The Miami Dolphins brought in a huge list of tryouts, though they have only made two roster moves thus far.
The Miami Dolphins did not waste anytime to bring in more players following their Week 2 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Just a day after the game, the team brought in Andre Jones Jr., a special teams contributor who has direct connections to special teams coordinator Chris Tabor.
Jones' signing was followed up by the waiving of linebacker Liam Anderson. Once the Jones move was made official, the team also announced the signing of long snapper Luke Basso.
Miami not only made two roster moves, but the team also brought in a long list of tryouts on Tuesday.
Per the NFL's daily transaction wire, the list of tryouts are as follows:
Anthony, Daijahn DB Mississippi
Basso, Luke LS Oregon
Brown, Tanner K Oklahoma State
Clark, Dean DB Fresno State
Duzansky, Tyler LS Penn State
Freeman, Chris K Connecticut
Havrisik, Lucas K Arizona
Kimber, Jalen DB Penn State
Mapu, Marte LB Sacramento State
Offord, Caleb DB Kennesaw State
Robinson, Marquise DB
Of the long list of names, only one player was signed to the practice squad: Basso. While signing a second backup long snapper may have not made sense, the move was due to Cal Adomitis landing with the New Orleans Saints.
Current Dolphins long snapper Tucker Addington is dealing with a shoulder injury and a second long snapper is simply a move to add some insurance.
In terms of the list of other tryouts, the majority of the names on the list are players who have had little to no NFL experience, which has been the case for the moves made this offseason and beyond.
Interestingly, there are two kickers on the list. Tanner Brown and Chris Freeman.
Riley Patterson won the kicking job by default, as his former competition in Zane Gonzalez was injured and waived during training camp. Since Patterson won the job, he has missed two kicks in the regular season.
Instead of allowing Patterson to remain the kicker without more competition, the Dolphins are considering bringing in another leg to do just that.
There are also several defensive backs on the list, which makes sense given Miami head coach Jeff Hafley is an expert on that subject. However, it could be injuries, depth, or competition that have led to multiple tryouts for that unit.
The most likeliest of reasons is the fact that the two quarterbacks the Dolphins have faced thus far have thrown for 447 yards and five touchdowns.
Miami's secondary was a big question heading into the regular season, and it makes sense that Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan would want to ensure they bring in some more competition.
The issue is that following the trend of bringing in more low-cost veterans and young players might not lead to much success over the players who are currently in the building.
Either way, Sullivan and Hafley continue to stand by their promise to get younger and cheaper, as the team continues to look at players who will certainly not break the bank to be brought in.
