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The Miami Dolphins spent the day reducing their roster from 75 players to the required 53-man roster limit for the NFL's regular season. While things likely will change slightly over the next few days, as waiver claims are made and free agents are signed, the basis of the 2015 Dolphins are now set.
What does the 53-man roster look like, when you break it down into a depth chart? We project exactly that this evening:
Offense
Pos | 1st Team | 2nd Team | 3rd Team | 4th Team |
QB | Ryan Tannehill | Matt Moore | ||
RB | Lamar Miller | Damien Williams | LaMike James | Jay Ajayi |
TE | Jordan Cameron | Dion Sims | ||
LT | Branden Albert | Jason Fox | ||
LG | Dallas Thomas | Jeff Linkenbach | ||
C | Mike Pouncey | Jacques McClendon | ||
RG | Jamil Douglas | Billy Turner | ||
RT | Ja'Wuan James | |||
WR | Greg Jennings | DeVante Parker | ||
WR | Jarvis Landry | Matt Hazel | ||
WR | Kenny Stills | Rishard Matthews |
The Dolphins elected to go with 23 players on offense, compared to 27 players on defense. Nothing is overly surprising on the offense, except maybe the team only taking two tight ends into the regular season. That could be the main spot that sees a change over the next day or so as the team looks to put in waiver claims, sign a free agent, or even make a trade. Hazel's play earned his way onto the roster, meaning Miami, at least as of today, carries six wide receivers.
Defense
Pos | 1st Team | 2nd Team | 3rd Team | 4th Team |
DE | Olivier Vernon | Terrence Fede | ||
DT | Earl Mitchell | A.J. Francis | C.J. Mosley | |
DT | Ndamukong Suh | Jordan Phillips | ||
DE | Cameron Wake | Derrick Shelby | ||
LB | Koa Misi | Chris McCain | ||
LB | Kelvin Sheppard | Zach Vigil | ||
LB | Jelani Jenkins | Spencer Paysinger | Neville Hewitt | |
CB | Brent Grimes | Will Davis | Bobby McCain | Tony Lippett |
CB | Jamar Taylor | Brice McCain | Zack Bowman | |
S | Reshad Jones | Jordan Kovacs | ||
S | Walt Aikens | Michael Thomas |
The 27 players on defense makes the team slightly unbalanced in favor of stopping an opponent, with the majority of the extra players coming as depth cornerback and linebacker numbers. Lippett slots in as the seventh conerback on the depth chart, but likely had to be kept on the roster just based on his athleticism. It is a little more surprising that the team kept both Bobby McCain and Zack Bowman, rather than releasing one and keeping the other. Neville Hewitt claimed a roster spot ahead of some other undrafted free agents, specifically Mike Hull and Jeff Luc, which is probably a little surprising. Look for Hull, and maybe Luc, to be practice squad signings, and possible work their way back to the roster by the end of the year. Don Jones appears to have been the last player to be cut, with the team trying to decide between Kovacs or Jones.
Special Teams
Pos | 1st Team |
K | Andrew Franks |
P | Matt Darr |
LS | John Denney |
Two rookie kickers. That could lead to some frustrating moments during the year, but it is the way Miami is going after Franks beat out Caleb Sturgis and Darr beat out Brandon Fields. John Denney continues to be the longest tenured player on the roster.