Tough Wr Cuts Loom For Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins will have some big cuts to make at every position on their roster but none will be as difficult as those coming to the wide-receiver position. As of today, 13 players are listed on the Dolphins roster at the position and three of those players will make the final 53 barring any sort of injury that puts them on the injured list. Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, and rookie 2nd round pick Jarvis Landry.

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With three roster spots all but officially guaranteed, 10 other players are vying for what could be one spot. Last season the Dolphins entered the season with four wide-receivers on the roster. Wallace, Hartline, Brandon Gibson, and Rishard Mathews. The team may have carried five had Armon Binns stayed healthy but we can’t be certain.

We can trim some of the fat off those remaining ten though. Players who stand little to no chance of making the final 53 are Kevin Cone, Gerald Ford, Ryan Spadola, Stephen Williams, and Rantavious Wooten. Those five players make the race for the final one or two slots a six man race and rookie Matt Hazel likely should be on that list as well despite being drafted in the 6th round. That leaves four players.

Brandon Gibson has returned from his season ending knee injury of year ago but was unable to complete the teams first contact practice on Sunday. Armon Binns is trying to return from his pre-season injury last year that shelved the wide-out for the entire 2014 season. Rishard Matthews is returning this year but there was speculation in the off-season that he was not being eyed favorably by head coach Joe Philbin and that rumor extended to Matthews a possible cut this year. The final remaining wide-receiver is Damian Williams who was added during this off-season’s free agency period.  Williams enters his fifth season in the NFL after playing with the Tennessee Titans.

The final four players will battle throughout camp for one or possibly two positions. Gibson and Binn’s chances rely heavily on their recovery from last years injuries while Damian Williams is hoping that he can be more than just a security receiver should another go down with injury. Rishard Matthews has to prove it 100%. He played well last year but apparently not well enough to guarantee his spot this season. Tough decision will be coming for the Dolphins at the position this year which makes every practice and every practice rep count more and more.

Teams will not face mandatory cuts until later in August.