Miami Dolphins: 3 players that could be cut now that Fluker is on the roster
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins adding D.J. Fluker will likely mean the end of someone’s time in Miami but the question is which offensive lineman will be gone?
Chris Grier made a smart move to get Fluker. He is a quality offensive lineman with a lot of starting experience and is consistent. Physical at the point of attack and good at both blocking for the run game and passing game. He can also play right tackle or guard.
With the addition of Fluker, the Dolphins will have to trim their roster at some point. Maybe not now and maybe not until the final cuts of the off-season but there are simply too many offensive linemen on the team.
Three players immediately came to mind when I heard about the signing and these three could find themselves without jobs if the Dolphins decide they like someone else on their roster better.
Michael Dieter – Right now, Dieter is the backup center but he hasn’t panned out as a guard. The Dolphins are relying on Matt Skura to play the position and Dieter is the primary backup and will battle with a rookie and/or Cameron Tom who has four years experience at the position.
Dieter started 15 games in his rookie season but didn’t start a single contest in 2020.
Jesse Davis – Davis plays both guard and tackle and has been extremely valuable to the Dolphins the last few years. While only having five years of experience, he is the longest-tenured offensive lineman on the Dolphins roster.
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Releasing Davis would save the Dolphins $2.585 million in cap space. Davis is a reliable backup but he isn’t starting like he used to because the Dolphins have invested in younger players.
Ereck Flowers – Flowers make a ton of sense to be gone. He is scheduled to make $10 million in 2021 but the issue for Miami is the salary cap. They will have to eat $10 million in dead cap space with a return of only $975,000 according to OvertheCap.com.
The Dolphins will likely keep only nine or ten offensive linemen to start the season and we can say that Fluker, Skura, Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson, and Solomon Kindley will take up five of those positions. Add a rookie and that leaves three or at most four spots open.
While Miami could very well keep all three to round out the roster it seems unlikely. With the versatility of Davis, Deiter handling backup center duties, and Flowers’ cap situation, Miami could roll with all three plus the other six and let the best man win the starting job.