Dolphins release Thomas Duarte; 6 moves to make

The Miami Dolphins released tight end Thomas Duarte, according to a report:

The Dolphins are currently in the middle of their roster cuts ahead of Saturday’s 4pm ET 53-man roster limit deadline. The team started with 74 players on the active roster, plus Chris Culliver on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Miami moved Culliver to the Reserve/PUP earlier in the day, preventing him from practicing for at least the first six-weeks of the season.

The Dolphins are now at 59 players, meaning they have six more moves to make.

Duarte was selected by the Dolphins in the seventh round of this year’s Draft. Coming out of UCLA, Duarte was seen as a developmental tight end, having played as a split end for most of his college career, rarely being asked to block in-line. The summer’s training camp and preseason confirmed that there is raw potential for Duarte, but he needs time to develop. The Dolphins should look to bring him back to the team as a member of the practice squad if he is still available once waivers clear on Sunday.

Teams are allowed 10 practice squad positions from players not on a team’s roster. The players will have to clear waivers, however, prior to being eligible for the practice squad, a process that could allow a team to claim the rights, and contract, for the released player, adding them to their active roster immediately.