Dolphins make 4 cuts(Dysert, Gary) sign SS Antrel Rolle
Despite the fact it isn't even Week #2 of the preseason, I guess it's time to make cuts? Here are 4 of them.
Miami Dolphins Cuts:
QB Zac Dysert (26, 61 OVR)
SS Shamiel Gary (26, 66 OVR)
MLB James Burgess (22, 57 OVR)
DT Jordan Williams (23, 58 OVR)
It was believed that the Dolphins only needed to cut 3 players and it was confusing as to why they had cut a 4th. In terms of who was cut, all of the transactions make sense. Dysert simply knew he was destined to be screwed when he failed to even get into the 1st preseason game. It seems like the Dolphins have liked what they've seen out of Brandon Doughty in practice and they wanted to give the 24-year old as much time as possible to make a name for himself. While him making the roster is quite doubtful, he could make the practice squad if the Dolphins like what they see. The biggest surprising cut easily came from Shamiel Gary. He had a very poor outing vs the Giants but even then, seeing him get cut after just the 1st week was quite surprising. You don't usually tend to see that right away, and it surprised many beat reporters who noted it. Finally, James Burgess and Jordan Williams were cut after they failed to even get into the game. They're young so maybe they can bounce back elsewhere, but their respective positions were to deep with competition in order to make any sort of impact.
The reason as to why the Dolphins decided to release a 4th man was soon made known. As many had speculated, it was because the Dolphins were reaching a signing. They had agreed to a 1-year/2.66M contract with Antrel Rolle that is entirely non-guaranteed. Sun Sentinel reporter Omar Kelly expressed approvement of the signing. Rolle is from Florida and the early part of his life here before eventually joining the dominant early 2000s Miami Hurricanes when he was a young man. He was drafted #8 overall with the Arizona Cardinals and spent the first few years of his career there. Then he left to sign with the New York Giants on a 5-year/37M contract where he went on to win a Superbowl in 2012 and play out his contract fully. Sadly, decline and injuries played a roll when he signed a 3-year deal with the Chicago Bears... he only played 7 games after playing all 16 games every single of the 5 years he was with the Giants. Due to this the Bears decided to release him and make him a free agent.
Many doubted that Rolle would get a shot in the NFL again. He's 34-years old and at this point in his career even at safety many wonder if he still has the build to get the job done. He can't be a starter at this point, yet he still wanted to keep playing. Considering he lives in Florida, he was relieved to hear that the Dolphins were interested in signing him. After a few brief workouts and a physical the two sides reached an agreement. Rolle will wear the #37 since #26 is being worn by Damien Williams. Don't get this deal mistaken, though. There is no guarantee that Rolle will make the roster merely based on name and the Dolphins made it clear to him that they expect him to play in the 2nd half of preseason games. They intend to find out if he can keep playing at the NFL level and if he can a role backing up Reshad Jones would give a veteran presence to a secondary that is severely lacking leadership.
Now let's go ahead and take a look at what we have in store for the Dallas Cowboys in Week #2.