The Miami Dolphins have added multiple practice squad players, including a duo of former first-round picks.
The Miami Dolphins have been plenty busy over the past few days, putting together their initial 53-man roster, securing seven waiver claims, cutting players, and now putting together their practice squad.
On Tuesday, the Dolphins announced multiple new additions, which include two former first-round picks and some players who have connections to both general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley.
Per the team's official site, the players are as follows:
Inside linebacker Liam Anderson, edge Clelin Ferrell, edge Amari Gainer, defensive lineman Jordan Miller, wide receiver Will Sheppard, cornerback Jaylin Simpson, defensive lineman Mazi Smith and tight end Tre Watson were all signed.
Among the players are Ferrell and Smith.
Ferrell is well-known to the Dolphins organization, as he was signed in July. Per the moves from the team to waive players, he was among them, but has now since returned to the practice squad with the chance to be elevated come the regular season.
Additionally, Miami also brought in Smith, a former first-round pick defensive lineman who most recently played for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.
Smith was drafted by the Cowboys at No. 26 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. He spent the first three seasons of his career in Dallas, picking up 57 total tackles, two sacks, and six quarterback hits.
Additionally, the Dolphins brought in some players who have connections to the Packers organization.
Simpson played for the Packers during the 2025 season, but he only appeared in one game, picking up eight tackles. Sheppard also played in Green Bay, but was mostly a practice squad player.
One of the more interesting aspects of the Dolphins' practice squad moves is that the team also released Mark Gronowski to make room. Gronowski had just been re-signed to the practice squad after being waived during the 53-man roster cuts.
This leaves Miami with three quarterbacks yet again: Malik Willis, Kyle McCord, and Brady Cook. The assumption would be that the names listed go in order of their position, which could leave the team without a practice squad option.
It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins make another move for a quarterback, especially for someone like Joe Milton who was surprising released by the Cowboys.
Sullivan also spoke about the roster decisions thus far to the media, calling the moves part of the ongoing goal of getting "incrementally better" every single day.
Despite a lot of overhaul moves by the front office, the expectation is that Sullivan will continue to make moves to ensure there is enough competition to make this Miami roster as competitive as possible.
