The Phinsider
The Miami Dolphins host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night in the final preseason game for both teams. While this is a last chance for the teams to prepare for the start of the regular season, it is also the last chance for players to force the coaches into finding roster space for them. Final cuts are looming, and players need to make an impression if they want to stick with the team into the regular season.
Teams will have to drop from the preseason 90-man roster limit to the regular season’s 53-man limit by 4 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. While most of the roster is probably already set in the minds of the coaches and front office, a breakout performance on Saturday could be enough to shake up that thinking.
As tonight’s kickoffs gets closer, we take a look at some of the bubble players who are hoping to land on the positive side of the cut line. There is a representative from most of the position groups listed, and the majority of these players, if they are cut, could be practice squad options for the team once they clear waivers. Teams can carry 16 players on the practice squad and can include veterans, so there is a good chance Miami will bring back several of the players they are forced to release.
Washington has been on the roster projection each time this year, but the numbers game may just not workout in his favor. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are roster locks, Malik Washington feels like he is in that category as well, and, despite having not really developed a chemistry with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa yet, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine should easily make the roster as well. Dee Eskridge has shown up in preseason games and is working as a returner for the team. That puts five wide receivers ahead of Tahj Washington. Can Miami afford a sixth spot, or will Tahj Washington have to hope for a practice squad position?
Yes, Brown signed with the team this year on a one-year free agent contract. Yes, he is a blocking tight end and the Dolphins could use a blocking tight end. Assuming Darren Waller is the top option on the depth chart, despite having just started practicing, and Julian Hill has worked his way into a roster spot, the Dolphins may have a tough choice. The roster numbers may not allow the team to keep four tight ends, leading to a decision between Brown and Tanner Conner. Conner could be headed to the practice squad, but he has shown flashes this summer that may have pushed him ahead of Brown on the depth chart, with the team choosing to keep a younger player on the roster over the 31-year-old veteran blocker. This is really a matter of if the Dolphins can keep four tight ends over anything Brown did or did not do this summer.
