Dolphins waive 2023 second-round pick Cam Smith off reserve/non-football illness list
With the shake -p in the Miami Dolphins’ cornerback room, 2025 was supposed to be Cam Smith’s year.
A seven-time Pro Bowler in Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Dolphins chose not to re-sign veteran cornerback KendalL Fuller. And Smith, a 2023 second-round pick, had a pedigree.
Instead, Smith will have to find himself a new home after the Dolphins waived the 24-year-old off the reserve/ non-football illness list late Tuesday afternoon.
The move was a long time coming after Smith never truly cracked the lineup during his roughly two-season stint in Miami — even with the door wide open for him at the start of the 2025 season.
“I’ve said to the group a couple times, ‘I have a depth chart to fill out, can you help me out with it?’” coach Mike McDaniel explained in late May. “But realistically, we’re far from establishing what that is at any position. Yes, there’s guys that are not going to get beaten out, but the biggest thing is I want people to show me who they are.”
Smith saw some action during the preseason, but then was subsequently placed on the reserve/non-football illness list for some unknown reason after the roster cutdown day.
“With NFI, we don’t really talk about what’s going on,” general manager Chris Grier said in late August. “We’ve had other players here that have done that. Cam had some of his best ball the past two weeks. He’s been really good so we’ll see what happens. We’ll work through it, and then we’ll see what happens down the road.”
This was a long cry from how the 2024 season ended. At the time, the team had likely wanted a return on their second-round investment who had not started a game in his rookie or sophomore seasons. In fact, an undrafted rookie in Storm Duck had started before Smith before his injury-plagued second-year, leading Grier to issue an edict.
“Cam Smith needs to come through at the end of the day,” Grier said in late April. “He’s got to stay healthy and be on the field. He has shown some flashes, but this is a very big year. He knows what’s expected because we can’t hold his hand and wait for him anymore.”
To his credit, Smith appeared more mentally ready for the first time in his career.
“Yes sir,” Smith responded when asked if he’s ready to be a 17-game starter, explaining that “going through the ups and downs of what comes with the season and just having my foot in the door last year gave me the leeway to see all of that.”
He even seemingly managed to push out all the negativity that had clearly begun to weigh on him early in his career.
“I felt it all,” Smith said. “I used to call my mom and stuff about it every day. Used to think — because I wasn’t playing and stuff — that I kinda was a failure.”
Now, the former University of South Carolina standout will hit the waivers in search of his next landing spot. During his brief tenure with the Dolphins, Smith racked up 21 appearances and 18 total tackles, 14 of which were solo.
This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 5:03 PM.
