What’s behind Jordan Colbert move from safety
The Miami Dolphins have occasionally experimented with players making a positional switch, but rarely does a move happen in the middle of the season.
But that’s exactly what happened to Jordan Colbert, a second-year player who spent most of last season on Miami’s practice squad as a safety.
Colbert, who is 6-oot-2, 220 pounds, has been moved to inside linebacker, fortifying that unit’s depth, which was tested last week when Tyrel Dodson was sidelined by the concussion he suffered in Miami’s 27-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Colbert, who had been on Miami’s practice squad since training camp ended, was called up to the 53-man roster earlier this month with the goal he’d help on special teams. But according to linebacker coach Joe Barry the staff felt Colbert’s best change of becoming an NFL contributor was to move him up one unit, working with the inside linebackers instead of the safeties.
“It’s something that the coaches see is in my skill set. I’m ready for whatever the team needs from me,” said Colbert, who played his final two seasons at Rhode Island, where he started 11 of the 21 games he played, and recorded 96 tackles (66 solo), half a sack, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.
“The biggest difference is things happen a little faster, and you have to be able to react a little faster,” Colbert said. “Just getting the movements down is something I’ve been working through this week.”
The last two players who made a position switch in Miami were safety Elijah Campbell, who initially worked as a cornerback, and safety Nik Needham, who moved from cornerback to safety last year.
