Dolphins Move To Shore Up WR Corps After Defections

After the Miami Dolphins saw two wide receivers opt out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 outbreak, speculation had run rampant among many fans, as to whether they would count on some of their younger receivers already on the roster, sign some free agents off the street or even trade for an established veteran.

It looks as though they’ve decided to go with the second option. They resigned former Cleveland WR Ricardo Louis, whom they had signed in free agency a year ago, then placed on IR less than a month later, in May 2019. Louis has yet to play in a game for the Dolphins, despite his having been under contract for much of the past year. After having been selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft by the Browns, Louis had 45 receptions for 562 yards for the team.

They also signed Chester Rogers, formerly of the Indianapolis Colts. Rogers was an undrafted free agent in 2016, the same year Cleveland drafted Louis. Despite his humble introduction to the NFL, Rogers was the more productive of the two receivers, having caught 111 passes for 1,221 yards and five touchdowns in four seasons in Indianapolis.

Of the two receivers the Dolphins lost, Albert Wilson was, by far, the bigger loss of the pair. Hurns was likely little more than an afterthought in Miami’s plans for the season, and probably was in danger of being cut at some point anyway, unless the position group had beset by injuries. Based on the two players they signed, it looks as though they intend to lean heavily on some of their younger players, such as Isaiah Ford, Gary Jennings, Jr, Kirk Merritt and perhaps even Malcolm Perry. This is just one more twist in an offseason that has had plenty of them already. As Stephen Stills once said, if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with. That’s the wrap for today, have a great week, everybody.