Who made the Dolphins’ initial 2023 53-man roster? A breakdown of each position
The Dolphins trimmed their roster to 53 players ahead of the NFL’s 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline. While there are more moves to be made, such as placing players on injured reserve to free spots and allowing them an opportunity to return this season.
Here is a breakdown of each position group on the initial roster. Rookies are denoted with an asterisk.
Quarterback (3): Tua Tagovailoa, Mike White, Skylar Thompson
▪ Skinny: The Dolphins opted to keep both backup quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. The remaining question is who will be the primary backup to Tagovailoa.
Running back (5): Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., De’Von Achane*, Salvon Ahmed, Chris Brooks*
▪ Skinny: Miami kept five running backs and Brooks, an undrafted rookie from BYU, beat out veteran Myles Gaskin for a final spot after totaling three touchdowns in the preseason.
Wide receiver (6): Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Braxton Berrios, Cedrick Wilson Jr., Erik Ezukanma, River Cracraft
▪ Skinny: Robbie Chosen impressed during the spring but couldn’t beat out the likes of Berrios, Cracraft and Ezukanma for a spot. Wilson, who was speculated as a trade target this offseason, remains on the team after agreeing to a reworked contract.
Tight end/fullback (3): Durham Smythe, Julian Hill*, Alec Ingold
▪ Skinny: The Dolphins went light here with just two true tights, one of them being Hill, an undrafted rookie. Ingold moonlights as a tight end in this offense but Miami will likely add one or two to the practice squad as insurance.
Offensive line (10): Connor William, Robert Jones, Lester Cotton, Robert Hunt, Kendall Lamm, Kion Smith, Terron Armstead, Austin Jackson, Liam Eichenberg, Isaiah Wynn
▪ Skinny: Jones is likely headed to IR and sidelined for at least four games after injuring his knee in the preseason. With Dan Feeney traded to the Chicago Bears, Eichenberg and Cotton will be the backup centers to Williams.
Defensive line (5): Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler, Raekwon Davis, Emmanuel Ogbah, Brandon Pili
▪ Skinny: Pili makes the roster as an undrafted rookie but the team is thin on depth. Ogbah is listed as a defensive lineman but has been playing as an outside linebacker in Vic Fangio’s defense.
Linebacker (7) Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Jerome Baker, David Long Jr., Duke Riley, Andrew Van Ginkel, Channing Tindall
▪ Skinny: The Dolphins cut veteran Malik Reed, with Ogbah and Van Ginkel giving the team some depth at edge rusher. Van Ginkel has also cross-trained at inside linebacker.
Defensive back (11): Jalen Ramsey, Xavien Howard, Kader Kohou, Eli Apple, Cam Smith*, Jevon Holland, DeShon Elliott, Brandon Jones, Elijah Campbell, Verone McKinley III, Kelvin Joseph
▪ Skinny: One of the Dolphins’ biggest moves ahead of the cutdown day deadline was trading Noah Igbinoghene to the Dallas Cowboys for 2021 second-round pick Kelvin Joseph. With Igbinoghene gone, Eli Apple is the front-runner to replace Ramsey at corner. Ramsey and Campbell are likely headed to IR as they recover from knee injuries.
Specialists (3): Jason Sanders (kicker), Jake Bailey (punter), Blake Ferguson (long snapper)
▪ Skinny: These have been the Dolphins’ top specialists throughout the offseason and training camp.
