Dolphins Make Multiple Moves in Secondary

The Miami Dolphins settled on their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday, but as always, that is subject to quick changes the following day. 

We got a few of those changes already, with the team making a move official in the secondary. The Dolphins officially announced the signing of cornerback Rasul Douglas and are waiving safety Jordan Colbert to make room. 

There was some speculation that the team would place fellow cornerback Ethan Bonner on injured reserve to make room for Douglas, but it seems like that spot is reserved for someone else. 

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier met with the media on Wednesday and also announced the team would be placing cornerback Cam Smith on the Non-Football Injury list. Smith made the initial 53-man roster, but it’s unclear how long he’ll be out. 

When asked about Smith’s timetable, Grier didn’t want to give many details but did say he felt like Smith played his best football the past two weeks. 

Douglas Replacing Colbert 

Douglas’ deal is for one year, $3 million, according to multiple reports, and Miami has had an interest in Douglas since it dealt Jalen Ramsey to the Steelers. 

The Dolphins needed a veteran presence in the cornerback room after they didn’t add much to it this offseason. The team’s projected starters — Jack Jones and Storm Duck outside with Jason Marshall Jr. in the slot — all have some big questions. 

Douglas made 15 starts for the Bills last season, recording 43 total tackles, five passes defended, and one forced fumble. 

He’s been known as a ball hawk throughout his career (19 career interceptions), but 2024 was the first time since 2020 that he had zero interceptions. He also gave up a career-high passer rating of 116.9 and committed a career-high 10 penalties.

Douglas was a liability for the Bills last season, so much so that they viewed cornerback as one of their biggest needs this offseason. This caused them to spend a first-round pick on Douglas’ replacement, Maxwell Hairston.

“Rasul is a consummate professional,” Grier said. “Like he's always a guy that's trained, keeps himself in great shape. He was excited when we talked to him. It's just a matter of when you're working through things. It's, you know, veteran players, they'll always go through their process of when they're ready and talking to teams and working through stuff.” 

As for Colbert, he might be a candidate to return to the practice squad after making the initial 53-man roster. The Dolphins could use some safety depth since Ashtyn Davis and Dante Trader Jr. have dealt with injuries throughout the summer. 

Another Tough Blow for Smith

Smith getting placed on the NFI list is just another in a long string of rough outcomes for the former second-round pick. 

The South Carolina product has made little impact since entering the league. He spent his rookie season at odds with then-defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, so he rarely saw the field. Last offseason, he struggled with injuries and was passed by Duck, a UDFA, on the depth chart. 

This offseason got off to a rough start when Smith was buried on the depth chart and then injured for about 10 days. However, when he returned, he played well in the team’s final preseason game, and things looked good for him when he made the initial roster. 

This latest news makes it hard to see a path for Smith to stick in Miami. He was on the roster bubble already, and now the team will be without him for some period of time.