Kalen Ballage fails Jets physical, reverts to Dolphins roster

The Miami Dolphins agreed to a trade with the New York Jets late last week, sending the team’s 2018 fourth-round pick to his former head coach, Adam Gase. The deal, a rarity as a trade between division rivals, returned a conditional seventh-round pick to the Dolphins. Now, it appears that deal has been nullified.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Ballage failed his physical with the Jets due to a hamstring injury and will now revert to the Dolphins’ roster. Miami had been planning to release Ballage prior to the trade deal, so that is still the most likely outcome of his additional time with the Dolphins.

In two seasons with Miami, Ballage appeared in 24 games, with six starts. He rushed for 326 yards on 110 carries with four touchdowns. His 2019 performance, however, quickly led to him falling out of favor with the fans, and ultimately the team, as he averaged just 1.8 yards on 74 carries for the season. The Dolphins added Matt Breida and Jordan Howard in the offseason, pushing Ballage onto the roster bubble and, now it appears, in a position where the coaches and front office are ready to move on from him altogether.

Rapoport suggests Ballage could still end up with the Jets after Miami releases him and he is fully recovered.