not eligible to return this season.
After Armstrong’s injury against Carolina, the Dolphins used safeties as slot cornerbacks, including Fitzpatrick. Safeties Ifeatu Melifonwu and Elijah Campbell also can play in the slot.
Another cornerback, Storm Duck, remains on the 53-man roster but is still working his way back from an ankle injury sustained in the opener. Mike McDaniel suggested he isn’t yet ready to return.
All four healthy corners on the Dolphins’ 53 man roster -- Jack Jones, Rasul Douglas, Ethan Bonner and Juju Brents -- are better equipped to play on the boundary than in the slot.
Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders, who was eligible to return from injured reserve last week, also isn’t ready to return from his hip injury. Riley Patterson will remain the team’s kicker for now.
Receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr., who was poached from the Saints’ practice squad last week, will practice this week after missing last week with a knee ailment. Wilson was signed to take Tyreek Hill’s roster spot after Hill sustained a season-ending knee injury against the Jets.
Meanwhile, linebacker Tyrel Dodson remains in concussion protocol. K.J. Britt replaced Dodson during the Carolina game, but McDaniel said Willie Gay Jr. will receive consideration for Dodson’s role as well.
McDaniel addressed other issues heading into Sunday’s home game against the Chargers (1 p.m., CBS 4):
▪ On the team’s struggling rookies: “We adjust each week. We’ve had some appropriate adjustments….We adjust reps. We do what’s best available to the team right then….When you are correcting something you hope it gets corrected.”
▪ McDaniel said the run defense isn’t the fault of one person. Seventh round pick Zeek Biggers, the one defensive tackle who hasn’t played, is improving, McDaniel said.
▪ McDaniel praised Justin Herbert’s ability “to extend plays and while doing that make the defense cover the entire field.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 11:35 AM.
