Exploring Dolphins options with new IR rules. And what new players have noticed
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Friday:
▪ When teams reduce their rosters to 53 players by Tuesday, every franchise will have an opportunity they’ve never had before.
In past years, players must have been on the initial 53-man roster and then moved to injured reserve if the team wanted to preserve the possibility of that player returning that season.
That’s no longer the case.
Under new league rules, two players can be designated for return from injured reserve without being on the initial 53-man roster. (Those players must sit out at least four games.) But those two slots can be used only on players who are placed on IR early next week, as rosters are being trimmed.
Receiver River Cracraft, who will miss significant time with an upper body injury, is a logical option for one of those designated to return spots.
The other spot potentially could be used on cornerback Cam Smith (who has a hamstring injury and a compression sleeve on his leg), linebacker Anthony Walker (who has missed most of camp with an unspecified injury) or possibly defensive tackle Benito Jones, who hasn’t practiced in more than two weeks with an undisclosed injury.
Center Aaron Brewer (hand), running back Chris Brooks (concussion) and safety Jevon Holland (unspecified injury) cannot be ruled out as options, either, though the hope is that all three would be back before October.
Overall, teams can bring back eight players off IR, and the two used Tuesday will count against those eight. (Players brought back off IR must always spend at least four games on IR.) Teams get to bring back two additional players (so 10 total) in the playoffs.
The six players already placed on injured reserve cannot be brought back by the Dolphins this season. That group includes center/guard Sean Harlow, receivers Tahj Washington and Willie Snead IV, tackle Kion Smith and linebackers Grayson Murphy and Cam Brown.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins have three players on the active/physically unable to perform list: receiver Odell Beckham Jr., guard Isaiah Wynn and outside linebacker Bradley Chubb.
If they are moved to the reserve/PUP list in the coming days, they must sit out the first four games of the season but won’t count on the 53-man roster. Moving Chubb to that reserve/PUP list makes sense because he needs more time to recover from the Dec. 31 torn ACL.
The situation is more nebulous with Beckham (whose injury has never been publicly disclosed) and Wynn, who has had issues in his return from last October’s quadriceps injury.
▪ Dolphins veterans have enjoyed their first months of interaction with Mike McDaniel.
He’s “definitely one that builds you up,” safety Jordan Poyer said. “I feel like as a coach it’s part of your responsibility to build your players up and to give them confidence to be able to go out there on the field. Not all coaches are like that, but [there is a way to] get your message across to guys, grown men essentially, without having to be negative.”
Defensive lineman Calais Campbell said: “He is unique, to say the least. He definitely is just very positive, just happy to be here. Every day you could tell. Energy is contagious, so it kind of rubs off and we all kind of get happy to be here. Coach McDaniel does a good job of making this a fun place to work.”
▪ But Campbell made clear that playing here is no picnic, in terms of workload.
“When I first got here and when I was kind of deciding to come here, I heard a lot of stories and different things and one of the things people said was like, ‘It’s a little easier there,’ and I’m like ‘I don’t know,’” Campbell said.
“From what I saw when I came to visit, I got to watch an OTA practice and then talking to ‘Weav’ [defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver] and kind of getting the schedule and stuff, I was like ‘I don’t know if I really believe that’ and now being here, it’s a lot of game reps. Now the schedule might not be as long — he tries to take care of the guys a lot. But when we practice, we’re getting good quality, high-level reps, which I think is very beneficial.”
▪ Dolphins linebacker David Long Jr. has had some good moments in pass coverage during training camp, but Wednesday was not among them.
This might be an unsolvable problem with the current personnel, but Weaver must find a way to leave his linebackers less exposed — and vulnerable — against the pass.
Keep in mind that Long, who was exceptional against the run, was rated by far the worst of 83 inside linebackers in pass coverage.
He permitted 42 of 53 passes thrown against him to be caught for 509 yards and a touchdown, equal to a 113 passer rating in his coverage area. That’s 12.1 yards per reception, which was worst among inside linebackers targeted at least 50 times and third worst among linebackers targeted at least 40 times.
So most every time Long was targeted, the result was a first down for the offense. Long permitted four receptions in four targets for 90 yards in the playoff loss at Kansas City.
Long needs to be on the field on traditional running downs; Miami needs his run defense more than ever with Christian Wilkins now in Las Vegas and Jones slowed by injury. Weaver must find a way to mask that issue.
Per PFF, new Dolphins starting linebacker Jordyn Brooks had by far his best season in pass coverage for Seattle last year.
▪ In analyzing the first two weeks of preseason, PFF ranks Chop Robinson 40th among 46 rookie edge rushers, with this comment:
“Robinson made his NFL debut against Washington, and there were some highs and lows in his play. He made his biggest splash when he flew through the B-gap on a run play to tackle Michael Wiley for a big loss. Conversely, he also lost contain on Jayden Daniels’ 13-yard read-option run.
“As a pass rusher, Robinson did not record any pressure across 13 reps, though those opportunities were at least partially curtailed by the quick release of Washington’s quarterbacks.”
▪ Quick stuff: Rookie safety Patrick McMorris reportedly limped off during Wednesday’s practice in Tampa, leaving his situation in question heading into Friday’s game and cut down day…
CBS 4 and eight other free TV stations in the state will air the Dolphins-Tampa Bay game live at 7:30 p.m. Friday, with Steve Goldstein and Kim Bokamper on the call locally.… NFL Network will carry the game nationally on delay at 1 a.m. Saturday, with Tampa Bay preseason announcers Chris Myers (of Fox) and Ronde Barber on the call... Fort Myers/Naples is the one market airing both the Dolphins’ and Buccaneers’ broadcasts live.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 9:46 AM.
