Stacking up the battles for Dolphins jobs on offense. Where things stand
The Dolphins’ roster has so many unproven young professionals that there might not be much difference in quality between the 30th player and the 53rd and final one to make the roster.
And that makes battles for roster spots a bit different than previous years.
Team often invest in young players over older, more expensive ones. And franchises in the early stages of a retool — like the Dolphins — have even more incentive to do that, as long as the young players show both a pulse and promise in training camp and preseason.
A look at the five most interesting roster battles on offense:
1). Wide receiver No. 6: If Chris Bell — recovering from a November ACL tear — begins the season on the physically unable to perform list, then Jalen Reagor, Theo Wease Jr., Terrace Marshall Jr., Tahj Washington, AJ Henning and Donoven McCulley essentially will be competing for one job.
That presumes that Malik Washington, Caleb Douglas and Kevin Coleman Jr. will be on the team (little doubt about that) and Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell also make it (likely). Tolbert, who stands to be the Dolphins’ best receiver at the moment, and Atwell have guaranteed contracts at the league minimum $1.25 million.
The Dolphins also could sign another receiver, the deepest remaining position in free agency, or claim one when teams trim rosters to 53.
None of the aforementioned six competing for the No. 6 job is due any guaranteed money. I would put Reagor, Wease and Marshall ahead of the others based on their talent/ceilings.
What’s clear is Miami doesn’t have a healthy No. 1 receiver, let alone a No. 2.
2). Do the Dolphins keep Ben Sims as a fourth tight end?
Barring injuries, Greg Dulcich and rookie draft picks Will Kacmarek and Keydou Traore are automatic for the 53. Because Traore is in the NFL’s international pathway program, the Dolphins get an extra roster spot for him during the offseason and training camp; he’s a 91st player on a 90-man roster, essentially.
But there’s no extra roster spot to stash him on the 53-man roster. So he will take up a spot if he begins the season on the 53.
Because Sims is a skilled in-line blocker, his fate could come down to whether Kacmarek shows enough this summer to assume that Julian Hill/Durham Smythe role — including 30 plus snaps a game — from the start of the season.
But even if Kacmarek shines in camp, there’s still an opportunity to keep Sims because he essentially would be filling the roster spot of fullback Alec Ingold, who wasn’t replaced by any established veteran fullback.
3). Do Cam Miller or Mark Gronowski stick as a No. 3 quarterback on the 53?
I would be mildly surprised if that happens, but either could make a case with strong preseasons. Miller appears further along, from all indications.
4). Do the Dolphins have — or will they add — a running back who can realistically unseat Jaylen Wright or Ollie Gordon II for backup jobs?
Among the four other backs under contract, Donovan Edwards (a former Michigan standout and Commanders practice squad player who hasn’t yet had an NFL carry) probably could make the strongest case to push Wright or Gordon. (Anthony Hankerson, DJ Herman and Carlos Washington Jr. also are competing.)
There’s potentially a better chance of the Dolphins finding someone similar to Wright or Gordon after teams cut to 53. At this point, I would be mildly surprised if Wright and Gordon are not on the team.
5). Barring injuries, who are the eighth and ninth and possibly 10th offensive linemen?
There are three automatics — Patrick Paul, Kadyn Proctor and Aaron Brewer — and two others that are very likely to stick (Austin Jackson, sixth-round rookie DJ Campbell).
It’s difficult to see the Dolphins giving up on Jonah Savaiinaea this soon even if he doesn’t win the right guard job that he will be given every opportunity to claim. So that’s six.
A seventh would be the backup center — Andrew Meyer or Iowa State rookie Jim Bonifas or a player claimed off waivers.
An eighth and possibly ninth will be the backup tackles (likely Jamaree Salyer and Charlie Heck). Salyer’s extensive experience at guard also gives him a strong chance to stick.
Four other linemen on the roster, all tackles, face long odds: Kevin Cline, Marques Cox, Josh Priebe and former UFL tackle Gottlief Ayedze. Miami continues to experiment with James Ester at guard after he played defensive line during two years on the Packers practice squad. A waiver claim or cheap veteran signing later this summer might be more likely to grab a roster spot than any of those six, but all will get a look.
Coming next: Five intriguing roster battles on defense.
This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 2:55 PM.
