Miami Dolphins Cethan Carter has uphill roster battle

The Miami Dolphins tight end unit is very good on paper and that could be enough to see Cethan Carter no on the final 53.

Carter is a valuable blocking tight end and he may be one of the better ones on the Dolphins’ TE unit but is that enough to keep him when the rest of the unit is so deep? That is what training camp is for.

Carter has to have an impressive camp and he needs to prove to the coaching staff that he deserves a spot over Durham Smythe, Adam Shaheen, and Hunter Long. It’s an uphill climb for certain but one that Carter is likely to embrace when camp gets here.

Carter has four years of NFL experience. One with Miami and three others with the Bengals. In those four seasons, however, he has only started six games. One of them came with Miami. He is active on Sundays. He has only missed three games in his career, one each of the last three seasons.

If there is one thing to be said about Carter it is that he is healthy and consistent but he doesn’t contribute enough to warrant a roster spot unless he proves beyond doubt that he is worth more than the potential of say, Hunter Long.

Working against as well is his contract. At $2.5 million in 2022, Carter’s contract is fully recoverable giving Miami more cap room should they need it for in-season or in-camp moves. Add to that the already deep TE room, and you can see that this year may be too much for Carter to overcome barring injury.

Will he make the roster? I would bet against it as I see there are more important roster spots to be used at other positions rather than keep an extra tight end and I don’t see him beating the others out of a roster spot.