Which Miami Dolphins Veterans Are On The Bubble?

It’s too early to pick the final 53 man roster given the fact that the Miami Dolphins are continually churning the roster. In the last few days the Dolphins have added former Colts, Raider, and Dolphin center Samson Satele and brought back quarterback Brock Jensen after Matt Moore’s shoulder injury. The team is always looking at turning over the bottom of the roster but there are veterans who could be holding on to slim hopes of having a job when final cuts are made.

If the Dolphins feel that a player is likely going to get cut it may be a good time to start investigating trade partners, maybe they already are. Maybe the player in question isn’t going to bring the team anything at all. Regardless, some veterans need to start stepping it up while others may already have one foot out the door. It’s a business after all.

David Arkin:

The Dolphins added Arkin in 2013. A former Dallas Cowboy practice squad offensive lineman, Arkin has been taking reps with the third team centers. Consider that in front of him are an injured Mike Pouncey, Nate Garner, and second year center/guard Sam Brenner. Still his play has been so bad at the position after one week that the team signed free agent Samson Satele. Arkin will have to make the team as a back-up guard or tackle which he played in college. His chances are looking thin.

Armon Binns and Brandon Gibson:

Binns is having an o.k. camp, nothing like he had last year before being injured. Unfortunately for Binns he is a slot guy and the Dolphins are deep this year at wide-receiver. Rishard Matthews is trying to keep his foothold on the last receiver spot but it’s unknown what number of wide-outs the team will keep. If the team keeps five or six Binns has a shot. Consider that three of the spots are filled. Brian Hartline, Mike Wallace, and Jarvis Landry. Last season the Dolphins carried four into the season.

Brandon Gibson is working hard to come back from his crushing ACL injury of a season ago but he has left practice at times due to soreness in the knee. Like Binns, Gibson is a veteran player who could find himself on the roster bubble. It would not be surprising to see the Dolphins keep free agent Damian Williams or rookie Matt Hazel and save some cap money.

Knowshon Moreno:

It’s too early to tell if the Dolphins will give up $1.5 million in guaranteed money to release Moreno who has yet to take a snap in training camp. Moreno is not making much progress in his rehabilitation from a knee scope that took place six weeks ago. As a vested veteran his $3 million one year deal becomes fully guaranteed if he is on the opening day roster. It’s possible that the team takes a long look at whether or not Moreno is close to getting on the field when final cuts are due late August. The Dolphins are pleased with what they have been seeing from Miller and rookie Damien Williams. It’s a long shot but one that should be watched.

Daniel Thomas:

Will the Daniel Thomas experiment finally come to an end? The Dolphins may opt to keep fewer running backs this year and give those roster spots to the WR unit or the TE position. Thomas is having neither a good nor bad camp. He isn’t drawing much conversation and while that normally is good, the fact he is being overplayed by rookie Damien Williams, yes there are two, is an issue. The Dolphins keep waiting for Thomas to make an impact on the roster and this year could finally see his roster spot given to someone else.

Marcus Thigpen:

Thigpen has always had a high upside but either he hasn’t shown enough during practice or the team simply doesn’t have faith in him. He has been primarily relegated to a return specialist role and his performance there needs improvement. The good news is that he is still the first returner on the field and he is getting some reps at running back and wide-receiver. The bad news is that there are younger players ready to take over the role of kick and punt returns.

Jason Trusnik:

It’s time. Trusnik has been a solid special teams player during his time with the Dolphins but his play as a linebacker has never been better than average. Trusnik has been serviceable as a back-up but he isn’t ready to take over any more of a role than that. The Dolphins have some young talent like Chris McCain who could easily take over the role that Trusnik provides and the Dolphins drafted Jordan Tripp to make an impact as well.

Pat Devlin:

Three years ago we watched as Joe Philbin raved about third team quarterback Pat Devlin. Three years later and we are starting to wonder how much longer he will be on the team. We will find out soon as Devlin looks to be readying for a big role on Friday night in the teams pre-season opener. The Dolphins will face the Falcons and it’s likely that Devlin will see significant time with the 2nd team unit due to Matt Moore’s injury. It’s an opportunity to show he belongs on the roster and an opportunity to show that he is not.