The Dolphins have officially announced their roster moves today to get down to the 53 player limit. Here's how the 53-man roster breaks down - for now, at least:
Quarterbacks (3): Chad Pennington, Chad Henne, Pat White
Running Backs (5): Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Patrick Cobbs, Lex Hilliard, Lousaka Polite (FB)
Wide Receivers (5): Ted Ginn Jr., Greg Camarillo, Davone Bess, Brian Hartline, Patrick Turner
Tight Ends (4): Anthony Fasano, David Martin, John Nalbone, Joey Haynos
Offensive Linemen (8): Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, Donald Thomas, Vernon Carey, Joe Berger, Shawn Murphy, Andrew Gardner
Defensive Linemen (7): Jason Ferguson, Kendall Langford, Randy Starks, Phillip Merling, Paul Soliai, Tony McDaniel, Lionel Dotson
Linebackers (9): Channing Crowder, Akin Ayodele, Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, Charlie Anderson, Cameron Wake, Reggie Torbor, Erik Walden, Quentin Moses
Cornerbacks (5): Will Allen, Sean Smith, Vontae Davis, Nathan Jones, Jason Allen
Safeties (4): Yeremiah Bell, Gibril Wilson, Tyrone Culver, Chris Clemons
Special Teams (3): Dan Carpenter (K), Brandon Fields (P), John Denney (LS)
The players who were cut today were S Courtney Bryan, OL Brandon Frye, LB William Kershaw, WR Brandon London, CB Joey Thomas, DE Rodrique Wright, OL Nate Garner, CB Will Billingsley, DE Ryan Baker, OL Mark Lewis, LB J.D. Folsom, WR James Robinson. Matt Roth, as expected, will begin the season on the PUP list.
Obviously, the big surprise today was the Dolphins' decision to keep four tight ends and four halfbacks but only eight offensive linemen. But this just shows how much the Dolphins like both Joey Haynos and John Nalbone. They didn't want to risk losing either of them on waivers. Both are practice squad eligible. But first they'd have to make it unclaimed through waivers - and the Dolphins didn't think that would happen.
One possibility to keep in the back of your mind, though, is the idea that the Dolphins waive one of the two tight ends in a couple of days - after other teams have set their rosters and practice squads. The Dolphins could then try to sneak one of the two TEs onto their own practice squad.
Speaking of the practice squad, I'd say that J.D. Folsom, James Robinson, Will Billingsley, and Mark Lewis are all serious candidates.
The Dolphins have also their "official depth chart" on the team's website. Davone Bess is the receiver currently listed as the starter opposite Ted Ginn.