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The Miami Dolphins have brought their roster down to the 75-man limit ahead of today's 4pm Eastern deadline. The final member of the team's first round of cuts was wide receiver Julius Pruitt.
Pruitt was seen as a special teams standout as a gunner in punt coverage, and was thought to have a chance to make the 53-man roster this year. This is his fourth season in the NFL, making him ineligible for a practice squad slot.
With Pruitt out, the Dolphins have 10 wide receivers remaining on the roster, looking to claim one of six slots. Earlier this week, Mike Sherman, Miami offensive coordinator, admitted that Davone Bess was locked in to one of those slots. That leaves Legedu Naanee, Brian Hartline, Roberto Wallace, Marlon Moore, Clyde Gates, Jeff Fuller, B.J. Cunningham, Rishard Matthews, and Chris Hogan fighting for the last five slots.
The Dolphins started this week with 89 players. In order to reach the 75-man limit, the team placed guard Eric Steinbach on the retired list, and Jonas Gray on the Physically Unable to Perform-Non Football Injury list. They also released defensive end Jacquies Smith, linebacker Josh Linam, cornerback Trenton Hughes, safety Tyrell Johnson, defensive tackle Chas Alecxih, tight end Les Brown, running back Jerome Messam, cornerback Jonathan Wade, and cornerback Marcus Brown. The Dolphins also freed up a roster spot by trading cornerback Vontae Davis to the Indianapolis Colts yesterday.