The NFL and the NFL Player’s Association (NFLPA) have been hard at work to iron out the details of a safe return to action this fall over the last few days — and one of the latest details rumored to be finalized will put NFL rosters at 80 players apiece entering training camp, which means the Miami Dolphins have some difficult decisions ahead of them. The Dolphins’ offseason roster currently sits at 87 players, meaning the team is facing the prospect of going from 4 vacancies to needing to cut seven players before camp opens next week.
Cuts without the chance to prove anything on the field have happened before — but never under any circumstances like this. It will be a difficult decision for the Dolphins, but a necessary one as the NFL tries to provide as stable of an environment as possible.
Which seven Miami Dolphins are most likely to be cut ahead of camp? Here’s our best guess.
IDL Ray Lima
Lima is a 2020 undrafted free agent — and he won’t be the only one to make this list. With the Dolphins’ reinforcements in the trenches provided the team with a much more admirable two-deep along the defensive line, it is difficult to envision Lima getting preferential treatment over other rookies like Raekwon Davis and fellow UDFA Benito Jones.
DE Bryce Sterk
Sterk is a former Washington Husky who finished his playing career at Montana State. Logging 15 sacks in 2019 wasn’t enough for Sterk to get himself drafted and now, behind heavy-hitting investments like Emmanuel Ogbah, Shaq Lawson and 2020 draft selections Curtis Weaver and Jason Strowbridge, Sterk looks like an odd man out.
The Dolphins also have rush potential from their linebacker room, further mitigating the need for a third or fourth string “hand in the dirt” pass rusher.
LB Kylan Johnson
Johnson was a graduate transfer to Pitt in 2019 after spending his undergraduate as a member of the Florida Gators program. Johnson, like both Sterk and Lima, did not get drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft and faces a great deal of difficulty in surviving the early waves of cuts. The Dolphins brought in heavy free agent reinforcements at linebacker — Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts and Kamu Grugier-Hill all join Jerome Baker and Raekwon McMillan to provide Miami with plenty of depth, mitigating Johnson’s chances.
OG Adam Pankey
The Dolphins claimed Pankey off of waivers in December of 2019 from the Green Bay Packers — but his NFL experience isn’t likely to help him amid the Dolphins’ youth movement. Pankey has little upside at center and isn’t mobile enough to play tackle, meaning he’s guard exclusive and must beat out hoards of fresh faces to make the roster. The Dolphins added Ereck Flowers and Ted Karras in free agency and tacked on Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley in the 2020 NFL Draft. Add 2019 draft selection Michael Deiter into the mix and veteran starter Jesse Davis and the numbers indicate Pankey would probably have to be the next best OL in order to make the active roster.
But with Danny Isidora also on the roster and fellow UDFA OL Donell Stanley also in the picture, Pankey feels like a cut option ahead of camp.
WR Matt Cole
These are all numbers game decisions, but Cole feels like a straight forward decision when you consider the Dolphins’ receiver room. Cole is the 10th best option among the wide receivers at best and fellow 2020 UDFA Kirk Merritt has a much more enticing athletic profile.
CB Tae Hayes
Someone is likely to get cut from this cornerback room. The Dolphins fielded a slew of cornerbacks throughout the course of the season — including Tae Hayes. Hayes was a mid-season addition who played just over 100 defensive snaps for the Dolphins in 2019. And, in that limited playing time, Hayes wasn’t necessarily a bad performer, which makes him a disheartening choice to include here. But the Dolphins have extensive cornerback options with Byron Jones, Xavien Howard and Noah Igbinoghene projected to start and Nik Needham, Jamal Perry, Nate Brooks, Ken Webster and Ryan Lewis all getting bigger sample sizes in 2019.
Perry, Brooks, Webster, Lewis and even Cordrea Tankersley are alternative options for this choice.
OT Jonathan Hubbard
Hubbard is a 2020 undrafted free agent from Northwestern State. Listed at 292 pounds, he’s not an ideal fit for the Dolphins in year one, who seem to have prioritized more size in the trenches this offseason. A developmental tackle, Hubbard is a luxury the Dolphins can’t afford to carry as they’re forced to trim the extra off their roster ahead of the start of camp.
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