Former Dolphins Top Pick Gets a Look from an AFC Team

After three seasons with the Miami Dolphins, linebacker Channing Tindall is searching for a new team.

The 2022 third-round pick was among 10 players who worked out for the Cleveland Browns on Friday, a group that also included linebackers Kam Arnold, a rookie UDFA, and Amari Gainer, who appeared in 17 games for the Las Vegas Raiders last season.

Tindall recorded five tackles in 11 games in 2024 and was the fifth inside linebacker on the depth chart behind Jordyn Brooks, David Long Jr., Duke Riley, and Anthony Walker Jr. Primarily a special teams player, he didn’t play any defensive snaps.

The Dolphins chose to release him during initial 53-man roster cuts, entering the 2025 season with just four inside linebackers: starters Brooks and Tyrel Dodson, with free agent additions Willie Gay Jr. and K.J. Britt providing depth.

“I thought Channing played very well,” linebackers coach and run game coordinator Joe Barry said. “But the numbers game, [Tindall had] four pretty good guys in front of him. 

“That's the luxury that we have in the inside linebacker room, that we have four guys that have all played and started a lot of NFL football games. It's an unfortunate deal.”

Tindall struggled to carve out a role in the rotation and didn’t start in any of his 44 appearances for Miami. His development was also complicated by three different defensive coordinators in his first three seasons.

“It's a bummer because, at least my message to him was, hey, this could be awesome,” Barry said.  “This is the first time that you've actually had back to back coordinators, the same coordinator in your NFL career — and he did improve.”

Tindall’s preseason included 16 tackles and two quarterback hits while playing 125 total snaps. Quarterbacks completed 10 of 11 pass attempts against him, though they averaged less than 10 yards per completion.

No Tryouts Yet for Grayson Murphy

As NFL rosters were trimmed from 90 to 53 players, waves of players began the wait for their next opportunity. For Grayson Murphy — who impressed as a disruptive pass rusher during Miami’s preseason — that first call still hasn’t come.

Worse, Murphy hasn't had any tryouts yet.

Murphy, a 2024 UDFA from UCLA, suffered a season-ending MCL injury during last year’s preseason but returned fully healthy in Year 2, finishing the preseason with two sacks and four quarterback hits over 110 snaps.

Making the Dolphins was always going to be an uphill battle considering the trio of Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Chop Robinson leading the unit. The competition for roster spots grew even tougher when four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Matthew Judon joined the rotation last month.

Still, winning on defense starts with rushing the quarterback, and Murphy showed he can do just that during his time in Miami.

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