The final step of the preseason was Tuesday. The Miami Dolphins cut their roster down to 53 players for the first time this season.

There will be some slight changes as the team looks at the waiver wire in the next couple of days but generally speaking, the 2022 Dolphins are ready to go.

A mistake often made (by myself included) is overreacting to the players at the bottom of the roster getting cut. It’s much rarer than people think for a player to get cut in training camp and then become a star-caliber player.

It happens but not enough to elicit the uproar that often comes when teams cut their rosters at the end of training camp.

With that in mind, let’s dive into Miami’s final roster and see what we can glean from the team’s decisions on Tuesday.

Miami’s Tight End Room

The Dolphins’ tight end room has been the subject of a lot of talk this offseason. Whether it was centered around a possible Mike Gesicki trade or the team trying to ship off Adam Shaheen only to have him fail his physical with the Texans.

After Tuesday’s cuts, the team will enter the 2022 season with five total tight ends on their roster. One is Cethan Carter, who functions as a fullback and tight end hybrid. Another is Tanner Conner, who made the team after going undrafted out of Idaho State this year.

This should tell us two things. One, the tight end position is crucial to Mike McDaniel’s offense. Two, Miami’s long-term answer probably isn’t on the roster.

The team said they received calls from two teams about trading Gesicki, but ultimately, they decided to keep him.

A team wouldn’t keep five tight ends if they were confident in the top of their depth chart. Consider wide receiver, which is another area Miami is deep in. They could’ve kept players like Lynn Bowden and River Cracraft. They both performed well this preseason.

But the team’s confidence in players like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle likely made them more willing to forgo additional depth. They want as many bodies as they can jam into that room as possible. Clearly, that isn’t the case at tight end.

McDaniel’s preseason comments about re-teaching them to block paint a similarly murky picture of the room. This is not to say Miami’s tight ends won’t have a good season in 2022 or that Miami doesn’t “like” the players they have. It’s just additional confirmation that the group could look much different in 2023.

Miami Still Lacks Cornerback Depth

Miami’s cornerback depth is still an issue. The team added Byron Jones to PUP on Tuesday, confirming he would miss the season’s first four games. They already lost Trill Williams and Mackensie Alexander to season-ending injuries.

Nik Needham, Eric Rowe, and Keion Crossen are also banged up. The cornerback position is the most important part of Miami’s defense. If those players struggle to cover in man coverage on an island, the defense will fall apart.

The Dolphins’ in-house options of Crossen, Noah Igbinoghene, Elijah Campbell, and Kader Kohou—although he’s a cool story making the team as a UDFA—don’t inspire much confidence.

The team has veteran options on the free agent market, but those players will want high salaries and are on the wrong side of 30.

Miami could make a move for a younger, less experienced player to fill the void, but there is a version of history that Miami needs a starter in week one; however unlikely that might be, it’s possible.

The truth of the matter is one of those players above will have to step up, which it makes all the more interesting the team held on to Igbinoghene, Campbell, and Kohou.

The Decision to Cut Sony Michel

Michel’s signing generated a lot of positive reactions when it happened this summer. It made sense on paper. Michel had a solid pedigree and a different running style than Miami’s other backs.

The Dolphins have tried similar moves in the past with players like Jordan Howard and Malcolm Brown, but Michel actually ran for more than 800 yards last season, so there was some additional hope.

However, during the preseason, it was fairly clear Michel lacked juice. Gaskin had a couple of nice runs in the team’s final preseason game and offers more in the passing game. The writing was on the wall for Michel.

This might speak to a bigger trend in Miami’s team building too. Its speed > everything else. Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed, who also made the team over Michel, are not blazing fast, but they’re much faster than Michel.

In the past, players like Howard and Brown were valued because they had different running styles. They were short-yardage, power backs, which Gaskin and Ahmed aren’t.
This staff is clearly more concerned with the pass-catching ability (Gaskin) and scheme fit (Ahmed), which is a positive development for a team that has struggled to play modern offense for a number of years now.

Michel could have a successful season elsewhere, but Miami’s thought process is sound.

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