The Miami Dolphins released veteran cornerback Bene Benwikere nearly a month after claiming him on the NFL's waiver wire.
Benwikere, a former fifth-round pick who started 14 of 27 games he played for the Carolina Panthers the past three years before being released last month, never played in any of the three games he was eligible for while with the Dolphins.
The Dolphins claimed Benwikere hoping he would supplement Miami's thinned out secondary, but he never caught onto the Dolphins' defense, and wasn't able to contribute on special teams.
On Monday the Dolphins activated cornerback Chris Culliver from the team's physically unable to perform list, adding the six-year veteran to the 53-man roster, and Dolphins promoted rookie cornerback Lafayette Pitts up from the practice squad.
Those moves made Benwikere expendable, and the Dolphins likely need his roster spot to place defensive tackle Earl Mitchell back on the 53-man roster. Mitchell was placed on injured reserve in week two, but has been designated as Miami's one player to return from injured reserve. Mitchell is expected to play in Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers.
Benwikere becomes the third player the Dolphins have waived this week, joining defensive tackle Chris Jones, and cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, who was waived injured.
The Dolphins are hopeful that Culliver, who has started 26 games for the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins throughout his career, is fully recovered from the season-ending right knee injury he suffered last November, and is ready to become a front line player in a secondary that is allowing opposing quarterbacks to produce a cumulative passer rating of 90.4.
Byron Maxwell, Tony Lippett and Bobby McCain are presently Miami's three starting cornerbacks, and Culliver and Pitts will be added to the mix this week. Rookie cornerback Xavien Howard, the Dolphins' 2016 second-round pick, played well in his four starts earlier this season. But Howard is a week or two away from being healthy enough to practice following his second knee procedure season.
