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The Miami Dolphins, along with the 31 other teams in the league, had to meet the NFL's 75 man roster limit by 4pm ET today. For Miami, that meant nine players that started the day on the roster, would not be on it by tonight. Who got cut?
A couple of surprise names top the list. Fullback Jorvorskie Lane, who joined Miami last season after going undrafted in 2009, and guard Lance Louis, a free agent signing from the Chicago Bears who was looking to return after an ACL tear last season, were both unexpected at this point in the preseason. While neither would have been considered a sure bet to make the 53-man roster, the fact that the Dolphins released them at the 75-man roster mark was a little surprising.
Joining Louis and Lane as members of the first round of cuts for the Dolphins are defensive end Emeka Onyenekwu, wide receivers Julius Pruitt, Andrell Smith, and Jeff Fuller, and linebackers David Hinds, Nathan Williams, and Michael Clay.
Miami cut five players, guards Jeff Braun and Chandler Burden, defensive tackle Chris Burnette, linebacker Alonzo Highsmith, and wide receiver Kenny Stafford, prior to the team's Saturday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Dolphins will be allowed to keep 75 players through Thursday night's contest against the New Orleans Saints at Sun Life Stadium. The deadline for teams to get down to the regular season roster limit of 53 players in Saturday at 6pm ET.
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