Dion Jordan status still in limbo

The Miami Dolphins are just 10 days from the start of training camp. The focus for the team will be fully installing the new offensive and defensive systems of new head coach Adam Gase, as well as getting the players in “football” shape and ready for the year. This is the time of the year where a coach fully knows who he has for his team and is starting to figure out his exact depth chart.

Which assumes he actually knows if he can or cannot use a player.

In the case of Dion Jordan, the Dolphins just do not know.

The Dolphins’ suspended defensive end applied for reinstatement from the NFL in June. The NFL, according to a report from the Miami Herald’s Adam Beasley on Monday, “still has not notified the two sides if it will lift Jordan’s indefinite suspension in time for the start of camp.”

Jordan’s suspension, which began in April 2015 and was expected to be a one-year ban, stemmed from a diluted sample provided for a drug test. That sample triggered a positive result under NFL rules, and was the third failed test of Jordan’s career, leading to the lengthy ban. Jordan was allowed to apply for reinstatement as early as the end of February, with the NFL then having up to 60 days to make a ruling - thus allowing for him to be immediately reinstated when the one-year mark of his suspension was reached. Jordan delayed the application until June, which means the league has until the beginning of August - after the start of training camp - to make their determination.

The NFL is expected to review Jordan’s behavior over the last year, as well as the results of any drug tests taken during the past year. There is no indication as to why the NFL has not made a ruling on Jordan already, nor which way they will rule.

Once he is reinstated, the Dolphins will have to determine if they will keep Jordan or release him. He is due a $1.7 million roster bonus if he is on the team’s roster on the fifth day of training camp.