The 2021 NFL preseason is drastically different from any fans have seen in the past. Cut down from four-game to three and playing teams, not in the region. A companion to shift in preseason change is the way the teams can cut players from their lineups. In the past, cutting the team’s roster from 90 to 53 was done in the final week between pre-and regular season in one swoop. Before the start of the 2021 season, the NFL has new cut deadlines put into place. This week August 17th, the teams were to go from 90 players on a roster to 85. By next Tuesday, August 24th, the roster is to be cut down to 80 players. Then the final week, we see teams with the 53-man unit they will carry into the regular season.

Before cutting players, this week, Miami added a couple of new players to the roster. Wide receiver Khalil McClain came back with the team from the trip to Chicago; Khalil was on the Bears practice roster. In attempts to get help on the offensive line, Miami made a trade with the Carolina Panthers for Tackle Greg Little for a 2022 seventh-round pick.

To meet the August 17th deadline of 85 players, the Miami Dolphins needed to cut five players. The team cut five and placed Alan Hurns on injured reserve, keeping the team below the maximum players in camp at 84. Players who were released from the team either did not get enough playtime in practice or in the first preseason game to keep the coach’s attention. This could have been partly due to the depth of their position or the player themselves not having the skills the Dolphins needed at the time. The cut players are CB Jaytlin Askew, DT Jerome Johnson, T Jonathan Hubbard, T Timon Parris, and G Tyler Marz. These players are now eligible to be picked up by another team.